From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Glass Catfish
Kryptopterus vitreolus
- Temperature
- 20–26 °C
- pH
- 4 – 7
- Min. tank size
- 81 L
- Lifespan
- 7 years
- Diet
- carnivore
- Care level
- moderate
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Kryptopterus vitreolus |
| Family: | Siluridae |
| Origin: | Thailand (and nearby Southeast Asia) |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | moderate |
| Diet: | carnivore |
| Max Size: | 6.50 cm |
| Water Type: | freshwater |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Temperament: | peaceful |
| Min Group: | 6+ together |
| Varieties: | No cultivated strains, and no colour forms — a transparent fish leaves nothing to select for. The genuine issue is identity. For decades the fish in the trade was sold as Kryptopterus bicirrhis, the true glass catfish of the older literature, which is a substantially larger and less transparent species. It was also confused with K. minor. The trade fish was finally described in 2013 as Kryptopterus vitreolus by Ng and Kottelat, who then published a short follow-up communication because the phrase "new species" had not appeared in the original description. Shop labels and older books still use the wrong names, and we list the trade name here because that is what people search for. Other transparent fish are sold alongside it and are unrelated. The Indian glassfish (Parambassis ranga) is a perch rather than a catfish and is the species notoriously injected with dye to produce "painted glassfish" — a practice worth refusing outright. The ghost or phantom glass catfish names are also applied loosely. If a fish is transparent and has two long barbels and no dorsal fin to speak of, it is this species. |
| Lifespan: | 7 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Low
- Min Tank:81 L
- Substrate:Dark sand/gravel; planted with open mid-water swimming space
- Plant Safe:Plant-safe
- Filtration:Moderate (some current; well-oxygenated)
Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus vitreolus) is a species of fish in the family Siluridae. It is native to Thailand (and nearby Southeast Asia). The glass catfish is transparent — you can see its spine, its swim bladder and the outline of its organs through the body wall — and it hovers in mid-water in loose shoals, which is unusual behaviour for a catfish. It was finally described in 2013, after years of misidentification. For decades the fish in the trade was labelled Kryptopterus bicirrhis or K. minor, neither of which it is; Ng and Kottelat resolved it as K. vitreolus, and then had to publish a short follow-up communication because the words "new species" did not appear in the original paper. It comes from Thailand and nearby Southeast Asia, and reaches 65 mm standard length. It is peaceful, gregarious, and genuinely sensitive — it does not compete well with larger, robust or boisterous fish, which is the single most common reason a group of them fails. Buy at least six, and buy them into a settled tank.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- peaceful
- Keep in
- Groups of 6+
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
Species similar to Glass Catfish
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