It’s become increasingly transparent! The Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus vitreolus) is a winner in the freshwater fish-keeping hobby.
Like a ghostly apparition, this species will add a sense of awe and wonder to your tank. Not to mention a little bit of biological intrigue.
Found in the wild in brackish waters of countries in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, they thrive in heavily planted tanks alongside other non-aggressive fish species.
Also known in the trade as the Ghost Catfish or the Phantom Catfish, it should not be confused with its larger and more aggressive relative, K.bicirrhis.
With fully transparent bodies, it’s a window into the inner workings of your fish and their physiology. In addition, they have almost imperceptible caudal fins, which are where they get part of their scientific name from.
We will now delve into what type of care these interesting and active catfish require, along with some of the characteristics that make them so popular.
Glass Catfish Behavior
Unlike most catfish, Glass Catfish are not bottom dwellers!
In another twist of events, they are even social and enjoy schooling, which is highly unusual for a catfish species. So far, so interesting.
They will also be found actively swimming in the middle layer of your tank once they settle into their new surroundings as long as they have enough plantlike to hide in and around in between bursts of activity.
Seeing a group of Glass Catfish schooling is pretty memorable. Their skeletal structure and organs are about all you can see, zooming around the tank, which makes for an interesting talking point with other observers.
Their peaceful nature enables them to live harmoniously with most other non-aggressive fish that would thrive in similar water parameters.
It’s important to ensure you do keep them in groups, though, as a single Glass Catfish will feel stressed at being unable to pal around with its own kind — groups of five or more suit this fish best to keep them happy and stress-free.
Glass Catfish can be timid on arrival into a new tank setup, so it’s important to provide them with enough plants and hiding areas to build up their confidence.
Glass Catfish Lifespan
If you cater to the needs of your Glass Catfish, you could expect them to live for around 7 – 8 years. The quality of their tank conditions will impact their lifespan, as always, so you can expect a longer life if you meet their requirements meticulously.
We will discuss more on tank requirements a little later in this article.
Glass Catfish Appearance
Glass Catfish can grow to 4 – 6 inches in length at full maturity.
We’ve already established that they have transparent bodies that reveal their skeletons and internal organs. But they have some other markedly different characteristics too.
They do possess two protruding barbels, which define a catfish. They can pick up on magnetic fields in the water, which can make them quite sensitive to water conditions.
They also do not have scales or any pigment on the body, which probably sounds obvious as they would impede their transparency.
But they have a complete lack of dorsal fin, which is most unusual and a very small and hard to even notice caudal fin. What they lack in other fins they make up for with a full body length anal fin that has 48 to 55 rays within.
In the right low lighting, which they prefer, you may be able to see iridescence on their pigment-less skin, which looks amazing as they school.
The Glass Catfish is transparent, but not without the ability to dazzle the observer.
Glass Catfish Habitat And Tank Requirements
We ideally want to achieve optimum health for fish we keep in captivity by closely mimicking their natural habitat. Their wild origins are the brackish streams and rivers of South East Asia with moderately moving currents.
Let’s look at some specifics that are needed to provide these fish with a great quality of life that best suits them for optimum health.
Tank Conditions
Glass by name, and glass by nature. These fish have a fragile reputation that is worth noting here. Consistency is key for keeping your Glass Catfish on an even keel that won’t end up with some unintended fatalities.
Expect to have testing kits for water parameters at the ready and prepare to give them a lot of use. These fish do not handle fluctuations in pH, chemicals, or temperature well.
This is why they are not best suited to beginners of the hobby and are best left to the more experienced hobbyist.
For substrate, consider using sand or small rounded gravel, nothing sharp that can damage their sensitive barbels when they do venture to the bottom.
Plenty of vegetation is ideal for these guys, so you’ll want a heavily planted tank that allows for open swimming action.
Hornwort, Java Fern, Java Moss are perfectly poised to provide your Glass Catfish with the cover and plant life they will enjoy. This will also assist with the oxygenation of your tank too.
Floating plants also work really well to keep lighting conditions low as they are not fond of bright light as long as they don’t dangle too deep in the middle section where they prefer to swim and school.
Decor like smooth driftwood and rocks and caves will keep your Glass Catfish less stressed for times they want to hide or be on their own.
Canister or hang-on-back filtration works best and won’t create too much water disturbance. Consider an under gravel filter in addition to reduce bioload.
Water changes need to be weekly and at least 25 – 35% changed over for optimum water quality.
