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starting a new tank for my new spotted leaf fish.

5082 Views 13 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Daniel1990, 
D
Ok so my name is Daniel and this is my first post here. So hello everyone.

Ok so on Christmas my sister gave me her no longer wanted African Spotted Leaf Fish. I am an avid fish keeper and try to give the best care I can. But I find myself in a tough spot as I know little about these fish. Normally I research a fish good before I buy them. So anyway right now he is in a 15gal tank I had saved for QT. I know he needs a bigger tank asap. He is right at 5" now and two years old. He is confirmed male and healthy. He is on a diet of freeze dried shrimp and live mill worms right now. He eat all of the fish she had he could eat and was fighting with an angel. This is the reason I have him now.
So what I know.
He needs a bigger tank.
He needs a heater.
He needs slightly acidic water.
He needs plant cover and places to hide.

What my plain is.
Get a 37gal tank for him.
Use artificial driftwood. (I don't like how real driftwood breaks down)
Plant heavily.
Use a ph buffer of some kind to bring my ph to 6.5-7.0 range (currently 7.6)
Get a heater for the tank and keep at 78ºF.
Also I have an AC HOB filter rated for 50gal tank and an AC for 20 gal tanks if needed

Ok so what I need to know is how does this sound and what would you recomend?

Ps. Also I'm thinking no tank mates at this time for this tank, just him.
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jaysee
Ctenapomas are great fish, but yes, they will eat small fish. And yes, IME they can get pretty grumpy when they grow up, despite them being called a shy fish by many "sources". 37 is a good size for it to be kept by itself. You could certainly build a community around it, if you upgraded to a larger tank - at least a 55 if not 75.
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D
okay thank you for that information I'm glad that size tank will work. Later on I might get a larger tank and try a large fish community. But for now I think I'll keep the tank just him. but for now what would be the best suitable diet for him?
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jeaninel
I feed mine cichlid pellets, fresh market shrimp and frozen bloodworms. As an occasional treat I'll buy her some ghost shrimp to hunt.

I wouldn't mess with the ph. My ph is 7.8 but my water us fairly soft with a kh and gh of 5. I've had my cteno for 5 years now and shes doing great. Do you know what the hardness of your water is?
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jaysee
Mine ate NLS Thera A.

Make sure you have a top with no gaps in it - they aren't called climbing perches for nothing.
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D
jeaninel said:
I feed mine cichlid pellets, fresh market shrimp and frozen bloodworms. As an occasional treat I'll buy her some ghost shrimp to hunt.

I wouldn't mess with the ph. My ph is 7.8 but my water us fairly soft with a kh and gh of 5. I've had my cteno for 5 years now and shes doing great. Do you know what the hardness of your water is?
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KH and GH is 4 drops with the API test kit. Or 71.6 ppm
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jeaninel
That should be fine. I wouldn't try to mess with the ph. Do you know what type of water your sister had him in? Is it the same water supply as you?
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jeaninel said:
That should be fine. I wouldn't try to mess with the ph. Do you know what type of water your sister had him in? Is it the same water supply as you?
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yes she is on the same well that I am.
Now our water does have a small amount of sulfur in it . That has not been a problem with any of my fish but thought Id bring that up.

He was in water with a high nitrate level before I got him. He seems more active now and his color seems better.

He also has a few battle wounds that I am treating with melafix and I'm giving him a parasite treatment as well.
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D
so I got the new tank and it set up. But I was wonderibg can applesnails or mystery snails like with him? Or will he try and eat them?
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D
Here is a vid of him in the new tank
Leaffish_zpsf84f7686.mp4 Video by daniel-e-1990 | Photobucket
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jeaninel
He's looking good. I can't get the vid to play on my phone. I'll have to check it out later.

Mine doesn't bother the nerites and mystery snail or the numerous ramshorn snails I have in with mine.

Just curious...how did you confirm yours was a male? Did you vent it or is it based off the spikes on the gills? I've read that females may have the spikes too. Not sure of the sex of mine.
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D
Yes I'm going by the gill spikes. I looked at his and the examples I found various places to make the determination. I could be wrong and without venting I guess I can not be 100% sure but I would place my confidence at > 75%.

I am concerned about his lack of appetite but as he has had two tank transitions I think he just need time. He is looking better each day though. I have provided live glass or ghost shrimp for him to eat. I will also continue to attempt pellet foods and frozen. But as he has had two transitions so he may just need some time.

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jeaninel
I like your tank. Will look great once the plants grow in a bit. Is that water wisteria on the right side? The cteno will really appreciate some tall plants for cover. Just a suggestion but a black background would really finish this tank nicely.
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D
Yes it is I have it in bith corners actually. The other plants and swords that should grow somewhat tall as well given time.
Yeah I'm debating on a planted background or a rock formation one.
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