FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have just taken delivery of my first glass fishes and it's not looking good. They came without any heatpads in the courier box and 2 of the 3, (I ordered 4), are not well.

One looks fine, one is swimming but crookedly, and the other looks like its back is broken or has had a stroke.
I have sent word to the supplier who should replace the fish. They have never been this careless before.

I will persevere with the 3 I have, but do you think the stroke victim will ever recover?

They have 4 Cardinal Tetras for company, also in the same order. I got 4 of the 5 ordered. They were so cold on delivery, they were white. No cardinal about them. They have settled well though and their color is back.

I was expecting them to arrive, so the tank, water and everything is cycled and perfect.

Its less likely to be a stroke than systemic shock caused by the shipping. When fish go into shock they often suffer radical muscle cramping and stiffness, they key to ending this is the reduction of stimulus, often lots of cover and keeping the light levels minimal, no handling , poking or disturbance,is important, and the slow increase of temperature to around at least 82f for a week or so. I wouldnt use salt with glass catfish, but a little blackwater extract can sometimes help, and remember, whatever environmental changes you make, make them very gradual.

Being that the cause is probably shock rather than stroke, should he turn around , its more than likely his recovery will be complete with no permanent damage, but its a question of getting him that far. Most strokes in fish are associated with neurologically active protozoan parasites, and older, morbidly obese specimens. In a young glass cat, its unlikely unless the fish has suffered a severe injury along the lines of a blow to the base of the skull. Rarely do such injured fish recover well.

Good luck with him.

They are for sure shocked,not only from the water conditions but also from being scared, the glass catfish is a very shy fish so they will suffer more than other fish.
Provide some hiding place in the fishtank such as a very well planted area in a darker corner. It would be fine if the exit of your filter is also there, they like moving water.Be careful that you don't make nervous moves when you are next to the fishtank, especially if they are out of their plants shelter. Even a glass catfish which is living in your fishtank for a long time and is used with it and with you can freak out if you do so. They can even hurt themselves by bumping against rocks. When they are shocked they might look like they had a stroke but if nothing is broken they recover
It is not good to keep only 3 of them, they feel very insecure. They should be kept in large groups, 10 would be better.
Make sure they get enough food, I also keep glass fish with tetras and tetras are very fast in picking food while the glass fish needs some time to realize you are feeding them, enough for the tetras to clean everything. I always feed in the area where the glassfish usually stays.
The PH can be a liitle on the sour side, but don't make the water too acidic because they will also suffer from it. Try to keep the PH around 6.8, but don't let it drop under 6.5

Additionally, I would provide floating plants for cover, as they tend to appreciate this. They also appreciate thoughtful provision of submerged plant cover as well - Vallisneria stands tend to be a good choice, with medium sized Cryptocoryne, Aponogeton and Amazon Swords a close second. If you have bogwood features in the aquarium with them, growing some Java Fern on the bogwood is a good way of providing them with plant cover that also entices them to explore the bogwood features and take advantage of any caves and grottoes that are thus formed. Bear in mind that in many dealer aquaria, these things suffer the trauma and abuse of being kept in brightly lit, bare tanks, which does NOT suit them at all. Think "mood lighting" with these fishes - odd spots of bright light broken by dappled shade from floating plants, and secluded darker areas that they can retreat to for safety.

As has already been stated above, these fishes do MUCH better in a decent sized group. If you can build your shoal up piecemeal to 8 or 10, space permitting of course, then so much the better.

I'd consider trying to obtain some live Bloodworm to feed them with in addition, or live Daphnia. Few things help to condition a stressed fish better than a healthy banquet of live food once it's in tranquil surroundings.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thankyou for all your comments. It's good to have several heads working together rather than just one panicked one.
These glass cats are really tough! They all recovered and are happy and eating. Just a little crooked around the neck area of one, but all are swimming great!
I lost one of the cardinals though. He really didn't get his color back. The others are terrific!
I rechecked all the water and it's all perfect. PH 6.9
Since both GC's and Tetra's seem to think it beneath them to eat food which has landed on the gravel, I have added two little albino cories and an apple snail.

Hi,

There is some great information in here about preferred living conditions. I looked at getting glass catfish but the lack of information in the profile was a little off-putting, as I always check the profiles here before making a purchase.

It would be great if you guys added the extra information to the profile.

Now they have settled in my 3 glass catfishes favourite hangout spot is near the shelter of the overhanging sword plant.

During feeding, they come out into the water current of the filter and snap up anything which fits in their mouths.
Don't believe that schooling stuff. Quite often my 3 are scattered all over the tank in singles.

They are jolly hard to take a decent macro photo of as the self focusing doesn't see the fish, it sees through the fish to the plant behind.

If you can increase the group. I have had a 6-10 for years and they have always schooled. I started with six, and new fish were easily allowed to enter the group. Mine always school, but one will go exploring sometimes, most often the biggest one.

Pookiekiller is right, mine also school, but sometimes one goes out to inspect, and many times he is followed by others after a while,one by one, if they think it's 'safe'. They are for sure schooling fish. That's just normal behaviour in them, not schooling is not ok. Exploring is something else.