leaf fish input

[B.rian]

does anyone here keep leaf fish? i am thinking about picking up a pair, but wanted to see if anyone had any experiences to share. would other fish know to leave them alone since they are venomous? i have one fish that is aggressive to new comers, but it should leave the leaf fish alone since they could sting him right? also, are they like anglers and will eat anything that can fit into their mouths? what about crabs and snails?

 

[Greg Hiller]

I really don't know that much about them, but aren't they fish eaters? I don't think your other fish will have much of a problem with the spines. I think the only problem they will have is if they are small enough to fit into the mouth. Scott Michaels book has a lot of good info on them.

 

[JeremyR]

We have one in our nano.. the mouth is really small, so they aren't a threat to fish with any size to them. The books all list the venom as much more potent than most similar fish, in the possibly fatal category. The fish has great personality and I really like him, but I sometimes wonder about the liability of selling fish that you know could be fatal to someone... I'm often surprised that there haven't been any major lawsuits in this trade over fish like that.. someone got paid for spilling mcd's coffee on their lap in this country.

 

[B.rian]

i have read reviews on wetwebmedia and a few other sites, and most people say that they are venomous, but not deadly unless you have an allergic reaction to their sting. from what i have read, most of those who have such an allergic reaction also have allergic reactions to insects and other venomous fish. i know this is all theoretical knowledge, since i do not have first hand experiences. they seem to be safe with most fish, just not crabs. jeremy, do you have hermits in the tank with the leaf fish? i can't really see them swallowing a shell (maybe emeralds or something similar). do you have anything else in the tank with them? how big is it? from what i have read, they max out at 4".

 

[JeremyR]

We have a small eel (maybe 6 or 7") in with him and a few crabs. The leaf mostly eats mysis, he doesn't even go for the frozen krill that we feed the eel. I had him in with a royal gramma for awhile too.