Care
The Glass Fish is known from a variety of different sluggish or standing, heavily vegetated, lowland habitats - chiefly freshwater, but some mildly brackish - including inner estuaries, marshes, impoundments, lakes, rivers, and streams. The home aquarium should be mature, with a dark substrate and background and furnished with driftwood and plenty of plant cover - both rooted and floating - in order for these peaceful fish to feel secure and show their best colours. Filtration should be efficient, but water movement gentle, and small frequent water changes will help keep nitrate to a minimum. Glass Fish are gregarious and should be kept in large sized groups of 6 or more (10+ is better). This is a peaceable and somewhat shy species that can be kept alongside other fish of similar size and temperament, although the water conditions (freshwater or mildly brackish) will dictate which companions are suitable. In freshwater aquaria, they could be kept alongside dwarf gouramis, small barbs, dwarf rainbowfish, Rasboras, small loaches, or some of the larger Erethistes catfish, and under mildly brackish conditions, small livebearers would make good tankmates. Unfortunately, for many years, these transparent fish have been injected intramuscularly with coloured fluorescent dyes at Asian fish farms in a bid to make them more eye-catching/sellable. This is a repugnant and totally unnecessary process that is carried out using a large needle to repeatedly inject the unfortunate fish, which are then quickly sold on as 'disco fish' or 'painted glass fish'. Most fish do not live long after this painful process has been carried out, due to shock and infections at the injection sites. Thankfully, dyed fish are seldom seen in the UK these days due to high-profile campaigning to try and prevent them from being imported and sold. Glass Fish are beautiful in their natural form, and such practices are abhorrent and must be discouraged. It should also be noted, that despite old literature implying these fish should be kept in brackish conditions, such information is erroneous. They are primarily freshwater fish and are only ever found in few very mildly brackish habitats - so for best long-term health, should never be added to full strength brackish aquaria. May also be seen on sale as Indian Glass Fish.
Feeding
Flake, micropellets, and small frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, daphnia, and vitamin-enriched brineshrimp.
Breeding
The Glass Fish has been bred in the home aquarium, but the fry can be tricky to raise. In the wild, this species spawns at the onset of rains during the monsoon season. When in breeding condition, the subtle colours of the male will intensify and the females will become visibly fuller bodied. A separate spawning tank should be set up with matching water parameters, gentle air-driven filtration, and numerous clumps of fine leaved plants such as Java Moss. A large partial water change in the evening may encourage the fish to spawn early the next morning, when the first rays of sunshine hit the aquarium glass. Up to 500 adhesive eggs per female will be scattered over the plants. The adults will predate on the eggs, so it is best to acclimatise them back to the main aquarium once spawning has ceased. The eggs are very prone to fungussing, so many aquarists like to dose the tank with a weak methylene blue solution to help prevent this. The eggs should hatch within 24 hours, with the fry becoming free-swimming after a further 3 days or so. The young do not seem to actively seek out food, instead waiting for it to drift past, so it will need to be presented to them in the form of heavy feedings of infusoria, powdered fry foods, and baby brineshrimp (Artemia nauplii) borne on a gentle current within the tank. However, with such heavy feedings, it is obviously essential to keep on top of water quality at all times via testing and frequent small water changes.
