The Leafy Alternative
It’s a leaf fi sh, but it’s not a leaf fi sh, but it’s still a leaf fi sh. Chris Sergeant explains.
NEIL HEPWORTH
CHRIS SERGEANT
Chris works in conservation research and frequently writes for aquarium publications.
LEAF FISH. You don’t need to be a seasoned ichthyologist to fi gure the reason for this common name. But it’s not the only one with this moniker. Your typical leaf fi sh could be Monocirrhus polycanthus, the ultimate foliage mimic, or it could be the African leaf fi sh, Polycentropsis abbreviata. It could even be a spotted leaf fi sh, Ctenopoma acutirostre, more commonly advertised as the Leopard bushfi sh.