Mirror perch. Glass perch (Parambassis ranga)
Glass Perch ( Parambassis ranga) formerly known as Chanda ranga, got its name from the transparent skin through which the bone structure and internal organs fish.
However, during many years, painted glass perch is available for sale. These are colored fish, but the color has nothing to do with nature; they are artificially colored on farms in Southeast Asia by introducing luminescent dyes.
This procedure involves being pricked with a large needle and most fish do not live longer than a couple of months, after which, unpainted fish can live up to 3-4 years.
And this color fades quickly, by the way. Unfortunately, in our country they are sold freely, but in European countries The sale of painted glass perches was banned.
We will also dispel the myth that to successfully keep glass perches, you need to add salt to the water, since they live only in brackish water. This is not true, although most sites will claim the opposite.
Indeed, they can live in brackish water, and are even found in nature in water of medium salinity, but for the most part they still live in fresh water. Moreover, in most natural reservoirs the water is soft and acidic.
When you buy glass perches, be sure to ask the seller about the conditions in which they were kept. If in fresh water, then do not add salt, it is simply not necessary.
Indian glass perches are quite widespread throughout India and Pakistan, as well as in other countries of Southeast Asia.
For the most part, they live in fresh water, although they are also found in brackish and even salt water. Rivers and lakes in India most often have soft and acidic water (dH 2 - 8 and pH 5.5 - 7).
Glass perches stay in schools, choosing places with a large number plants and shelters. They mainly eat small insects.
Description
The maximum body length is 8 cm, the body itself is laterally compressed, rather narrow. The head and belly are silvery, the rest of the body is transparent, the spine and other bones are visible.
The glass perch has a double dorsal fin, a long anal fin and a large forked caudal fin.
Difficulty in content
Overall it's quite unpretentious fish, but through the efforts of people, their lifespan is significantly reduced.
Try not to buy painted glass perches; they live shorter and fade quickly.
And find out what kind of water they were kept in, brackish or fresh, before purchasing.
If your bass were kept in brackish water, you will have to slowly acclimate them to fresh water.
This is best done in a separate, fully functional brackish water quarantine aquarium. Gradually reduce the salinity over two weeks, replacing about 10% of the water.
A 100 liter aquarium is quite suitable for keeping a small school of glass perches. Water is better neutral, soft (pH 7 and dH of 4 - 6).
To reduce nitrates and ammonia in the water, use an external filter, plus it will create a current in the aquarium. Weekly water changes will also help.
If you want to create a biotope that imitates the water bodies of India and Pakistan, then be sure to use large number plants, as the fish are shy and stick to shelters. They love dim, diffused light and warm water, 25-30°C.
In such conditions, glass perches behave much calmer, more active and brightly colored.
Compatibility
Peaceful and harmless fish, glass perches themselves can become victims of predators. They are shy and stick to shelters. These small fish only live in schools and need to be kept at least six in an aquarium to feel safe.
A single person or a couple will feel stressed and hide. As already mentioned, before purchasing, find out what kind of water they were kept in, and ideally, see how they eat.
If you're willing, you can take it. And remember, it is better to introduce glass perches into an already established aquarium rather than into a newly launched one, as they are quite capricious.
Suitable neighbors for them would be zebrafish, cuneiform rasboras, small barbs and irises. However, the selection of neighbors also depends on the salinity of the water.
In the brackish water it can be kept with mollies, bee goby, but not with tetradons. They get along well with peaceful catfish, such as corydoras, and shrimp.
Feeding
They are unpretentious and eat most live, frozen and artificial foods.
Sex differences
In males, the edges of the anal and dorsal fin bluish, and the body color is slightly more yellow than that of females. These differences become more pronounced as spawning begins and color intensifies.
However, juvenile glass perch cannot be distinguished by gender, which is compensated by keeping a school of fish.
Breeding
In the wild, Indian glassfish breed during the monsoon season when the water is fresh and soft. Ponds, lakes, streams and rivers fill with water, overflow their banks and the amount of food increases significantly.
