Mottled bushfish

Ctenopoma weeksii

Also known as Weeksii ctenopoma, Mottled ctenopoma

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Minimum tank: 42 gal (160 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Congo basin
Family: Anabantidae

Overview

The mottled bushfish is a middleweight African labyrinth fish for a Congo-themed community of tougher species such as synodontis catfish and larger tetras. It is mostly peaceful but a patient ambush predator, so it needs tankmates too big to swallow and a careful eye when adding anything small. It is not a shoaling fish, though it can be kept singly or in a small group where the tank is roomy and broken up with cover. Give it shade, wood, and caves to haunt. Feed it earthworm, prawn, mussel, and frozen foods of a size it can manage. A dimly lit tank of around 160 liters with plenty of cover suits it.

In the wild

Ctenopoma weeksii comes from the middle Congo basin, in slow, tannin-shaded backwaters among leaves and root tangles. Recreate that with driftwood, leaf litter, shade-giving plants, and a soft, dark bottom under low light. It likes warm, soft to neutral water, about 23 to 28 C at roughly pH 6.0 to 7.5, with gentle filtration and a lot of structure to hide in and hunt from.

Good to know

Ctenopoma weeksii is an African labyrinth fish of the family Anabantidae, reaching about 12 centimeters, patterned with dark mottling and scrawl over a bronze body. As a true Ctenopoma it scatters floating eggs and gives no parental care, and it has no established aquarium breeding record. It takes air at the surface through the labyrinth organ that lets its relatives survive in low-oxygen water.

Did you know

This fish is named for John Henry Weeks, a Baptist missionary who spent decades on the Congo River in the late 1800s and collected the first specimen near his mission station, one of many African fishes gathered by such travelers.