Glass Catfish

[Industrial]

Right now I have six glass catfish, two of which I bought from a LFS. I bought the fish the day after they got them in and the one seemed to have eggs inside of it. They were these little white spheres right below and behind the black organ sac thing. There were 5-6 of them. I looked closely and it definitely is inside of the fish.

Ever since I put those two cats in my tank the pregnant one has been hiding from the shoal. She has been laying on her side in hiding spots at times, but appears to be okay for hours afterwards. Now the other new glass cat is right next to her and she is in the filter current. He seems to be almost touching her because he is so close and I am wondering if this could be part of the breeding process and how I could encourage a quick and healthy birth.

I would take pictures but now I lost my camera.

 

[tiddlywinks]

pics?? thats cool

 

[blackghostuk]

Glass cats are often imported with cysts inside them, which are like you have described. I have tried many times to find out what this parasite is that they are prone to, but I have been unsuccesful. I have also been unable to cure them, and they end up dying.

Glass cats are also often imported with a disease that turns their barbles white and withered. This will go right through the whole group and quickly kill them all. I have also not found a cure for this.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but if they were eggs they would be tiny and there would be hundreds of them. I think I'm also right that the ovary isnt transparent, so you wouldnt see the eggs.

 

[Industrial]

Okay, thanks for the advice, I will put it in a separate tank very soon. Will other kinds of fish like guppies catch these too?

 

[Industrial]

A little update, I put him in a 20 gallon tank with a baby whale, betta, and some guppies. The glass cat has just been laying in the trees all day. I tried to get a picture and I couldn't and I tried to net him and put him in a little clear container to get a picture and for some reason you cannot see them in the picture. He also didn't resist at all.

The fish though, has been clear as day and not getting white at all. He is definitely not doing well though. Do you think there is any kind of medication I can give him?

 

[redtailshark1]

cool about the eggs

 

[Bottomfeeder]

Glass Catfish are one of those school-dependant fish. When they aren't in a group of at least 5, they waste away. That is, if you are talking about Ghost Glass Catfish. I'm not sure about Debuwai Catfish.

 

[Industrial]

I know they should be in schools, but if this truly is a fatal and extremely contagious disease I would rather keep the sick one isolated then risk losing the other six.

 

[DemonShark]

Ya, best to isolate the one and if he dies he dies, but at least he wont take the other 5 with him.