Vital Statistics

Description

Origin: Amazon Basin, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbi, Venezuela

Size: 3.5 inches total length

Temperament: timid, but predatory

Sociability: not safe with smaller fishes; more than one may be kept together

Breeding: lays eggs on underside of large leaves; male guards eggs

Sexing: females have more rounded belly in breeding condition

Diet: carnivorous, live foods are required

Water Chemistry: pH 5.0–6.0; dH 5–8

Temperature: 72–78°F

That which looks like a leaf isn't always so! The Amazon leaf fish is a near perfect mimic of a dead leaf, complete with serrated leaf edges and a stem at one end. Color varies greatly according to mood and background, ranging from light tan to rust to nearly black. Often the fish displays a pattern that resembles leaf veins.

The fish is an ambush predator that hovers near the leaf litter on the bottom. The closed mouth of a leaf fish gives no hint of its size when fully opened! If prey wanders too close, the large jaws of the leaf fish hinge open, and the voluminous mouth unfolds and telescopes forward in a snap to vacuuum in the unsuspecting prey.

Even small fishes that don't wander too closely are in danger. The pectoral fins of the leaf fish are completely transparent, allowing it to swim slowly and imperceptibly closer—like a drifting leaf—until the prey is within range.