Frideric's Leporinus Care Guide
Leporinus friderici is a large, widespread headstander with three dark blotches on a silvery body, feeding mainly on fruits, seeds and termites.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Leporinus friderici is a large, widespread headstander of the family Anostomidae. According to FishBase the silvery body bears three lateral blotches: the largest beneath the dorsal fin, a fainter second above the anal-fin base, and a third at the caudal base. It reaches about 40 cm standard length and is described as potamodromous.
Taxonomy
- Family: Anostomidae
- Genus: Leporinus
- Scientific name: Leporinus friderici (Bloch, 1794)
Habitat
FishBase records the species from Suriname and the Amazon River basin, with reports from Argentina. It is a benthopelagic, migratory freshwater fish of South American rivers.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 500 L
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 6.0-7.8
- GH: 5-18 °dGH
- Group size: 5 or more if kept in numbers
- Lifespan: 8-15 years
- Provide a large tank with current and a secure lid
Diet
FishBase reports that Leporinus friderici feeds primarily on fruits, seeds and termites, with food crushed by four strong teeth on each half-jaw. In the aquarium it requires a varied diet with a strong plant and fruit component, supplemented with prepared foods; it will nibble soft aquatic plants.
Compatibility
This is a semi-aggressive, mid-water fish that needs a spacious tank and robust companions such as large cichlids. Small fish and delicate plants are unsuitable, and it can be assertive toward tankmates as it grows.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2020).
Frideric's Leporinus (Leporinus friderici) Breeding Guide
Overview
Leporinus friderici is a large anostomid occurring throughout much of the Amazon river system in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, plus coastal drainages in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Trinidad, reaching about 350-400 mm standard length (Seriously Fish). Members of the genus are described as predominantly benthic omnivores feeding on algae, invertebrates and organic detritus in nature (Seriously Fish).
Sexing
Reliable sexing characters for this species were not present in the opened source. Seriously Fish notes the fish exhibits regional morphological variation depending on locality, but does not describe consistent external sex differences.
Breeding Setup
Seriously Fish does not provide reproduction information for this species, so no reliable home-aquarium spawning setup can be described. Aquarium specimens accept most foods but benefit from lower-protein diets (Seriously Fish).
Common Challenges
With captive reproduction unreported (Seriously Fish) and an adult size of up to about 40 cm requiring a very large aquarium, home breeding of this species is effectively undocumented and impractical for most aquarists.