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Encyclopedia / Oddballs & Predators / Amazon leaffish
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Variations

1 kinds · tap one for a closer look

Amazon leaffish

Monocirrhus polyacanthus · Leaf fish, Amazon leaf fish, South american leaf fish, Monocirrhus

Will swallow any fish that fits its mouth, including neons and fry; keep with fish too large to eat or alone.

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10 cmBody length, without tail ✓
24–28 °CTemperature ✓
5–7pH ✓
68 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • Amazon leaffish eats animals up to about 7 cm. Neon tetra only grows to 2.5 cm.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
Not recommended
  • Amazon leaffish eats animals up to about 7 cm. Cardinal tetra only grows to 3 cm.
Not recommended
  • Amazon leaffish eats animals up to about 7 cm. Black neon tetra only grows to 3.2 cm.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 24 °C.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like peacock cichlid need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Their pH needs don't quite meet (5–7 vs 7.5–8.6). Aim between the two and keep it steady.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

74 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓1–10 dGH
Group size ?Can live alone
Temperament ?Aggressive
Swims at ?Middle
Care level ✓Hard
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–6 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Will swallow any fish that fits its mouth, including neons and fry; keep with fish too large to eat or alone. Slow-moving and easily outcompeted at feeding time.

Food

Live feeder fish and shrimp at first; many can be weaned to frozen foods.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Difficult to sex; the female looks plumper when full of eggs, and during spawning the male darkens and the female shows an ovipositor.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Egg-guarder · Hard

Egg-layer; a single pair spawns on the underside of a broad leaf or overhanging rock, and the male fans and guards the eggs. Remove the female after spawning, and the male once eggs hatch.

Pairing

Keep a pair in a quiet tank with leaves.

Setup

100 L tank with dim light, floating plants, driftwood and a flat leaf or slate.

What starts it

Warm water, plenty of live food and a water change.

Eggs

Up to 300 eggs; they hatch in 3-4 days. Fry take brine shrimp nauplii, then fish fry, and are cannibalistic.

Raising the fry

Fry feed on live baby brine shrimp, then small live food; they are prone to cannibalism.

Common mistakes
  • Feeding only dead food
  • Housing with large fish
  • Strong filter flow
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionAmazon basin – Brazil, Peru, Colombia & Bolivia
Rivers and lakesAmazon and Rio Negro basins
HabitatStill, leaf-filled margins of blackwater and clearwater streams
Native rangeAbout 1,800 km across
See it on the world map

The story of the amazon leaffish

A dead-leaf mimic from the Amazon and Orinoco basins, complete with a leaf-stalk-like barbel on the lower lip. It drifts head-down towards prey and shoots out a tube-shaped mouth to suck in fish almost as big as itself. It usually takes only live food, mainly live fish.

Austrian ichthyologist Johann Heckel described the Amazon leaffish in 1840. Its uncanny resemblance to a drifting dead leaf has made it one of the best-known examples of fish camouflage.

First described by Johann J. Heckel in 1840. Named for 'Monocirrhus' refers to the single barbel on its chin.

  • Its chin barbel looks like a leaf stalk.
  • It can open its mouth extremely wide to swallow prey.
  • It drifts slowly toward prey, perfectly mimicking a leaf.

Sources

16 facts checked with sources