Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): what water temperature does it need?

The atlas records 22–26 °C for this species.

Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): what water chemistry suits it?

pH 6.5–7.5, general hardness (GH) 6–8 °dH.

Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): where does it come from?

It is recorded from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand.

Oddballs & Brackish · Leaf fish · Nandus

Nandus nandus

(Hamilton, 1822)

Gangetic leaffish, Mottled nandus, Nandus

Formerly known as Coius nandus.

Full synonymy (3)

Bedula hamiltonii Gray 1835 · junior synonym
Coius nandus Hamilton 1822 · original combination
Nandus marmoratus Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1831 · junior synonym

Source: Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Fricke, Eschmeyer & Van der Laan, eds.), California Academy of Sciences.

3 cited sourcesName checked against Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes, update of 21 Sep 2026

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2009

EXEWCRENVUNTLC

CARESNOT LISTED

EWCRENVUNTnot on the priority list

Type localityPonds of the Gangetic provinces, Indiaper Catalog of Fishes

Scientific size8 in20 cm total length

Temperature72–79 °F22–26 °C

pH6.5–7.5neutral

Hardness (GH)moderately soft107–143 ppm

Depth—not recorded

DietLive fish, insects and large invertebrates

BreedingEgg layer; up to 300 eggs per FishBase

Sexual dimorphismNot documentedNot documented for this species

PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

Nandus nandus, the Gangetic leaffish, is an ambush predator of ditches, ponds and slow waters from Pakistan to Thailand. FishBase gives a maximum of 8 in TL and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

What's in the name

Nandus nandus — NAN-dus NAN-dus

Nandus

nandusBengali — local name for the fish

Taxonomy & naming

Hamilton described the species in 1822 as Coius nandus from the ponds of the Gangetic provinces in India. It is the type species of Nandus in the family Nandidae, the Asian leaffishes, which differ from the South American and African leaffishes in their own families.

Morphology

A mottled, leaf-shaped fish with a large, extendable mouth. FishBase gives a maximum length of 8 in TL.

Habitat

FishBase lists it as a freshwater and brackish benthopelagic fish of tropical water, 22 to 26 C, pH 6.5 to 7.5 and 6 to 8 dH. It occurs from Pakistan to Thailand, frequently in ditches and inundated fields, and in standing or sluggish water of lakes, reservoirs and canals.

Feeding

A predator that feeds on aquatic insects and fishes. In aquaria it takes live fish and large invertebrates and some can be trained to frozen foods.

Mating

Courtship has not been described in detail.

Breeding

FishBase records that a female produces up to 300 eggs. Parental care is not described.

In the aquarium

A patient ambush hunter for a planted tank with roots, leaves and dim light. Keep it only with fish too large to swallow. The ranges of 22 to 26 C, pH 6.5 to 7.5 and 6 to 8 dH come from FishBase. The species is a prized food fish and is sold fresh in its home range.

Conservation

The IUCN assessed Nandus nandus as Least Concern in 2009.

Common questions

Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): how big does it get?: Up to 8 in total length (TL).
Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): what water temperature does it need?: The atlas records 72–79 °F for this species.
Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): what water chemistry suits it?: pH 6.5–7.5, general hardness (GH) 6–8 °dH.
Gangetic leaffish (Nandus nandus): where does it come from?: It is recorded from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand.

Biotope tank mates

Atlas fish recorded from the same waters, whose recorded temperature and pH ranges overlap this one’s and whose adults are within twice its size. A shortlist to research, not a stocking plan: temperament, territory and diet are not checked. Other genera only; this genus is compared below.

Banded gouramiTrichogaster bejeus
Shares Indo-Gangetic Plain · ranges overlap 72–79 °F, pH 6.5–7.5, 107–143 ppm · adults 5 in TL
Mottled loachCobitis turio
Shares Indus basin · ranges overlap 72–79 °F, pH 6.5–7.5 · adults 6 in TL
Mottled loachParacanthocobitis botia
Shares Indus basin · ranges overlap 72–79 °F, pH 6.5–7.5 · adults 6 in TL
Erethistes hara
Shares Ganges basin · ranges overlap 72–79 °F, pH 6.5–7.5 · adults 5 in TL
Spearfin loachAcanthocobitis pavonacea
Shares Ganges basin · ranges overlap 72–77 °F, pH 6.5–7.5 · adults 6 in SL
Victory LoachSchistura scaturigina
Shares Ganges basin · ranges overlap 72–77 °F, pH 6.5–7.5 · adults 4 in TL

Related species compared · Nandus

Species	Adult size	Temperature	pH	Hardness	IUCN
Gangetic leaffishNandus nandusthis species	8 in TL	72–79 °F	pH 6.5–7.5	107–143 ppm	LC
Bornean leaffishNandus nebulosus	4.5 in TL	72–79 °F	—	—	LC

Recorded ranges from each species’ own page; hardness is the tolerance its sources give, not a measurement of the water it lives in.

Also from the Ganges basin

Sources

Naming authority: Nandus nandus in Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes ↗

Last reviewed 2026-10-05.

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Nandus nandus. Aquarist Atlas.https://www.aquaristatlas.com/oddballs/nandus-nandus/

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Where it has been recorded

42 georeferenced records (GBIF). Each point is a field observation or museum specimen — pan and zoom to explore where this species turns up. The coordinates come straight from GBIF and are often rounded or tied to the nearest town or river landing, so a dot can sit just beside the actual water rather than in it.

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