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I just noticed one of my glass catfish appears to have eggs inside her. Has anyone ever bred glass catfish before? Is there anything I should do? She one of 6 gc's in a community tank with gouramis, clownloaches and angelfish amongst other fish.

The Glass Catfish has not been reported to breed in the aquarium, therefore no one has bred them before. Also, something tells me those aren't eggs... All of the internal organs of the fish should be contained within the silvery sac, not on the outside; eggs would be contained within the ovaries, which I assume would also be inside the sac. Likewise, in the X-ray Tetra, a species that has been bred in captivity, I don't think the eggs are seen on the outside either. I could be wrong, though...

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hey, got an update? How's the glass cat doing?

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I still has the white lumpy insides and after a wc the other night the big glassies without white were tickling that one with their whiskers.

Not sure how I can simulate a flood into grassland plains so they can breed tho.

Flooding is one of the most often reproduced spawning trigger. There are a number of things that can be done:

1. Keep the tank half filled for a period of time, then fill, mimicking a rise in water.
2. When changing the water, add water a few degrees cooler. Though it may be a shock, it mimics the cool rains after a warm dry season.
3. When changing water, mimic a rainstorm with flashing lights and banging pans. I read this one in a book, but I've never heard anyone actually use this one, lol.
4. Adding salt to raise the conductivity of the water. I believe this is the water drying up during the dry season and becoming more concentrated; when the rainy season comes, the waters dilute out the salts. I don't know much about this technique.
5. Coordinate the water change with a low pressure system and rain in your area.
6. Feed tons of live food. "Times are good" for breeding sort of deal.

I think that sums up all the tricks I've heard of... A dedicated breeding tank may be required for some of these tricks. Some fish can't be easily bred in a community setting, and considering the glass cat hasn't been bred in the home it's probably one of those species as well.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

At the lfs store where I work, the ghost catfish and glassfish tank is always filled with eggs. Because I have never observed any fish spawning or attending to the eggs, I have no idea which of the two is doing it. Any ideas?

Probably the glassfish. According to my research, glassfish are relatively easy to breed in captivity, while glass catfish have never been recorded to breed in the aquarium.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

There is a relatively commonplace disease amongst siluriids which involve massive stomach distention and whisker shortening which is usually fatal.Take care that this is not one of these cases.


Otherwise, looks like a well fed animal to me.