Glassfish

[confused mermaid]

Just out of curiosity.....we have gone through about nine glass fish (not dyed ones) we can't keep them alive for anything. We have tried to keep them for about four months and they die one by one so we stopped getting them and gave up. We have a 46 gallon with 5 ghost cats, 2 USD fish, a BN pleco, 5 red tetra, a betta, two angels, four marbled loaches, three dwarf gourami and two kuli loaches.

I know may be a hair overstocked but I take good care of the tank.

It has been fully cycled for about two months now and we have never had a problem with any other fish (well, except now I think I have a dwarf gourami with dropsey) including the ghost cats which are supposed to be sensitive. All test readings are good except an 8 ph.

Anyone have experience with these little fish and could tell me why that happened. They were not picked on by other fish, all of a sudden they would start not swimming right and be dead in the morning.

 

[three-fingers]

How many did you buy at a time, what were you feeding them, did you see them eating and what's a ballpark figure for the nitrate level in your tank?

Neale Monks (nmonks) will be the best guy to help you here I'd think.

 

[nmonks]

Glassfish generally aren't difficult to keep, and mine seem to live a good 4-5 years without problems. In any case, a couple things worth mentioning:

Firstly, feeding; contrary to what retailers might suggest, they rarely take dried foods, and should be given live and/or wet-frozen foods. My specimens are always "picky" and will eat some foods but not others. Frozen bloodworms sometimes get accepted, but not always, I think because different manufacturers use different "flavours" or something. Chopped seafood, especially things like prawns, squid and white fish usually go down well. Live foods, particularly daphnia, are always popular, as are things like small earthworms.

Secondly, water chemistry; I keep my specimens in moderately hard, slightly basic water (~10 degrees dH, pH 7.5). They should adapt to a broad range of water chemistry values, but some specimens are collected from brackish water habitats and it may well be that such specimens will need to be quarantined in brackish water until they're settled and feeding properly. If you're going to add them to a tank with salt-tolerant freshwater fish (such as livebearers and rainbowfish) then adding a 5-6 grammes of marine salt mix per litre would do no harm and may well do some good.

A lot probably depends on your retailer. Check the glassfish are in good condition and feeding properly. Ask the retailer what they're being fed: if he/she says flake or some-such, then there's a good chance these glassfish are half-starved. Also look for signs of lymphocystis; this is quite common on glassfish kept in less-than-perfect conditions. Although not fatal or particularly contagious, lymphocystis does take a long time to go away, and can be a sign of underlying problems. I wouldn't necessarily avoid buying infected glassfish, but I would be aware of the fact these fish need a healthy diet and good water conditions if they're going to get better.

Cheers, Neale

 

[confused mermaid]

Glassfish generally aren't difficult to keep, and mine seem to live a good 4-5 years without problems. In any case, a couple things worth mentioning:

Firstly, feeding; contrary to what retailers might suggest, they rarely take dried foods, and should be given live and/or wet-frozen foods. My specimens are always "picky" and will eat some foods but not others. Frozen bloodworms sometimes get accepted, but not always, I think because different manufacturers use different "flavours" or something. Chopped seafood, especially things like prawns, squid and white fish usually go down well. Live foods, particularly daphnia, are always popular, as are things like small earthworms.

Secondly, water chemistry; I keep my specimens in moderately hard, slightly basic water (~10 degrees dH, pH 7.5). They should adapt to a broad range of water chemistry values, but some specimens are collected from brackish water habitats and it may well be that such specimens will need to be quarantined in brackish water until they're settled and feeding properly. If you're going to add them to a tank with salt-tolerant freshwater fish (such as livebearers and rainbowfish) then adding a 5-6 grammes of marine salt mix per litre would do no harm and may well do some good.

A lot probably depends on your retailer. Check the glassfish are in good condition and feeding properly. Ask the retailer what they're being fed: if he/she says flake or some-such, then there's a good chance these glassfish are half-starved. Also look for signs of lymphocystis; this is quite common on glassfish kept in less-than-perfect conditions. Although not fatal or particularly contagious, lymphocystis does take a long time to go away, and can be a sign of underlying problems. I wouldn't necessarily avoid buying infected glassfish, but I would be aware of the fact these fish need a healthy diet and good water conditions if they're going to get better.

Cheers, Neale

Thanks Neale...I got three at a time and they went one by one. We had just one for a month or two and since he lived, I decided to buy two more for him, then one by one they all died. I have hard water. Got them from Petsmart as that is the only place around here I have seen that has them. I throw a variety of food in flake, algae, freeze dried bloodworms, frozen bloodworms and live blackworms. I alternate between those every other day. I tried shrimp pellets too but none of the fish seem interested in those. The glassfish seemed to eat everything I threw in, even the algae. Perhaps the lack of live food is what did them in? I vacuum and clean my tank every week most of the time ending up draining 50% of the water. My tests always come out good... I don't understand it. They and the kuhli loaches are my son's favorites and he has been begging me for more glass fish, but I told him it's not fair to get them if we keep doing something wrong to kill them. Perhaps I'll wait a few weeks and try again with a better live food variety?

 

[nmonks]

If it's at all possible, try buying your glassfish from another retailer, even online if you must. It's possible that their supplier just isn't handling them well. You might also want to buy a good sized batch, 5 or more specimens, to avoid problems with bullying or nervousness.

Live food isn't critical, and shouldn't make much difference either way. But a varied diet is important, and while not greedy fish, they should be getting a square meal each day. Do try some earthworms: these are easy to find in the garden underneath flowerpots and such, and glassfish love them.

You might also skip glassfish entirely, and try the similar but generally very hardy x-ray tetra, Pristella maxillaris. In groups of 6+ specimens it's very lively, and it tolerates hard water extremely well, perhaps better than almost any other South American tetra. That said, for sheer rough-and-tumble, a group of glassfish is difficult to beat!

Cheers, Neale