Spotted Climbing Perch Gourami / Leopard Ctenopoma - advice needed

Hmmm....bought two little fishes this afternoon on my son's request, AFTER I established that they were dwarf gourami, peaceful and that I can keep them in my 100 liter community tank.

I get home, google them and establish they get around 15cm, are considered to be aggressive and will eat anything that can fit into their mouths (at which point they will become sushi if they eat my galaxy rasboras!)

Anyone have any experience with these little fish?

What can I expect? Do I need to find a new home for them? Tank size required for such a big little fish?

HELP, please!

 

I have one of these guys. They're awesome fish. Almost like oscars in their curiosity and intelligence but not as blatantly aggressive. They will however, eat every tiny fish in the tank. Anybody up to 1/3 of their body length is fair game. My white clouds, guppies and endlers all disappeared rather quickly and my perch went through a sudden growth spurt. They aso turn aggro on their own species apparently, so be careful keeping 2 together. I only bought 1.

Mine currently lives in a 110l with a dwarf gourami (who is being relocated soon), a male krib and a collection of bottom dwellers. The perch and krib get on great, but the perch took a serious dislike to my female krib and chased her relentlessly. Oddly, it only chases the male krib when the krib gets excited and his red colouration brightens. He's been no problem with other fish that are too big to eat, and I've seen a small adult in a community of large fish at the LFS.

My perch will be going into a 270l tank at a later stage to let him attain his adult size.

Overall, they're stunning and he's one of my favorite fish, but you do need to adapt your aquatic arrangements to suit them.

 

@Dinky your big tank will be a perfect buffet for these little guys .... Lol .... Yes, they are stunning fish. I had some long ago and fed them about 3-8 guppys each a day. They did grow fast on the dieet. If you want to keep them you should get a 4ft rather.

 

Great fish! But yeah, very predatory. I'm looking for a couple of these guys, so if you do decide to rehome them, give me a shout.

 

Looooove these guys. Have 2 at the moment. They can be a bit grumpy with each other and a few of my smaller fish have gone missing. But I've been wondering if it is possible to keep almost a school of these guys together. Would love a few more. Have mine in a 5ft community setup.

 

I want to try my guy with a polypterus, a couple african butterflies and some talking cats.

 

Tx everyone, I really appreciate the info.

Unfortunately they will have to go. Love watching them and they are beautiful but they will end up wiping out my tank!

@PsyXe - pm sent!