Leaf fish possibly a pair?

[CACAdmin]

I'm hoping my leaf fish are a pair. They were both the same size when I got them but one is now larger than the other. They normally never get near each other... they hang out at opposite corners of the tank and even when feeding keep a respectful distance. Today the smaller one (guessing it's the male) came to visit and displayed and then curved his body towards the possible 'female' getting within less than an inch of her. Then they hung out together for about half an hour. I'm hoping this is possibly a pre-spawning overture. Who knows? ... maybe it's not and they actually do visit one another regularly when I'm not around.:Dunno:

They did not even seem to be deterred when I snapped a dozen pics trying to get one where the flash didn't reflect (hard because they were in the corner of the tank).

Here's the best one I could get:
http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/jb_images/leaffish-duo.jpg

[Melody]

Nice shot! According to what I've read, the female will be more rounded and you might be able to spot an ovipositor when she's in breeding condition. They'll lay eggs on the underside of a leaf or on a rock and then the female has to go live with her Mother because the male gets protective.... something like that...lol. I know absolutely nothing about them other than what I picked up when you first got them, but I thought the info might be helpful. Good luck with the hundreds of eggs!

[Pamelajo]

Fingers crossed for you. Keep us posted!

[CACAdmin]

Thanks for the info Melody. I'm not worried about 100's of eggs as not only do the adults munch the fry, but the fry grow at different rates and the larger ones like to dine on their smaller sibblings. :err:

And from what I've heard, you're right that I will have to seperate the mama from the rest as papa will not tolerate having her around to interfere. I think I would be lucky to raise any, but if they do spawn, I will try. Just checked with my trusty magnifying glas and can't see an ovipositor so maybe he was just over for a visit to check her out. Time will tell I guess.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed Pam. It may be a while before I have any news but I'll definitely keep you posted.

[wut?]

Cool fish :yes:
I haven't seen one of those guys before, hope all goes well for you:wink:

[CACAdmin]

They are Monocirrhus polyacanthus (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4723) or Barbeled Leaf Fish. They are carnivores and will only eat live fish so needless to say their only tank mates (unless on the menu) are adult BN's (too big to be dinner:laugh: ). They are neat fish in that they have a fantastic range of camouflage colors. You can see some pics I took in the profile. (see link above).

I had never seen them before or since but when I came across them I was fascinated and so researched them and decided to buy 2 (hoping I just might get a male and a female... difficult to say... but I guess time will tell.)

[wut?]

That's awsome! what a wild fish! Thanks:wink:

[Namor]

Great pic Jay.

Not only are all my digits and limbs crossed for ya,
but after gawking at my avatar too long, so are my eyes.:twitcy:

-Best of luck!

[CACAdmin]

Thanks Layton.

but after gawking at my avatar too long, so are my eyes.:twitcy:


:laugh:

[CACAdmin]

No real news, but the two leaf fish are spending much more time together. Even if they don't spawn, this is great as I the one I'm guessing is a male, is normally always hanging out in the far back corner of the tank so that I only see 'him' if I actually look for him. (or when I've just added 'dinner' to the tank.)