Black banded leporinus - Leporinus fasciatus
Scientific name: Leporinus fasciatus
Common name: Black banded leporinus
Family: Anostomidae
Usual size in fish tanks: 24 - 30 cm (9.45 - 11.81 inch)
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Recommended pH range for the species: 5.5 - 7.5
Recommended water hardness (dGH): 4 - 18°N (71.43 - 321.43ppm)
0°C 32°F30°C 86°F
Recommended temperature: 23 - 29 °C (73.4 - 84.2°F)
The way how these fish reproduce: Spawning
Where the species comes from: South America
Temperament to its own species: aggressive/territorial
Temperament toward other fish species: aggressive/territorial
Usual place in the tank: Bottom levels
Origin
The Black banded leoprinus is found in many rivers throughout Central and South America, especially the Amazon River, the Orinoco River and the Rio de la Plata. Colour variations will occur dependant on its local habitat.
Lifespan
If proper care is given, Leporinus fasciatus can live for more than 5 years.
Description
This is not one for the beginner aquarist; The Black banded leporinus will nip at fins, jump out of the aquarium and grow to be as large as 8-12 inches in length. They have teeth so beware. Like the rings of a tree will reveal its age, so will the bands of a Black Banded Leoprinus, but not quite as easily as a tree. This fish will have 5 bands when it is young. When this fish turns one year old, the first band will split into 2. Every 6 months another band will split until the Black Banded Leoprinus has 10 bands at the age of 3 years.
Décor for the aquarium is not essential but for aesthetic effects driftwood or bogwood can be added, the addition of plants can be tried but these may be ravaged by this fish so add them at your own risk.
The water will need to be well oxygenated so aim the outlets from the filters towards the water surface and make sure that you do use a tight fitting lid as mentioned above they can leap out of the aquarium if given the chance. The water quality needs to be kept high so regular water changes must be performed and keep any décor cleaned on a regular basis, uneaten food should also be removed from the aquarium before it gets the chance to decay and spoil the water.
These are best kept in groups but if the group is too small they can squabble so with smaller aquariums keep a single specimen to prevent this.
Food
The Black banded leporinus is mostly herbivorous and will accept algae flakes and wafers but they prefer to have fresh veggies. A good meal for them might consist of cooked peas or lettuce. They might even accept bloodworms and brine shrimp even though they are primarily vegetable eaters. Avoid meaty foods as they will have trouble digesting these, never add live foods but strangely enough if kept with small tank mates they will predate on these.
Sexing
There is no proven way of sexing these fish until the are fully mature, at this stage the females will be larger than the males and develop a rounder body shape.
Breeding
Little is known about the breeding habits of the Black banded leporinus. They rarely ever breed in captivity but it is known that they are egg layers.
Pictures
Bought by aqua-fish.net from jjphoto.dk
Q&A
One March 23th 2011 the following question and answer was added here due to merging aqua-fish.net/answers with related pages.
What size tank do you need for a Leporinus?
Answer: These fish can grow up to 12 inches; the recommended minimum tank size is 48 inches in length. A lid is a must as these fish can jump out of open topped tanks.