Ctenopoma acutirostre aka bush fish

[Ben]

Hi Peoples,

i was looking in a local fish shop in melbourne today and i stubbled across these guys!

does anyone have them or could tell me about them?

very interesting fish!

here is a link

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1030


Done a bit of a google search on them, they seem very nice little fish.

The fish shop was selling them for $55 each.

any info would be awesome!

cheers,
Ben

[marg]

Depends how you are going to house them. I don't think they would do too well in a Community Tank - their description says that they are aggressive.

They do look unusual though don't they?

[Ben]

These little guys that i saw in the shop were stunning! The shop owner who has had the shop in Melbourne for more than 30 years said he had not seen them for over 25 years until he bought some just recently.

http://www.fishvictoria.com/fishvic/pfish/pnox/noxlist.php

This species is ok but most of the Ctenopoma
species are banned in Victoria and other parts of Australia.

From what i was told, this species is now extinct in the wilds of Africa.

Very interesting fish........

i would love to hear any one that knows more about them or who have kept them in the past or present.

Cheers,
Ben

[kevkoi]

Leopard bush fish... they're far from uncommon amoung the rare fish enthusiasts these days. They've been around in Aust, but just bred by a very select number breeders as they are quite tricky to breed. (their eggs float on the water surface and are almost like dust!!

Their prices fluctuate like the wind depending on how many there are available for sale and from whom. I've seen prices from $15 to $150ea for these fish

These fish are ambush predators and they literally suck little fish into their mouths with their extendible jaws. Very cool....

Another less often seen Ctenapoma is the Microctenapoma ansorgii.... I've seen these around in Aust, but far less often than the bush fish. These are smaller and more suited to community tanks.

[Littlefish]

Wow! :shock:

Amazing pic, Kev. Looks like a dragon!

Fred

[Fishpimpin73]

We have been keeping C. Ansorgii for a few years now.

Amazingly pretty fish.

Should have a breeding colony in my possesion soon ( crosses fingers )

As far as the "ambush" predator moniker goes..........
I would hesitate to call this fish any kind of predator, although they will "ambush" thier meals. They are not active "hunters".
Most of the time they require target feeding bc they are very shy fish.

We have kept both the "Ornate" and "Leopard" Ctenopoma and have never had a problem keeping them with other fish.

They are a member of the Labyrinth family of fishies.
So breeding them can be a bit of a pain.
As of yet we have had no success with breeding these fish, but we endeavor to keep trying :wink:

I deff recc them for serious fishkeepers.