Glass cats

[Luna112]

My friend gave me his glass cat that was getting two big for his tank. The glass cat is about 4 1/2 inches. I know they are schooling fish, but this certain glass cat wasn't brought up with more than himself. In conclusion I went and got him another buddy(I only add one fish at a time). And they don't school. Water parameters are ammonia 0 nitrate 5 nitirte 0 ph 7.0 temp 80F. I have a lot of filtration and current in the tank. The tank Is a semi-aggressive tank. so they should feel threatened enough to school. Can anyone help me please?

 

[mfdrookie516]

2 fish does not equal a school. You need several before you'll see any schooling behavior.

 

[Luna112]

Well I know 2 is not a school I just thought it was odd that they didn't even stay in the same part of the tank.

 

[Rosenweiss]

IME, even two glass catfish would spend all of their time together.

Here's what I think is your problem:

the glass cat that you got is probably a kryptopterus bicchiris. Those are actually pretty rare, and they get up to 5-6". Most of the glass cats sold in stores, however, are kryptopterus minor, which only get to 3". So it's possible that they're different species.

Is the one you got even close to the size of the giant you received?

Edit: to be honest though, I wouldn't put these guys in a semi-aggressive tank. They can be slow, shy feeders and are incredibly gentle.

 

[Luna112]

Thanks for your input. Im not worried about them eating. They are very good eaters. They love live black worms and flakes. The big one I have is huge he is almost 5 inches! The second one I bought is about 2 1/2 inches. They look like the same kind of fish though. The only fish that chase them around is 1 tiny little penguin tetra.

 

[kc2ped]

I have a pair of Glass Catfish in my community tank
They have appropriated the surface area in the corner of the tank right under the feeding ring
One of them is there nearly all day and the other most of the day
They don't get bothered by my tetras except when they come up to the ring to feed
They really look nice just hanging next to each other in the current with their long bodies quivering in a snake-like fashion

 

[Rosenweiss]

Thanks for your input. Im not worried about them eating. They are very good eaters. They love live black worms and flakes. The big one I have is huge he is almost 5 inches! The second one I bought is about 2 1/2 inches. They look like the same kind of fish though. The only fish that chase them around is 1 tiny little penguin tetra.

That's crazy. Can you take a picture of the big one and upload it?

 

[Luna112]

Sorry, the pics aren't great. The glass cats are really hard to photograph.

The one on the bottom is a regular sized glass cat. The one on the top is a giant. I tried to how the size difference but it's so hard to.

 

[Rosenweiss]

They look great. =] It's hard to believe the big one is over 4 inches!

 

[Luna112]

Better pic? Hopefully.

 

[Rosenweiss]

It's so amazing, wow. I hope mine don't get that big though.

 

[Luna112]

They look great. =] It's hard to believe the big one is over 4 inches!

I'm not lying.
He or she is about as big as my middle finger. He/she is big, no joke. When I saw my neighbor carrying him in a ziploc bag, no oxygen towards the lake. I had to intervene.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Oh my gosh, yeah, there's no way it would survive.

 

[Luna112]

Yeah I know, there are pacus, silver dollars, oscars, plecos, flower horns in the canal/lake/body of freshwater behind my house.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Wow! Really? That's an amazing diversity of life! =D

 

[Luna112]

It's awesome for the ones that survived. But think about the poor fish that didnt, and all of them got ploped into that cold dark murky water, none were acclimated. At least they have unlimited space now, but many people throw trash in canals. ):

 

[Rosenweiss]

Oh.... I thought you meant those guys got there naturally.. don't know why I thought that... sorry...

 

[Herotilapia_Multispinosa]

It's awesome for the ones that survived. But think about the poor fish that didnt, and all of them got ploped into that cold dark murky water, none were acclimated. At least they have unlimited space now, but many people throw trash in canals. ):

Now if you want to ever start a cichlid tank...

 

[siva]

Yeah I've seen plenty of glass cats at over 4". I think they are kept in tanks too small a lot of the time. IMHO they belong in a 55 gal in groups of 6 or more. They are super shy and don't show their true schooling behavior in groups smaller than that.

 

[Rosenweiss]

I have a group of 5 in a 29. They are very happy and active and the water parameters are great. They are fed live, frozen and flake foods and eat energetically. They are as happy as they can possibly be. ^^; So if they would grow to that size, then they will. ._.