Luciocephalus pulcher

A long head and huge, highly protrusible mouth suit motionless ambushes in the middle and upper water.

Its long head and huge, highly protrusible mouth suit motionless ambushes in the middle and upper water. Unlike L. aura, its flanks lack dense iridescent spots. Males mouthbrood.

Adult length: Up to 20 cm (standard length, without the tail fin)
Water temperature: 22–26 °C
pH: 6–7.5
Hardness: 0–10 dGH

Natural habitat: Inhabits streams and flooded forest among dense vegetation, also occurring in peat swamps.

Requires stable acidic water, up to pH 6, and a reliable live-food supply.

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Social behaviour and territory

A species-only setup is preferred. Group members need similar body sizes and ample space or may swallow one another. A basic tank size is 120 × 30 × 30 cm.

Diet and feeding

Mainly requires live food and is difficult to wean onto dead food. Live shrimp, earthworms or insects can be tried; any fish-based feeding plan requires healthy, reliably sourced prey.

Sources