Glass cats

[Nicole29]

I would like to keep some glass cats in a community tank (33 gallon). Any stocking suggestions?

I know there are smaller sp of glass cats that grow to 3" rather than 6" and I would like to get these if i can find them, if that helps with stocking.

[monkey_toes]

I would like to keep some glass cats in a community tank (33 gallon). Any stocking suggestions?

I know there are smaller sp of glass cats that grow to 3" rather than 6" and I would like to get these if i can find them, if that helps with stocking.
The transparent Asian glass cats come in two easily confused species: Kryptopterus bicirrhis (up to 6") and K. minor (up to 3"). (see here: http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/kryptopterus_minor.htm ) There are other Asian species that get much larger, but you're not likely to run across them in the pet shop. You may also find African glass catfish, which are much less transparent. These also come in 3" ( http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=327 ) and 6" ( http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=3 ) sizes. Of all the species, Kryptopterus minor is usually by far the easiest to find. Assuming that's the species you'll get, you MUST keep them in a school. With 33 gallons of space, here's what I would do:

8 glass cats
2 dwarf, honey or talking gouramis
6 kuhli loaches (probably black "kuhlis")
8 zebra danios or other small danio species
1-2 bamboo shrimp

That would give you an all-Asian community with danios up top, glass cats midwater, loaches on the bottom, gouramis for color, and bamboo shrimp because they're just **** cool. To keep the glass cats happy, provided plenty of plants and only moderate lighting. I would suggest low-light cryptocorynes and java fern if you go with live plants. Hope this helps!

[Nicole29]

thanks for the suggestion
just a quick thought, what do you think of this setup:

8 glass cats
1 male Betta (instead of the gouramis)
6 kuhli loaches (probably black "kuhlis")
8 Harlequin rasboras
1-2 bamboo shrimp

[monkey_toes]

what do you think of this setup:

8 glass cats
1 male Betta (instead of the gouramis)
6 kuhli loaches (probably black "kuhlis")
8 Harlequin rasboras
1-2 bamboo shrimp

Some bettas are good community fish, but some are not. It seems to be a very individual thing. Also, if you go with the betta the bamboo shrimp might be best deleted, as bettas often view invertebrates as food (despite the large size of the shrimp). The rasboras replacing the danios should be OK. The more midwater activity there is, the shyer your glass cats will become, but keeping a sizeable cat school will help counterbalance that effect. BTW, the reason I suggest black "kuhlis" (actually eel loaches) is that they seem to be much more hardy and less shy than the true banded kuhli loaches.

[Nicole29]

alright..thanks for the help

[Nicole29]

one more question

what would be the smallest tank that you would put a school of glass catfish (K.minor)..say 6 of them?

[monkey_toes]

one more question

what would be the smallest tank that you would put a school of glass catfish (K.minor)..say 6 of them?
I wouldn't want to go smaller than a 20 gallon, and I would certainly reduce the number of other fish to a minimum in that size tank. I'm actually looking forward to a 55 with about a dozen glass cats.

[Nicole29]

ok..thanks

one more question (at least for now :) )
do you think glass cats would be ok in a 33g with 6 dwarf neon rainbows? Is there a certain amount of them that would fair better with the Bows?

[monkey_toes]

do you think glass cats would be ok in a 33g with 6 dwarf neon rainbows? Is there a certain amount of them that would fair better with the Bows?
I wish I could answer that, but I have absolutely no rainbow experience. :huh:

[plah831]

I have a 29 gall tank with a school of 5 glass cats (K. bicirrhus species, I think). They are in there with 2 flying whisker barbs, 3 white cloud minnows, and 2 golden dojo loaches (a.k.a. weather loaches), plus a few ghost shrimp. Everybody is doing fine. I would suggest keeping glass cats with less active swimming species (they don't seem bothered by the activity of my bottom dwellers), because anytime a minnow or barb startles and moves real fast, it sends the cats scattering. My guys seem to be OK, though, because they all settle down and the school reassembles pretty quickly.

