Amazon leaffish
Monocirrhus polyacanthus
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The Amazon leaffish (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela) mimics a dead leaf: it lives in shallow, still water among fallen leaves and drifts head-down towards its prey. With a mouth that shoots out like a tube, it swallows fish whole. It accepts only live food. The female lays up to 300 eggs under a leaf or rock, and the male tends them until they hatch in 3 to 4 days.
- Scientific name
- Monocirrhus polyacanthus
- Family
- Polycentridae
Fact sheet
General
- Water
- Freshwater
- Group
- Fish
Taxonomy
- Family
- Polycentridae
- Order
- Ovalentaria/misc
- Synonyms
- Monocirrhus mimophyllus
Origin
- Native region
- América do Sul
Water
- Temperature
- 23–29 °C
- pH
- 5–6.8
- General hardness (GH)
- 1–10 °dGH
Size and lifespan
- Adult size
- 10 cm
- Minimum tank (volume)
- 68 L
- Minimum tank (length)
- 75 cm
Behavior
- Swimming level
- Middle
- Diet
- Carnivore
Reproduction
- Breeding strategy
- Substrate or cave spawner
Conservation and trade
- IUCN status
- Least concern (LC)
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