They have been known to eat smaller fish that share its tank and to nip at the fins of other small fish. They should be kept in large schools. They will sometimes quarrel with each other, but less so if the school is larger. Overall, they fit well into community aquariums with larger fish. Black Banded Leporinus should be kept in large tanks, with plenty of rocks and plants to play in.
Live plants are acceptable.
Beware, however, as the Black Banded Leporinus enjoys eating live plants. The Java Fern is a good choice to keep with the Black Banded Leporinus. At a mature age, the Black Banded Leporinus can grow to be quite large, up to twelve inches. In addition, as they grow older, their defining black and yellow horizontal stripes divide by two, increasing the number of stripes on their body. The number of stripes will peak at ten.