# My new leaf fish



## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

Anyway here is one of them... this one seems to be out more than the others. The others are darker than him most of the time.


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

Awesome, I always wanted a leaf fish. Did you have to order them?


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## joefish219 (Feb 8, 2005)

very cool. i always like the different fish.

do they get big? more then 4"?


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

spinalremains said:


> very cool. i always like the different fish.
> 
> do they get big? more then 4"?


I think 4" is their max. The three I have now are close to 3" each.


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

That's awesome. I have never seen anything like this in an LFS around me. I would have to order them. Say, If they feel threatened, do they float on their sides? I am curious because a book I have says it is their defence mechanism.


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

i seen some at the BA in whitby and was tempted to buy them what did they cost at your location? they were $14.99 each at my location at the same size.

what else do they eat or just live foods? i hate feeding live foods its a pain in the arse to have to get live foods a few times a week


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

piranha_guy_dan said:


> i seen some at the BA in whitby and was tempted to buy them what did they cost at your location? they were $14.99 each at my location at the same size.
> 
> what else do they eat or just live foods? i hate feeding live foods its a pain in the arse to have to get live foods a few times a week


Hahaha...small world. Ya I picked them up from the Big Al's in Ajax







I'm starting to think that it might be easier to keep a large plastic tub in the corner of the furnace room with a spong filter and buy feeders and keep them in there...enough for say 2 weeks worth at a time. I'll feed them twice a week so that would be enough fish for 4 feedings I guess.

The one thing I read about life foods is that they said that I should vary the kind of fish. Also I heard rosy reds have some chemical that gets rid of vitamin B1 so it shouldnt be given often. Goldfish are just bad and Guppies carry fish TB. Doesnt leave much options!


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

ajax doesnt have a big als so you must mean whitby lol

congrats on them they are awesome. breed some convicts and use the fry when tiny for food cheap and easy method


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## Guest (May 2, 2007)

So wait, do they not eat frozen?


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

piranha_guy_dan said:


> So wait, do they not eat frozen?


Nope







Nothing but live. I dont think anyone has been successful at getting them to eat anything but. I tried ghost shrimp and they went for those so thats possibly an option from time to time.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Get a bunch of guppies and toss those in there. They'll breed and create babies. And the babies will help feed them.

When I worked in a fish room we did this and it worked rather well. Every so often we'd just toss a dozen or so pregnant female guppies in the tank.

Other livebearers would also work. But don't go for something that gets too aggressive like swordtails. They might actually pester the leaf fish once they get big. From what I've seen, anyway.


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

ive done that with guppies in my datnoid tank but they dont last long enough and the dats are only small. the bigger of the 2 dats died this morning for some reason tho.......... not sure why tho


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

Mettle said:


> Get a bunch of guppies and toss those in there. They'll breed and create babies. And the babies will help feed them.
> 
> When I worked in a fish room we did this and it worked rather well. Every so often we'd just toss a dozen or so pregnant female guppies in the tank.
> 
> Other livebearers would also work. But don't go for something that gets too aggressive like swordtails. They might actually pester the leaf fish once they get big. From what I've seen, anyway.


This might work only if I had a 500 gallon tank, 3 leaf fish and a few hundred guppies








... my leaf fish are unbelievable hunters. Mind you I've given them the advantage by providing plants with broad oval leaves similar in shape to them...so they are having great success ambushing. So far the thing that has lasted longest and seems the smartest are ghost shrimp. Strange but true.


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

Have you accounted for all of them yet?


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

spinalremains said:


> Have you accounted for all of them yet?


I did finally find the other two. Buggers change their colours and blend in with the leaves so well. Oh you had asked once about their defense capabilities...well they are not aggressive at all. They remain motionless (just like a leaf) even if a large fish or predator is approaching. I find that even the feeder fish litterally bump into them sometimes not knowing the difference. They pretty much vanish if there are plants around


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

One last set of pics







First one of the leaf fish stalking a shrimp and the other their 47 gallon home.... Damn I love watching these guys. So relaxing...


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## eiji (Sep 16, 2006)

freaking nice fiesh man, ii really love how they catch their prey...
nice setup too sir


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

fish lover said:


> freaking nice fiesh man, ii really love how they catch their prey...
> nice setup too sir


Thanks man. I really enjoy the setup. I think I might add one scavenger that is big enough not to be eaten. Not sure but maybe a blue lobster...dont think it would catch the leaf fish or even notice.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

That setup is sweet! And it is nice to have a relatively slow and relaxing predator in a setting like that, nicely done!


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

nice setup and cool looking leaffish


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

I had a few, they are very interesting fish but get to be a pain to feed.


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

TimmyTeam said:


> I had a few, they are very interesting fish but get to be a pain to feed.


Ya I'm kinda getting that feeling already. LOL. Well I plan to set up a large bucket (20 gallon) in the basement's furnace room with a small filter, pump..etc and will buy enough feeders for a couple weeks at a time so that my visits to the fish store doesnt seem like too much a chore.


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## polomax24 (Jun 14, 2005)

Very nice fish and setup!


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

polomax24 said:


> Very nice fish and setup!


Thanks Polomax24


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Love the look of the tank. Very interesting dimensions to it. Must have made it hard to select what fish would be going in there!

As for the blue lobster... I would definitely recommend against it. Though the leaf fish have an alright chance of not being stalked and killed the lobster is a cunning predator that will likely end up hunting at night. He may just get them. And I worry about the size/dimensions of the tank.


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## NeXuS (Aug 16, 2006)

thats a neat fish


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

Ok so no blue lobster. Maybe just tossing in some ghost shrimp once in a while might make for an ok temporary cleanup crew. As for the tank, yes it was a bit odd in terms of dimensions but I actually selected the tank specifically for leaf fish so if I ever decide not to keep leaf fish, then I have to really think about what else might go in there. Maybe a pair of angels... dont know. Anyway its a 47 gallon at 20" wide, 18" deep and 30" tall. I leave a few inches at the top because I actually want a little water splashing for aeration. I have selected a low flowrate filter so without the disturbance at the top of the water, there might actually not be enough oxygen dissolved in the water (just my guess). Its an Eheim 2213 as the filter.



Mettle said:


> Love the look of the tank. Very interesting dimensions to it. Must have made it hard to select what fish would be going in there!
> 
> As for the blue lobster... I would definitely recommend against it. Though the leaf fish have an alright chance of not being stalked and killed the lobster is a cunning predator that will likely end up hunting at night. He may just get them. And I worry about the size/dimensions of the tank.


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## channafreak (Mar 27, 2004)

After trying for 2 months I got mine to eat frozen krill so just keep trying. I have a good feeding compilation if you want to see it? From a few years back.


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## svtcontour (Jun 25, 2006)

channafreak said:


> After trying for 2 months I got mine to eat frozen krill so just keep trying. I have a good feeding compilation if you want to see it? From a few years back.


Yes please that would be amazing. I would love to get your input on what the best way is to get them even considering something that doesnt swim away. I really like the personality of these leaf fish I must say and I'm amazed at what fantastic and efficient hunters they are.


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## Bsixxx (Aug 31, 2006)

amazing picture


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## channafreak (Mar 27, 2004)

Try tying some krill to a small piece of string and see if they go for that. Also try some earthworms. I got mine to eat some of those after a while also. It just takes some time and patience. I think I also had one that was greedy enough to eat frozen food.









This was my old guy. Died of natural causes after a year and a half as far as I can tell.


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