The leopard bush fish (''Ctenopoma acutirostre''), also known as leopard bushfish, spotted ctenopoma, leopard ctenopoma, spotted climbing perch, spotted leaf fish, spotted cichlid or spotted bushfish, is a

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

. It is a member of the family Anabantidae, which is part of a group popularly known as

labyrinth fish The Anabantoidei are a suborder of anabantiform ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder are known as anabantoids or ...

( gouramies and relatives). It is relatively common in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

industry and is often sold as a beginners' "oddball" fish.

Habitat

The leopard bush fish is endemic to the

Congo River basin The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

Middle Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Eq ...

and has adapted to suit many different biotopes within this system from fast flowing streams to stagnant ponds.

Size

The leopard bush fish is slow-growing and may take several years to reach an adult size which in the wild can easily reach . In captivity a fish of cm is considered large.

In the aquarium

In the aquarium the leopard bush fish is often seen as a hardy oddball that fits into some

community tank Community aquaria are tanks that are designed to contain more than one species of fish. Most commonly they include a variety of species that do not normally occur together in nature, for example angelfish from Brazil, swordtails from Mexico, and ...

s but careful consideration must be taken since it is somewhat aggressive. The leopard bush fish in the wild is a predator so it will take small fish up to the general size of an adult female

guppy The guppy (), also known as millionfish and rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae and, like almost all ...

; anything larger than this will for the most part be ignored. It is not generally a good idea to mix this fish with large aggressive

cichlids Cichlids are fish from the family (biology), family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses (Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have c ...

as they may injure the leopard bush fish or out-compete it for food. Good tank mates for the leopard bush fish include medium-sized

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...

species,

bala shark The bala shark, ''Balantiocheilos melanopterus'', also known as the tricolor shark, tricolor sharkminnow, silver shark, or shark minnow, is a fish of the family Cyprinidae, and is one of the two species in the genus ''Balantiocheilos''. This spec ...

, silver dollar, ''

Corydoras ''Corydoras'' is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost ...

'', ''

Plecostomus Plecostomus, pleco, or plec is the common name of several species of freshwater loricariid catfish commonly sold as aquarium fish. These include: *''Hypostomus plecostomus'' *''Hypostomus punctatus'' *''Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus'' *''Pteryg ...

'' species, ''

Ancistrus ''Ancistrus'' is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushyn ...

'' catfish, and anything that won't fit into its mouth. They enjoy plentiful space and places to hide, so 55 gallons is acceptable if it is not overstocked and has good filtration.(ctenopoma-acutirostre)
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Diet

In the wild, leopard bush fish will eat any fish or insect that they come across small enough to fit into their mouths. In the aquarium however they will readily learn to accept dead alternatives such as bloodworms (chironomid midge larvae) and some sinking pellets, however that said few learn to accept flake foods and many people prefer to feed them with live food so that they are able to watch the leopard bush fish's unusual stalking method.

References

* * * http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/leopard-ctenopoma-ctenopoma-acutirostre-by-fruitbat-27057.html * http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Ctenopoma_acutirostre.php {{Taxonbar, from=Q1819560

leopard bush fish The leopard bush fish (''Ctenopoma acutirostre''), also known as leopard bushfish, spotted ctenopoma, leopard ctenopoma, spotted climbing perch, spotted leaf fish, spotted cichlid or spotted bushfish, is a freshwater fish. It is a member of the f ...

Freshwater fish of Central Africa