Glass Cats for my Tank?

[1865]

I have a 55 gallon, planted tank. I keep it at 80 degrees and my pH is 7.8. I currently have 8 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 Yo-Yo Loaches and 3 Angelfish in it. I'm intrigued by the Glass Catfish I saw at my LFS this weekend. I'm interested in adding 5-6 of them, but I don't know anything about them. Would they be a good fit for my community and water conditions? I don't know anything about them so I fought off my urge to buy them right away,

 

[RTR]

They need to be in groups, but you have that in hand. They are somewhat bashful, so like a bit of cover as from a plant thicket with some overhang - mine alway "prefer" being near a stand of Val with overhanging leaves along the surface of the tank. They are not avid competitors for food, but other than possibly the angels I don't think your other fish will bother them. They do like some current in the water, they like hanging in a steady current.

 

[chinnp]

They prefer a quiet aquarium without much activity and like cover. How long has your aquarium been set up? I've heard they do a lot better in a mature aquarium and don't deal with ammonia and nitrite spikes very well at all.

 

[knashash]

I have had 5 in my tank for a couple years now. Great fish....they will schoal together tightly. Everything RTR said is right on.......they may take a bit to acclimate at first and dont be surprised if they dont eat for a while when you first put them in your tank. After they get comfortable though they will know when its feeding time and seek the food out no problem.

 

[1865]

Excellent, it sounds like they will fit in well with my aquarium. I think I'll let it get a little more established before I add them (I'm just approaching the 3 month mark now) but I'll definetly save room for a half dozen of them. How big do they get when fully mature?

 

[knashash]

Like I said I have had mine for a couple years and id say they are about 4-5 inches....very slender though. I have seen them in larger aquariums at twice that size. I think generally they will get to be about 6''...will take a while though