All fish / Pristolepididae

Banded Leaffish

Pristolepis fasciata

Also known as striped tiger leaffish, catopra, malayan leaffish, tiger leaffish, banded leaf fish, pristolepis, ปลาหมอช้างเหยียบ, patong, ikan patong, プリストレピス・ファスキアタ, sepatung, ikan patung

A deep-bodied, laterally compressed perch-like fish with a golden brown body crossed by dark vertical bars and a long spiny dorsal fin. It is kept for its hardy nature, steady appetite and calm, deliberate behaviour in larger community tanks with sizeable tankmates.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

15 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

6 to 7.5

Smallest tank

200 litres

Keep as

Singly, in a pair or in a small group in a large tank

Diet

Omnivore: shrimp, worms, insect larvae, small fish, pellets and some plant matter

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

8 to 10 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Southeast Asia: Mekong and Chao Phraya basins, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo

Breeding

An egg scatterer that spawns in open water with no parental care. Captive breeding is rarely reported and most fish in the trade are wild caught.

Good to know

It will eat small fish and shrimp, so keep it only with tankmates too large to swallow. It is also a food fish in its range and is sometimes confused with true leaffishes of the family Nandidae.