Glass Catfish fry - i think i have some

[damo81]

Hey all,

I recently had some bristlenose fry. I moved the wood and fry which they were on into a small tank (away from hungry community tank).

I removed the wood yesterday as they were free swimming (replaced with new small piece)

Today I performed partial water change only to discover 2 what seem to be glass cat fry.

They are incredibly small - so i am unable to photograph them yet, but they are there!

They swim near the surface and i almost cant believe my eyes.

No other fish are in the tank apart from the bristlenose fry.

What do I do? I cant find any documented information on the raising of the fry.

Hope someone can help.

[Silurus]

They should be fine if you treat them like any other catfish fry and try to feed them with floating foods.
How many glass cats did you have in your community tank?

[damo81]

There are six glass cats in the community tank, 2 6cm and 4 4cm
The babies seem to be doing well, I am feeding them baby brine shrimp

[Antti]

Hey Damo, I haven't seen any other report on glass cat breeding. Can you tell what do you think triggered them to breed?

Antti

[pturley]

A have to ask the obligatory line of questions:
What other fish were in the community? Are you sure the fry are Glass cats?
What species of Glass cats do you have?

The fish obviously will breed, otherwise we wouldn't have any... However, I have to say I for one am quite suprised they would spawn in a community aquarium. I doubt that I am alone in that reaction.

If they truely are Glass cat fry, congratulations! I am certain we all want to hear as much details as possible.

[Jools]

Anyone who knows me knows I am an optimist at heart, but Paul's questions are valid. That said, let's look at the stats - how many people actually TRY to do it alongside how readily available these fish are. We must NOT forget how common these fish are in your LFS.

So, look forward to hearing that these are glass cat fry, but no shame if they turn out to be something else.

Jools

[pturley]

Well put Jools... ...I wholeheartedly agree.

[the10thplanut]

only discussion of breeding these guys that I've found is as follows (from http://www.mongabay.com/fish/siluridae.htm ):

"Breeding is rare and usually accidental. Try feeding a pair mosquito larvae, Daphnia, and bloodworms to get them in spawning condition. Stimulate the rainy season to initiate spawning by daily water changes of 1/4 the tank volume. Lower the water temperature to 72-75¡F (22-24¡C) and reduce the tank water level to half of normal. Each day, add a small amount (5% of the tank volume) of soft water to the tank. If the fish are ready to spawn, the female's belly will swell. She will lay several hundred eggs on plants. Separate the parents from the eggs. Simulating the rainy season will help the eggs mature. Start feeding the fry with newly hatched brine shrimp."

[damo81]

They turned out to be rainbowfish fry after all that.

A little disapointing but nevermind, I think I was a tad over enthusiastic.

Thanks for the help anyway guys!