Striped Leporinus (Leporinus striatus)

The Striped Leporinus is an attractive fish with a peaceful demeanour. They are very hardy and active but can be quite skittish on occasions. These fish make an excellent member of a community aquarium with medium to large-sized fish and seem to do better when kept in groups.

The Striped Leporinus is a perfect addition to a South American biotope aquarium with larger fish like Silver Dollar Tetras, Giant Danios, Emerald Catfish, Shovelnose Catfish, Headstanders and Plecos. You can also house them with South American Cichlids like Severums, Temporalis, Oscars, and Geophagus. These fish are fast swimmers and usually stay out of situations by just swimming away, preventing them from being bullied.

You should, however, avoid keeping smaller fish like Neon Tetras, Killifish and Micro Rasboras with the Striped Leporinus, and you should not keep Shrimp with these fish as they will all be seen as a snack.

Due to their somewhat nervous disposition and size, you should keep Striped Leporinus in a well-decorated aquarium of at least 200 litres. In addition, the aquarium should have plenty of hiding spaces formed from driftwood and smooth rocks to encourage the natural behaviours of these fish; otherwise, they will place themselves in a corner and rush to hide at any sign of danger.

Plants in the aquarium are not recommended as these fish will eat them, although you could use more natural-looking artificial plants if required. The aquarium will also need to have a tight-fitting lid as they are excellent jumpers.

While not as impressive as the more popular Banded Leporinus, The Striped Leporinus is worthwhile to keep because of its peaceful character, its hardiness, and the decent size it can achieve.

The Striped Leporinus has a torpedo-shaped beige to light brown body with contrasting solid black horizontal stripes. As juveniles, these fish have four horizontal stripes; however, as they mature, the top two bars disappear, and only two lines can be seen; a thick, dark stripe in the middle of the body and a slightly fainter one below it. In addition, these fish have transparent dorsal, ventral, pectoral, adipose anal and caudal fins, but you may see some redness in some individuals.

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Feeding

In the home aquarium, the Striped Leporinus will readily accept most good quality dried foods such as granules, flakes and sinking pellets. These modern food products have been developed to provide all adequate nutrition to maintain your fish's health and dietary requirements.

Providing additional foodstuffs such as live, frozen, and freeze-dried meals such as bloodworm, daphnia, and tubifex once or twice a week will provide additional benefits to your fish's health and well-being but is not a must for this fish.

It should be noted that bloodworms should only be given as an occasional treat and should not be used as the staple diet as they are difficult for fish to digest and can potentially cause blockages.

This fish is an omnivore in the wild, meaning it will consume some vegetable matter. Although most modern fish foods take this into account and include them in their products, you can still supplement your fish's diet with blanched vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and zucchini. Ensure you do not overfeed your fish and remove any leftovers the following day.

Sexual Dimorphism

It can be pretty challenging to differentiate between the male and female Striped Leporinus while young; however, once mature, the females usually grow a little larger than males and have much rounder bodies compared to the slimmer males. The males also develop red/orange throat colouration and overall brighter colours.