Ctenopoma is a genus of African labyrinth fish in the family Anabantidae, the climbing perches, related to the gouramis and bettas of Asia through the shared anabantoid lineage. The atlas's 14 species range from small, secretive stream fish under 1.5 in to species pushing 8 in, and are found across Central and West Africa, with atlas records from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Angola, and Chad — largely the Congo Basin and neighboring West African drainages. Like other anabantoids, Ctenopoma carry a labyrinth organ above the gills that lets them gulp atmospheric air and survive in oxygen-poor swamps and backwaters, and most species wear mottled, leaf-brown patterning that breaks up their outline among submerged wood and vegetation.
In the aquarium hobby the best-known member by far is Ctenopoma acutirostre, the leopard bushfish, prized for its striking spotted pattern and its habit of hanging motionless like a dead leaf before ambushing prey — a patient, predatory temperament that sets the genus apart from the peaceful gouramis most keepers know. Ctenopoma kingsleyae (tailspot ctenopoma) and a few other species occasionally reach the trade, though most of the 14 atlas species are seen rarely, if at all, outside specialist or research collections. Their predatory, sometimes territorial nature means they are usually kept with sturdy tankmates rather than small community fish. The atlas's IUCN tally — eight species Least Concern against one Endangered and several still Not Evaluated or Data Deficient — points to a genus that looks mostly stable for now but is poorly monitored across much of its range.
Taxonomically, Ctenopoma has been narrowed over time: a number of smaller-bodied species once placed in the genus were later split out into the separate genus Microctenopoma, leaving Ctenopoma itself as broadly the larger-growing lineage within the group. Breeding in the genus is not as thoroughly documented in the hobby as it is for Asian gouramis; unlike many labyrinth fish famous for elaborate bubble nests, Ctenopoma species are not generally known for that behavior, and detailed captive-breeding reports remain comparatively scarce.