African leaf fish

Care at a glance

Overview

The African leaf fish is a solitary ambush predator that hangs quietly among plants and roots, waiting for prey to drift close. It is not aggressive toward fish it cannot eat, but it will swallow anything that fits in its mouth, so keep it alone or only with calm fish that are too large to become a meal. It settles in best with lots of cover, subdued light, and slow-moving water. Most keepers start it on live foods such as river shrimp, earthworms, and small feeder fish, then wean it onto frozen meaty foods with patience. It is a small fish, so a well-planted tank of around 75 liters or larger suits a single specimen.

In the wild

This fish comes from warm, shady freshwater across West Africa, in Cameroon, Benin, Gabon, and Nigeria, where it haunts pools, swamps, creeks, and slow rivers thick with submerged plants near the banks. It likes still, soft, slightly acidic to neutral water and plenty of leafy cover to hide among. Recreate that with a densely planted tank, floating plants to cut the light, driftwood, and leaf litter that stains the water a little. Keep it warm, from 26 to 31 C, with a pH between 6 and 7.5 and gentle filtration.

Good to know

The African leaf fish belongs to the family Nandidae, the Old World leaf fishes, and some authorities place it instead in the Polycentridae. Adults stay small at about 8 cm, with a deep, flattened body, mottled brown color, and a huge, extendable mouth. Like other leaf fishes it drifts and tilts to mimic a dead leaf, then engulfs prey in a fraction of a second. Aquarium breeding is rarely documented. In nature the male is reported to build a bubble nest below a leaf or overhang and guard the eggs until they hatch.

Did you know

The African leaf fish is a master of disguise, drifting sideways and swaying like a waterlogged leaf until a smaller fish wanders within reach. When it strikes, its jaws shoot forward and the prey vanishes in well under a second, one of the fastest feeding moves of any freshwater fish.

Related species

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  Bornean leaf fish

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• 

  Gangetic leaffish

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• 

  African butterfly cichlid

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• 

  Flameback cichlid

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• 

  Black widow tetra

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