| Glass Catfish | Aquarium Fish Care |
| Size | Up to 4 inches or 10 cm |
| Fish Hardiness | Relatively easy to keep |
| Water Temperature | 71 - 80 ºF or 22 - 27 ºC |
| Water pH | 6.0 - 7.5 pH |
| Water Hardness | 5 - 19 dH |
| Peaceful or Aggressive | Peaceful schooling specie |
| Number of same species in one aquarium | Five or more, more is better |
| Community Fish | Yes, with fish with similar temperament |
| Sexes | For all practical reasons, not possible to determine |
| Strata | Unlike other catfish they prefer middle to top |
| Food | Live foods like bloodworms and brine shrimp, supplemented with good quality flakes |
| Breeding | Very rare in a home aquarium |
| Other names | Ghost Fish, Ghost Glass Catfish or Glass Cat |
| Scientific name | Kryptopterus bicirrhis |
| Lifespan | 5 to 8 years |
Ideal Glass Catfish Conditions
Appearance
- Like all catfish this fish do not have any scales but only skin. They also have no pigment in their body, therefor they are transparent. When they die the body is no longer transparent and becomes a milky color. All its gut is situated very close behind the head with the head and the gut having a silvery white color. Like all catfish they also have the long barbels which helps them to find food since their eyesight is not very good.
Peaceful
- They are peaceful and timid fish.
Community Species
- They are ideal for a community aquarium with fish of similar peaceful temperament. They should however be kept with at least five of their own kind but having more of them like ten or fifteen is even better. When they are kept in small numbers they become so timid that they will usually wear off in the long run.
Strata
- Unlike most other catfish this one is not a bottom dweller. They tend to swim mainly in the middle parts of the aquarium but will go up or down. Give them dimmed lighting with open water for swimming and hiding places on the bottom and sides in the form of plants and ornaments. Produce some current in the open water as this will stimulate them to swim and improve their general health.
Feeding
- They can be a bit particular when it comes to their food. Starting them of with the same food that they got before you bought them can help with their relocation. On the long run they do best on live foods such as blood worms and brine shrimp. Frozen foods will also do if you cannot find live foods. Supplement their diet with good quality flakes.
Breeding
- There are some aquarists that claim that they have bred them in captivity although it is very rare. Most of them that are sold in pet shops and fish stores are wild caught in Southeast Asia and exported all over the world. If you have bred them successfully in a home aquarium, not a fish farm, please let me know with details on how it was done.
Other Names
- Other common names include Ghost Glass Catfish, Ghost Fish, Ghost Cat and even X-ray Fish. It is good to note that some common names may create confusion with other species.
Lifespan
- They can live for five to even eight years in good conditions.