If glass perches are kept in brackish water in an aquarium, then a large change of water to fresh water can serve as a stimulus for spawning.
In general, they spawn regularly in the aquarium, but the eggs are eaten. To raise the fry, you need to place the fish in a separate aquarium with soft water and a temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius.
For plants, it is better to use Java moss or another type of moss, as they lay eggs on small-leaved plants.
Females are released into the spawning area in advance and fed generously with live or frozen food for about a week. After this, the males are released, preferably at night, since spawning begins early in the morning.
The fish scatter their eggs among the plants, and after spawning they must be removed immediately, as they can eat them. It is better to add a few drops of methylene blue to the water to avoid fungal infection of the eggs.
The larva will hatch in a day, but the fry will remain on the plants for another three to four days until the yolk sac is resolved.
After the glass perch fry begin to swim, they are fed small foods: ciliates, green water, microworms. As they grow, they produce artemia nauplii.
Post navigationGlass perch (Parambassis/Chanda ranga)
Habitat: inhabits stagnant bodies of water with brackish and fresh water in India, Burma, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal and Cambodia.
Description:
The tall body is diamond-shaped, flattened laterally. The back is arched. The lower jaw is elongated, the teeth are small, the forehead is concave. The dorsal fin consists of 2 parts: the front is triangular in shape and high, the back is more rounded at the bottom, symmetrical to it anal fin.
The body is so transparent that the internal organs and skeleton are visible through it. The noticeable swim bladder of the male is pointed and elongated, while that of the female is more rounded. There are 5 rays on the ventral fin, 7-8 spines on the dorsal fin, three on the anal fin, and one spine on the ventral fin.
The color of males ranges from yellow-green to yellow-orange with five transverse stripes on the sides formed by dark spots. The rays on the fins are black with a blue rim.
Glass perch - female
The color of females is less remarkable. They lack a blue border on their fins and have a steel-silver body.
Glass perch - male
The tip of the anterior dorsal fin is dark. The pectoral fins are reddish in color. Some individuals have a light purple stripe stretching from the gills to the caudal fin.
Glass perch - painted
In nature, glass perch reaches 8 cm, in captivity - 5 cm.
Arrangement and parameters of the aquarium: an aquarium needs to be at least 100 liters or at least 50 cm long. Fish feel most comfortable when kept in a school of 5-8 individuals.
Any type of plant that can grow in salted water is suitable. It is better to plant them in containers rather than in soil, which should be shallow. Sand or gravel of a small fraction is suitable. Fish require free space for swimming and secluded places, which form piles of large stones, snags or artificial grottoes.
Water parameters: 23-26° C, dH 8-20, pH 7-8.5.
Good filtration with aeration is necessary. Water changes are carried out in small quantities. Glass perch loves old and very clean water. It is useful to add sea salt to the aquarium (3 tsp per 10 liters). The lighting is bright, it is desirable that sunlight enters the aquarium.
Glass perch (Parambassis (Chanda) ranga) Very peaceful fish, which, however, is painful for a large number of neighbors. Compatible with small species: guppies, tetras, rasboras, corydoras. With large aggressive fish cannot be contained.
Nutrition: in nature it eats crustaceans, worms, and insect larvae. In an aquarium, glassfish should be fed frozen and live food. Daily norm divided into small portions and fed gradually. He does not accept cereal readily.
Reproduction: For a pair of glass perches you will need a spawning tank from 50 cm, for several pairs - from 80 cm. Small-leaved plants, including floating ones, are placed in the container. Their number should be greater than the number of males.
A few months before spawning, the water must be salted: for 12 liters - 2 tsp. Spawning is stimulated by raising the temperature a few degrees, adding one-fourth of fresh water and the light of the morning sun.
