Ornate bushfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a tank of 75 liters or larger, which suits a pair or a small group of three to six. A group usually means at least one male colors up, but males turn territorial toward each other and during spawning, so break up sightlines with plenty of plants and cover. Run the water from 23 to 27 C, soft and acidic to neutral. They are mostly peaceful but sit mid water as slow ambush micro-predators, so they may eat very small fish or shrimp. Pair them only with calm tankmates slightly larger than bite size, never fast boisterous feeders. They rarely touch dry food, so feed small frozen or live foods like bloodworm, daphnia, and brine shrimp. They are notorious escape artists, so a tight fitting lid is essential. As with any aquarium fish, never release them into local waters, and check your local rules on keeping non-native species.

In the wild

Ornate bushfish come from the Congo River basin in central Africa, across the Republic of Congo and DR Congo. These are dim, slow waters shaded by forest, soft and acidic and stained brown with tannins. To match that, give them a dimly lit, heavily planted tank with floating cover, driftwood, and a layer of leaf litter. Keep the water soft and on the acidic to neutral side, pH 5.5 to 7.5, in the mid 20s C. They are sensitive to poor water quality, so stay on top of changes.

Good to know

This is a dwarf bushfish in the family Anabantidae, an anabantid that breathes air at the surface through a labyrinth organ. Adults reach about 8 cm, with most sources putting the max in the 7 to 9 cm range. It is a bubble-nest builder, and breeding is hard since it needs very soft, acidic, warm, shaded water to trigger and raise a spawn.

Did you know

Like other labyrinth fish, the ornate bushfish gulps air at the surface and pulls oxygen from it through a special organ behind the gills. That lets it cope in the warm, low-oxygen, tannin-stained backwaters it comes from, where many other fish would struggle.

Related species

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  Tailspot climbing perch

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  Climbing perch

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• 

  African butterfly cichlid

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