# Leopard Gourami/Leopard Bush Fish/Spotted Climbing Perch Advice Needed!



## Emily (May 4, 2010)

So I have been drooling over these guys for a while and would like some advice as to the suitability of them for my tank. Here is the info:

30 Gallon
- 1 clown pleco
- 3 juvenile pictus catfish (~3 inches)
- 6 juvenile tiger barbs (~1.5-2 inches)
- 1 krib

I plan to move this whole lot into a 50-60g when they outgrow the current tank, so the 30g is a temporary thing. The ones I am currently looking at buying are 2" at this point, so still young themselves. My questions are the follow:

1. At the moment the tiger barbs aren't bothering any of the other occupants, they seem to school quite tightly and interact only with each other. Should I be concerned that they will bully the Leopard Gouramis?

2. I have read mixed opinions about whether these guys should be kept solo or in groups. Some sources say they are shy and like the company, others say they get aggressive when they mature and should be kept alone. So... How many do I get?

3. How sensitive are they to water changes? I have also heard a variety of different responses ranging from quite sensitive to hardy.

4. How important is it to have tannins in the water for these guys to do well?

Thanks for any input and feedback


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

talk to dizturbd1 the mod i think he has some ...


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yup I have a couple and well.... I am by far any kind of expert on these guys lol but like you, I found my self determined to get some after seeing them. They are pretty awesome fish and probably my favs, next to my Fire Eel. You can see some info on how I acquired mine and housed them till now. They all started out in this tank: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/my-33-gal-set-up-9-3-a-14399/ and have grown out for this tank: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/my-75-9-3-a-25400/ You can see what they were housed with, which is pretty similar to yours except for the barbs.

The first Leopard Ctenopoma I had was about 3" when I got him, so he really took no crap from fish his size or smaller. SO if the ones you get are 2" then I would think it to be ok with the tiger barbs. I lost my first one shortly after relocating him to my 75. But I had gotten 2 more, which in the end I plan to have a group of 4. I believe these guys are better to keep more than 1,,, they can be shy by themselves & I do see more activity out of my pair as opposed to the loner I had. . The 2 I have usually hang close together, there are times I see the bigger one push on the smaller one, but only when he wants some space to himself. It's not really aggressive and kinda neat actually. The one being pushed doesn't run, he kind of rolls to one side or the other, I witnessed the same thing with my first one when my Red tailed Black Shark would mess with him. They can be quite graceful swimmers ...you will see. I believe there are a few members on here that have kept the in groups of 5 or so and had no problems. 
to answer the specific questions they answers are just my experience with them:

1) One thing is the Ctenopoma's appreciate a well planted tank, especially tall thick ones, They also appreciate cave's and driftwood formations. Gives them a better sense of security and mimics their natural environment. With that being said...if you can provide that for them , you should have no problems, especially when they get 3 plus inches. They are pretty peaceful and bother no-one else, but they won't take anybody's crap either, a little witch of a German Blue Ram I had found out the hard way lol. At that point, or any given point in their life, it not good to house them with anything that can fit in their big mouths, At 3" they can and will eat smaller tetra's and danios and such. Especially if you forget to feed them one night lol So heed that warning. You probably know from your research, they can eat fish 1/3 their size.

2) I personally think they do better in small groups. The size of the tank and it's layout (caves, wood, plants ect...) would probably make the difference for aggression when they are mature. And I would suggest to get atleast a 75 gallon tank as opposed to a 50 as you mentioned. You & the fish will appreciate how much extra room there is with the extra 6" width. Keep in mind they are going to get to around 6" each. Plus you have more room for plants wood and caves and such with the 18" width. Just a suggestion

3) They are very hardy as far as I can tell. Easily acclimated. They have done fine in 2 tanks that have somewhat different parameters without ever any issues, to my knowledge.

4)The tannins...well my 33 has little if any in it, while the 75 is like a river of tannins at time when I am not using purigen. That big log is always leeching them lol Not sure if it's a big deal, but I am sure the fish appreciate it and obviously it is beneficial. But as I said, mine did well with little presence of tannins as well.

Hope this helps somewhat. maybe the others who have kept them and adored theirs, will chime in eventually, Thats my experience with them thus far. IO highly recommend them if you provid the proper environment for them They are a beautiful, unique fish and I am sure you will be quite happy with them. Any other questions , feel free to ask.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

Dang John dropping knowledge on the class.... I thought you had some lol.. now i know


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

yup now ya know lol I know a lil bit ::bigsmile:.... I did alottttt of research before getting these guys. ANd there are definitely alot of confusing answers out there. Always nice to get input from people that keep them locally and share their same water conditions.


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## Emily (May 4, 2010)

Thanks so much for such a well-thought out reply. It was really helpful and I feel much better about everything I have done so far!


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

told you , he may be disturbd but he knows his stuff..


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

We've got 3 of these little guys (2" or so each) living in our 72g bowfront. They're sharing with 4 juvie tiger dats, 16 juvenile clown loaches, giant danios, a rainbow fish and 2 black angels. The tank is heavily planted with lots of driftwood, so similar to John's setup. 

They've done pretty well but definitely appreciate hiding spots, as they are ambush predators in nature.


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## Foxtail (Mar 14, 2012)

Petland in langley has a few for sale... Bigger tho like 3.5"-4" 

Sent from my SGH-T959D using Tapatalk 2


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

So did you ever get any of these? Just wondering since I noticed your Avatar is one lol


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## Emily (May 4, 2010)

I did, I got 3. One died (he came to me really skinny and despite a hearty appetite sort of wasted away - I think he had an internal parasite) and the other two I rehomed when I started to take the tank in a different direction. They were cute though, I miss them!


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

well maybe one day you'll get em again lol yes adorable fish for sure. Did I miss a FS thread for the 2 you rehomed?? lol Im ready for a couple more myself. Anyway just seen you had one for an avatar and wondered if ya gave them a try.


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## Emily (May 4, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> well maybe one day you'll get em again lol yes adorable fish for sure. Did I miss a FS thread for the 2 you rehomed?? lol Im ready for a couple more myself. Anyway just seen you had one for an avatar and wondered if ya gave them a try.


I loved that they had the big eyes and really seemed to look at you and interact with you in a way that the tetras and stuff don't. Mind you, I love the fish I have now too but there was certainly something special about those guys. You didn't miss the FS thread, I didn't rehome them through BCA as I knew the person personally  Bummer though as I would have gladly given them to you! Are you coming to the monster auction? Who knows there may be some there...


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