Ghost Glass Catfish

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1boatnut

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Oct 3, 2006
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:help: Ok I did something I hope I won't regret. I bought a couple of Ghost Catfish yesterday without doing any research,just because I thought they look cool.

Now today I am reading stuff saying they are hard to feed,only accept live food,become stressed easily and all different stuff. Others say they will eat flakes,are ok if not in schools,and one guy has had a lone fish for 6 years:confused:

I have a 55 gallon community tank,with some driftwood,plenty of cover but no live plants.

Can anyone here give me their experiences with these fish.
So far they seem to be OK,but after reading so many different opinions,i'm now afraid I made a BIG mistake.
 
jm1212 said:
ghost catfish will waste away if they are not kept in groups of at least 6.

most palces i have read say that they need either live or frozen foods. i do know that they wont eat flakes.
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Have you ever kept any of these fish ??
 
kuhliloach said:
can u keep a CAE and some glass catfish in a ten gal tank?
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no not at all. a 10 gallon is not big enough for 1 glass catfish let alone the 6 needed for a proper school. nor is it big enough for a CAE, which get to be 12 inches long. CAEs dont eat alghea they eat your fish and would kill the glass catfish in a blink of an eye.

unfortunately, i have not kept them, but i ahve done my reasearch on them becuase at one time i wanted to keep them. i decided that they were not for my tanks because all of the fish i had would easily outcompete them for food, for they are one of the most peacful, least aggressive eaters out there.
 
jm1212 said:
ghost catfish will waste away if they are not kept in groups of at least 6.

most palces i have read say that they need either live or frozen foods. i do know that they wont eat flakes.
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I'm sure that there are many who won't eat flakes; I could just be very lucky but I've had a school of 5 for about a year and they definately eat flakes (along with frozen).

You will want to get at least 4 more, preferably 5. Try frozen brine shrimp if the flakes don't work. Mine eat almost anything that is floating midlevel in the tank, but I know they won't eat off the bottom.

You'll know your school is comfortable if you find it separated every once in a while. Tight, hard-to-find schools tend not to be too happy. Temperature should be about 76-77 degrees, and water should be very clean :)

Edit: along with the fish in my sig (35g), they've been kept in the 50g tank (sans needlefish). They are very peaceful tankmates, and do best with at least a moderate current and other schooling fish.

That's all my fish have taught me, at least.
 
My experience is from a long time ago, but I found them as hardy and long-lived as any other fish in my tank. I never had more than three at one time. The last one lived over three years until I left for college.

Yes, they would prefer to be in a school of more than what I had. They would prefer a heavily planted tank with lots of hiding places. But that tank had only some floating water sprite and a few plastic plants. Yes, they are relatively timid, but they never seemed to starve, and ate normal flake food.

They are mid to top level fish. They just "hovered" in one place most of the time.

I think they are wonderful community fish.
 
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jgulecas said:
My experience is from a long time ago, but I found them as hardy and long-lived as any other fish in my tank. I never had more than three at one time. The last one lived over three years until I left for college.

Yes, they would prefer to be in a school of more than what I had. They would prefer a heavily planted tank with lots of hiding places. But that tank had only some floating water sprite and a few plastic plants. Yes, they are relatively timid, but they never seemed to starve, and ate normal flake food.

They are mid to top level fish. They just "hovered" in one place most of the time.

I think they are wonderful community fish.
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Thanks for the response,thats the kind of information I am seeking. From people who have actual 1st hand knowledge from keeping the fish. I think so many times people(like me) tend to shy away from a specefic species because of the stuff strewn on the internet,when actually they be missing out on some exciting fish had they known the facts.
I did feed my fish bloodworms last night.Today I noticed the Ghost Catfish(at least 1) eating the flakes. For now they are staying a few inches off the bottom hidden in some plants. On occasion they have come out. I hope as time goes on they will be a middle dweller like you stated. When I saw them in the petstore that is where they all were,of course there was nothing else in the tank
 
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