They will probably be fine with dwarf neon rainbows, as they seem to be a peaceful and serene species. My barbs, while active, leave the glass cats alone, which I think is the most important thing. In fact, when I first got the glassies they were "chasing" the other fish around. They were actually feeling them out with their whiskers to get to know everyone, I think. The other fish found it weird and a little invasive, but the glass cats soon settled down and left the other fish alone.

Also, it seems some glass cats have slightly different "personalities". For instance, one in particular likes to hang out at the surface with the other water column species. Another likes to float in a space between some leaves, a few inches away from the rest of the school. It seems that the other three have a tighter shoaling mechanism. When the lights turn out, though, or I'm away for awhile, the school will drift apart and they all explore the tank. They tend to bunch up for comfort. It's pretty neat to see because when they reassemble, they'll touch each other with their whiskers, in an almost self-soothing or bonding gesture.

Anyway, that's my two cents. They're a great species: unique and fun to watch. Hope that helps and good luck! :)

[monkey_toes]

I have a 29 gall tank with a school of 5 glass cats (K. bicirrhus species, I think). They are in there with 2 flying whisker barbs, 3 white cloud minnows, and 2 golden dojo loaches (a.k.a. weather loaches), plus a few ghost shrimp. Everybody is doing fine. I would suggest keeping glass cats with less active swimming species (they don't seem bothered by the activity of my bottom dwellers), because anytime a minnow or barb startles and moves real fast, it sends the cats scattering. My guys seem to be OK, though, because they all settle down and the school reassembles pretty quickly.

They will probably be fine with dwarf neon rainbows, as they seem to be a peaceful and serene species. My barbs, while active, leave the glass cats alone, which I think is the most important thing. In fact, when I first got the glassies they were "chasing" the other fish around. They were actually feeling them out with their whiskers to get to know everyone, I think. The other fish found it weird and a little invasive, but the glass cats soon settled down and left the other fish alone.

Also, it seems some glass cats have slightly different "personalities". For instance, one in particular likes to hang out at the surface with the other water column species. Another likes to float in a space between some leaves, a few inches away from the rest of the school. It seems that the other three have a tighter shoaling mechanism. When the lights turn out, though, or I'm away for awhile, the school will drift apart and they all explore the tank. They tend to bunch up for comfort. It's pretty neat to see because when they reassemble, they'll touch each other with their whiskers, in an almost self-soothing or bonding gesture.

Anyway, that's my two cents. They're a great species: unique and fun to watch. Hope that helps and good luck! :)
Good to hear from someone else with glass cat experience. I haven't kept the species for several years, but IME larger schools seem less disturbed by highly active fish. I started with four and ended up with (as I recall) about 20. The more fish I added, the less skittish they got. With just four, they were prone to scattering when the danios got wound up, but as the glass cat numbers grew they were less inclined to spook. BTW, your fish are probably K. minor, as true K. bicirrhis are highly uncommon.

[Nicole29]

would this combo work:

6-8 Glass cats
Betta
6 Neon Dwarf Rainbowfish
6 Corys


would I have any room to add any more fish (say tetras, or a ram or 2) or would this be pretty well stocked.

[plah831]

I would start stocking slowly, to avoid over-burdening the biological filter. As always, monitor ammonia levels. You might want to consider plants to help remove extra CO2 and nitrogenous waste products (ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite). I also use a commercial bacterial supplement (StressZyme) to give the biological filter a little boost. There are a number of such products out there.

You probably want to add the glass cats last, as they are the most sensitive of those species you are considering. That way, the tank will be happy (e.g. balanced and established). I would also suggest having a small tank or bowl (at least one gallon, no cups please) ready for the betta, just in case. I had originally put my betta in the community tank and he started getting aggressive, especially around food. He was even fighting the loaches for bottom feeder wafers!

All in all, my tank would be considered "overstocked". I have a few more fish that I didn't list, because they're nocturnal and shy (upside-down catfish, otocinclus), so I don't see them much. But I added all fish slowly and patiently, while monitoring ammonia. I also have a few lush plants in there, too. The plants really help increase the number of fish your tank can handle, I'm sure, by eating up waste products and producing oxygen from CO2 released by the fish. If I could, I would love to have 10 glass cats, but I don't think my tank could handle anymore!


p.s. monkeytoes - you're probably right about K. minor vs. the other one... I certainly can't tell them apart!