Among the most beautiful anabantoids or labyrinth fish from Africa is Ctenopoma acutirostre, the Leopard bushfish. It can become 15-20 cm long. Its natural habitat is the Congo. It is collected there for the ornamental fish trade in the Stanley Pool region. Here the fish live under the swimming meadows of the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). At dawn they start hunting. Like a dead fish they slowly thrive through the water column. The special leopard pattern suggests a rotting carrion. Small fish are attracted by the obvious easy food and find themselves eaten as soon as they try to taste it.
Juvenile Ctenopoma acutirostre hunting
Regarding breeding in the aquarium the Leopard bushfish proofed to be difficult, although they are completely peaceful among each other and can be sexed easily (ripe males develope thorns behind the eyes and on the caudal peduncle which serve to fix the female during spawning). Nevertheless they only bred ocassionally by chance and never when planned.
Now the breeders in Southeast Asia were successful at least. And we can therefore offer charming little leopard babies! They already hunt like their parents and imitate a carrion when hungry. Luckily enough it is not necessary to feed live fish, neither to the young nor to the adults. They easily can be adopted to frozen food (bloodworm etc.). They also can be kept in community tanks given the fact that possible tanksmates are at least as half as long the Leopard bushfish. So they cannot be swallowed anymore and become not attacked. On the other hand one has to choose calm species as tankmates, for the Leopard bushfish does not like hectic atmosphere at all!
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
