Glass cats

[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!