The fish spawn at dawn, gluing eggs to the leaves, roots and stems of plants. The female lays 6-10 eggs at a time. During the entire spawning period, which lasts 2-3 days, she lays about 200 eggs. The fish do not eat their offspring and therefore there is no need to remove them.
Incubation lasts from 1 to 2.5 days. At first, the hatched fry hang motionless in a vertical position, and then swim and are able to receive nauplii and rotifers. The spawning area with fry should be dimly lit around the clock. You should carefully monitor the purity of the water, making drip changes.
They become sexually mature at 4-6 months.
Lifespan Glass perch (Parambassis (Chanda) ranga)- up to 3 years.
Those who have been involved in aquarium farming for a long time are well aware of the beautiful transparent fish, which is called glass perch. But beginners know practically nothing about it and are not eager to purchase this miracle of nature for their aquarium. All because of rumors that this perch lives only in water containing small quantity salt. In fact, this is not true at all.
The glass perch is very small
Some general information
This special transparent fish goes by several names: glass perch (Parambassis ranga), changa ranga, mirror perch, and also Indian glass perch. In nature, it can be found in fresh water lakes of Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia and Malaysia. In addition, in brackish water bodies this amazing fish can live without any problems.
Unfortunately, sellers in pet stores only remember that mirror perch lives in salt water and convey this information to customers. Marine aquarium Rarely anyone can afford it, which is why they don’t keep this wonderful fish.
In terms of its size, Changa-ranga is a medium-sized fish; its maximum length is 8 cm. The body is laterally compressed and absolutely transparent. Without any effort, you can see all the bones and air bubble of the fish. But her head and abdomen are silver. The back of the fish is decorated with a rather large double fin. Yes and anal with caudal fins nothing less.
This fish lives in a school
This fish prefers to live in schools of 10-12 individuals. It is desirable that there are enough shelters at the bottom of the reservoir in which you can hide from danger. Driftwood and large stones are perfect for this.
Buying a pet
When purchasing this fish, it is important to remember that its body is completely transparent. The fact is that you can often find glassy colored perch on sale, but this color is not natural. In Southeast Asia, there are entire farms where fish are dyed by injecting luminescent dyes into their muscles with a large needle. After this painful procedure, perches do not live longer than two months, unlike their unpainted counterparts, who feel great for three to four years.
Of course, a painted perch attracts more attention, it is brighter and looks much more impressive, but the price of all this is too high. Moreover, luminescent paint quickly becomes pale and inexpressive, losing its attractiveness.
And if in Russia they still sell bright changa-ranga with all their might, in Europe they have already banned the sale of colored fish.
When purchasing Indian perch, you should pay attention to the mobility of the fish, the integrity of its fins, and the absence of foreign growths and damage to the skin. This is the only way to buy pet, which will delight its owner with a healthy appearance for many years.
When buying a perch there are a number of nuances
Creating ideal conditions
Because aquarium perch feels better in the company of its fellows, then it is advisable to purchase them in quantities of six to twelve pieces. When in a school, the fish are much more active and not so shy.
When buying fish, be sure to ask the seller what kind of water the pets were kept in - fresh or salted. The further adaptation of the Chang-Rang will depend on this. There are two options acclimatization of fish:
- transplantation from salted water to fresh water;
- movement from fresh water to salt water.
In the first case, after purchase, the fish is quarantined in an aquarium with salted water. For 1-2 weeks, replace 10-15% of the brackish liquid with fresh water every day. Thus, the fish gradually gets used to living in new conditions.
Don’t forget about the nuances of acclimatization
If the pet store kept the fish in fresh water, and the new owner kept the fish in the aquarium, sea water, do not despair. Newcomers are placed in quarantine, in conditions similar to those in a store. To adapt to new conditions 1-2 teaspoons sea salt dissolve in one liter of water. Then the resulting solution is added to the aquarium daily at the rate of 10 tablespoons per 100 liters. It will take about three weeks to create optimal conditions. To measure specific gravity liquids, you must use a hydrometer.
