Glass catfish

The glass catfish is a Southeast Asian Kryptopterus, usually the small species Kryptopterus vitreolus although shops have listed it as K. bicirrhis for decades. It is genuinely transparent: the muscle and skin are clear, so what you see is the silvery gas bladder capsule behind the head, the spine, and a long forked tail. Two long barbels sweep forward from the snout. Unusually for a catfish it hangs in open water at a slight nose-up angle, in a loose group, rather than sitting on the bottom.

Aquarium care

• A slender, small to medium catfish.
• Peaceful and easily startled.
• Must be kept in a group of six or more. Singles decline and stop feeding.
• Wants a mature, stable tank with planting, some current and shaded areas.
• Feeds in mid-water: frozen bloodworm, daphnia, brine shrimp and small sinking foods.
• Sensitive to poor water quality and sudden changes.

Suits a settled planted community with rasboras, tetras and corydoras. Avoid boisterous or fin-nipping fish, which unsettle it badly, and do not buy fewer than six.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is sold for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See the current catfish list.