Leaf fish are carnivorous and only eats live foods like guppies or culled goldfish.I suggest you do some research first because they require a lot of care.
You are incorrect. The species we are most likely talking about here is the the African spotted leaf fish (
Ctenopoma acutirostre). I know someone who has one, and I plan to get them myself one day. They do not need live food. They may come requiring it but can be weaned off of it easily. Some even accept flake food.
While they aren't a beginner's fish, this fish which goes by many names including leopard ctenopoma and leopard bushfish is a pretty neat guy. They are closely related to betta and posses a labyrinth organ, too. It will get about 6 inches long and needs at least a 55 gallon tank.
It is predatory and shouldn't be housed with fish small enough to fit in its mouth. But it also shouldn't be kept with large fish as it is rather shy. It makes a good addition to an African oddballs biotope with smaller bichirs (
Polypterus spp), African butterfly fish (
Pantodon buchholzi), and african knife fish (
Xenomystus nigri).
More reading on this neat fish
You should also know that there are two other fish often called leaf fish. These are the
African leaf fish and the
South American leaf fish, but neither are spotted like the leopard leaf fish. These are the leaf fish species that require live food. They are wild caught and rather sensitive fish.