Should I buy it?
Banded leporinus
Leporinus fasciatus
Also known as: banded lep, lepo
A large nippy fish at 25 cm that actively eats plant leaves and fin-nips continuously. Bold black-and-yellow banding. Not a community fish.
Banded leporinus tank mates · 300L tank size hub
semi-aggressive · intermediate care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: caution
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Large South American cichlid setups 300L or more with robust cichlid-sized companions.
Avoid if: Planted tanks, community fish, or anything under 15 cm.
Common mistakeBuying a juvenile banded leporinus for a planted 100L community is the classic strip-and-nip story. Adults push toward 25 cm, eat soft plants, and harass slow long-finned fish once the cute stripes are gone. This is a large, semi-aggressive characin for a long 300L-class tank with robust company — not a tetra substitute.
Top things that go wrong
- Fin-nipping risk in typical community layouts. Will nip long fins or slow fish when the school is too small, bored, or kept in a short tank.
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
- Shrimp & snails. Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Shops still place banded leporinus next to community tetras because the juvenile looks like a striped oddball. They are large, plant-eating, fin-interested fish that outgrow almost every mixed community that buys them. “Peaceful when young” is not a care sheet.
- 2.A trio in 120 L. The dominant fish mangles every long-finned tank mate within reach.
- 3.Housed with tiny tetras. A banded 'leaf picking' nibble becomes a missing tail fan.
- 4.Keep a real school, strong flow, and long sightlines. Nippy behaviour spikes in understocked or cramped tanks. Size the tank to a measured footprint and the 20 to 30 cm adult length.
About this species
Banded leporinus are striped Anostomidae that grow to 20 to 30 cm and move fast in groups. They nip fins in the wrong set-ups. Tank size for this fish is measured in length and litres, not a 100 L 'rainbow' experiment that ends in shredded fins.
- Silver dollar300L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Denison's / red-line torpedo barb250L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Giant danio200L min · same fish family
- Rainbow / red-tailed black shark200L min · same fish family
- Rosy Barb180L min · same fish family
- Scissortail Rasbora150L min · same fish family
- Gold / Chinese barb120L min · same fish family
- Odessa Barb120L min · same fish family
- Angelfishalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Electric Blue Acaraalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Firemouth Cichlidalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Opaline gouramialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Rainbow / red-tailed black sharkalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Senegal bichiralso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
No reverse lookups listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease22
- Peacefulness8
- Community fit0
- Small-tank fit66
- Hardiness54
- Energy86
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Avoid “one of everything” baskets — Banded leporinus belongs in a plan built around territory, line-of-sight breaks, and matched water chemistry.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Banded leporinus
No unconditional “safe” tank mates are listed for Banded leporinus — this shortlist has CAUTION pairings that need specific conditions and RISKY pairings to avoid. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Bala / silver shark, Boesemani Rainbowfish, Congo Tetra, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami. Avoid (RISKY): Chili Rasbora, Ember Tetra, Neon Tetra. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
None listed. Use the pair checker before mixing.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
No safe-mate list on this record yet. Use the fish index to find species with similar care, then run a pair check before you buy.
Behaviour and temperament
Banded leporinus are semi-aggressive schoolers that stay calmer in a proper group and turn on slow fins when under-stocked or bored. They are not midwater dither fish. Plan robust, similarly active neighbours and accept plant damage as ownership, not a mystery pest.
What sets them off
- Small groups or boredom
- Long-finned or slow tank mates
- Bare tanks without structure
Fin nipping: Will nip long fins or slow fish when the school is too small, bored, or kept in a short tank.
Predation: May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
Territory: Holds a patch (cave, corner, or surface). Break sight lines so neighbours can pass.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- A group of five or more patrols midwater and rasps wood and soft leaves between feeds.
- In-school chasing is common; a lone fish often redirects that energy at tank mates.
- Hiding all day in a short tank usually means the footprint is wrong, not a shy personality.
- Torn plants plus clamped tank mates means the stocking list failed before the filter did.
- Fin nipping on slow long-finned fish is expected when the school is thin or the tank is planted for show.
- Territorial flashes at feeding time are normal in a crowded midwater lane.
- Remove angels, bettas, or fancy guppies the first week fins show damage.
- A planted show tank that cannot spare leaves is the wrong home — rehome the leporinus.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Banded leporinus are heavy omnivores with a real plant and biofilm habit. Algae wafers, spirulina foods, and blanched vegetables matter as much as pellets; a protein-only diet still leaves them rasping soft leaves. Feed sinking plant foods daily in a group, and expect some planted décor to be food whether you planned it or not.
Shrimp & snails
Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
Schooling species — buy 5+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 22 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 5.5 to 7.2 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 3 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 300L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 5 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 22–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 300L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 1200L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 22–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Banded leporinus does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 22–28°C and pH 5.5–7.2:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Leporinus fasciatus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Leporinus fasciatus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Leporinus fasciatus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Banded leporinus
- How big do Banded leporinus get?
- Banded leporinus adults run about 20–30 cm. In home tanks they usually land near 25 cm — plan space and filtration for that, not the juvenile in the shop bag.
- What size tank does Banded leporinus need?
- 300L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 400L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Banded leporinus aggressive?
- Banded leporinus are semi-aggressive schoolers that stay calmer in a proper group and turn on slow fins when under-stocked or bored. They are not midwater dither fish. Plan robust, similarly active neighbours and accept plant damage as ownership, not a mystery pest.
- Do Banded leporinus need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 5+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Banded leporinus?
- Buying a juvenile banded leporinus for a planted 100L community is the classic strip-and-nip story. Adults push toward 25 cm, eat soft plants, and harass slow long-finned fish once the cute stripes are gone. This is a large, semi-aggressive characin for a long 300L-class tank with robust company — not a tetra substitute.
- What fish can live with Banded leporinus?
- This profile currently has no curated unconditional safe-mates shortlist for Banded leporinus. Other species may still return GOOD in the pair checker, so check the exact pair rather than treating this shortlist as exhaustive. Bala / silver shark, Boesemani Rainbowfish, Congo Tetra, Corydoras Catfish are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid Chili Rasbora, Ember Tetra, Neon Tetra (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.