Water conditions should be noted and maintained as follows:
- a pH of 6.5 – 7.0
- Water hardness between 8 – 12 dKH
- Temperature between 75 – 80ºF (24 – 27ºC)
- Lighting conditions should be low as they don’t experience much direct sunlight in the murky river water.
Tank size
The minimum tank size for a school of five Glass Catfish is 30 gallons, and for every additional specimen, you should add another 5 – 10 gallons.
However, this is the minimum, so getting something larger is even better to keep them active, curious, and healthier.
In terms of shape, you’ll want something long and rectangular that will allow them plenty of active swimming areas.
Choosing Tank Mates For Glass Catfish
When it comes to finding species appropriate for your Glass Catfish, you have plenty of options.
You’ll want to keep sizes of tank mates relative, nothing too small, or your Catfish will try to eat them. Keep the other species peaceful, and you shouldn’t have any problems.
Some excellent tank mate pairings that would work well include:
- Swordtails
- Mollies
- Celestial Pearl Danios
- Cory Catfish
- Tetras
- Marbled Hatchets
- Harlequin Rasboras
- Peaceful Gouramis
Avoid anything aggressive that will harass and stress your Glass Catfish like Cichlids and Oscars.
Notes On Feeding Glass Catfish
Glass Catfish are omnivorous and happily eating a variety of food sources.
Exceptional quality flaked or pellet foods are ideal as the base of your food supply.
Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp, Grindal Worms, Tubifex, and Daphnia, are all great frozen or live supplements for complementary feeding and should be encouraged regularly.
You can expect your Glass Catfish to nibble on plants, so keep an eye out for damaged leaf portions and remove them if they start to die off to avoid water fouling.
Try offering blanched vegetables like zucchini or spinach in small chopped pieces, and remove anything that doesn’t get eaten.
Smaller meals a few times per day usually work well for these fish who will eat what they can, and anything not consumed within a few minutes should be removed each time.
Failure to do so can result in water fouling much more quickly.
Take care to ensure that if your Glass Catfish are in a community that other species of fish may be quicker to the food buffet, which may mean your catfish are not getting enough food. Observing eating behaviors is important, as well as distributing food all over the tank, ensuring that everyone gets their fill.
Glass Catfish Common Health Issues
Most freshwater fish are susceptible to Ich (White Spot Disease), which, as the name implies, is easily distinguished by white spots on the body due to a parasitic infection.
Raising the water temperature and/or quarantining the affected fish can help remedy this disease, as well as purpose-bought medications for this affliction.
You can often avoid parasitic infections by thoroughly quarantining and washing any new decor or before introducing anything new to the tank, living or otherwise.
Dropsy can also occur with these fish but is harder to notice due to the lack of definitive body shaping. It is usually presented with bloating in these fish. Other species will show scales protruding, but since these fish don’t have scales, that won’t apply!
Normally when these health hazards happen, it’s because the water parameters and quality have dropped.
Health issues can be minimized with a strict water cleaning and change schedule along with regular checking of water parameters with a suitable testing kit.
How To Breed Glass Catfish
In the wild, Glass Catfish breed during the monsoon season. Breeding them in captivity is not such a straightforward procedure.
If you are a novice breeding fish, these fish should be best left to the experts, even if you have a history of keeping fish that require more experience as you are unlikely to achieve your goals.
The biggest challenge is mimicking the rainy season, which is why so many attempts fail when trying to breed Glass Catfish.
Reports of successful breeding in captivity by home hobbyists are rare indeed.
Are Glass Catfish A Good Idea For You?
If you already have a good track record for keeping fish with a stable and regular tank cleaning regime, then you may be a good candidate for taking on a school of these ghostly apparitions.
Knowing that they need pristine water conditions that are stable and do not fluctuate, you must be capable of keeping their water conditions on an even keel if you plan on maximizing their lifespan.
The appeal of choosing this fish is immense because of their unusual looks and see-through bodies, but it is essential that you can care for their needs.
Give these skeletal fish a try if you are thinking of something a little bit different for your tank community; it’s never a bad thing!
Their unique looks and dynamic behavior for a catfish are what make them a standout choice. You are likely to be rewarded with some wonderful schooling activities and behaviors that are unlike others in their family.
Take a trip to the other side of the looking glass and see what lies beneath when you take the plunge with this fun and peaceful species.
The rewards are there for the taking for the right hobbyist at the right time in their fish-keeping career.