In order for the Indian perch to feel comfortable in the aquarium, you need to create for it optimal conditions:
- The water should be neutral and soft (ph 7-8.5, gh 8-20).
- The optimal water temperature is 25-27 degrees.
- There should be no ammonia and nitrites in the aquarium.
- Once a week you need to replace about 25% of the water with clean and settled water.
- It is advisable to pour fine and smooth soil on the bottom of the aquarium, put various driftwood and other objects that will serve as shelter for the fish. For landscaping you need to use both tall and short plants.
- The most the best option for changa-ranga there will be a dim, diffused light.
If you adhere to these points, then the fish in the aquarium will be quite comfortable. They will not constantly seek shelter and worry; they will begin to swim more, allowing them to observe their lives.
The best neighbors for a glass fish
Having created best conditions For life, you need to take care of the neighbors of peace-loving fish. Since Indian perches are very shy, you need to carefully consider which other inhabitants of the aquarium can be added to them. The main thing is to exclude aggressive, as well as predatory fish. As the best neighbors are suitable:
- tetras;
- bee gobies;
They have excellent compatibility with glass perch. All these fish are busy specific place in the aquarium, distributed throughout the entire water column. In addition, they will not offend the glass perch, forcing the latter to hide all the time. And they won’t have any disputes on the issue of nutrition.
Goby gets along well with perch
Proper feeding of your pet
Changa-ranga is very unpretentious both in maintenance and nutrition. IN wildlife he only eats live food. In an aquarium, it can also be accustomed to artificial ones. It is important to clarify at the time of purchase what the fish were fed, and during the acclimatization period it is advisable not to change the pet’s diet. This will allow the fish to adapt faster to new conditions.
All of the perch's neighbors eat artificial food well, but this diet itself can cause infertility. Therefore, it is better to use live or frozen food to feed transparent fish. Perches are very fond of bloodworms, tubifex, katra, daphnia, and cyclops.
It is important to properly organize fish nutrition. Under no circumstances should you overfeed your pets. You need to give food several times a day and in small portions. You shouldn't starve your pets either. You can feed the fish at least less often three times per week.
Reproduction of glass perch
At six months of age, glass perch are ready to breed. At this time it is quite easy to determine the gender fish affiliation:
- The air bladder in males is slightly pointed, while in females it is more rounded.
- In males, the edges of the anal and dorsal fin are bluish or gray, while in females they are colorless.
- Boys' scales are yellowish, while girls' scales are silvery.
- On the sides of males, five vertical stripes are formed from black specks. Females do not have them.
Sexual characteristics are quite pronounced, so distinguishing a male from a female is not difficult. This must be done before spawning begins.
There are a number of signs of spawning
To obtain offspring, it is best to use a separate aquarium, since in general the eggs can be eaten by neighbors. Soft water with a temperature of about thirty degrees is poured into the spawning tank; it is better to line its bottom with moss. First, females are introduced into the aquarium and are well fed with live or artificial food. Then the males are released towards them. Mating season lasts about three to four days. At this time, the female lays eggs, and the male fertilizes her.
After spawning, according to some sources, the fish must be removed from the aquarium so that they do not eat the eggs. According to other sources, parents do not eat their offspring, so they can be left in the spawning area.
After two to three days, the fry hatch from the eggs and need feeding. They are given rotifers or Diaptomus nauplii. At two weeks of age, the young are fed Cyclops nauplii and small Diaptomus. The main thing is that the food moves; current can help with this. It is important that food is always in water, so it is given several times a day.
The fry grow quite quickly, and already at the age of three months they begin to show their first sexual characteristics.
In general, aquarium fish glass perch is very unpretentious and easy to care for and maintain. She is loved for her unique appearance and a gentle disposition. If these fish are given a little time and attention, they will please their owner with excellent health. In addition, the mirror perch, like its neighbors in the aquarium, recognizes its owner perfectly and always greets him from work, giving this person a lot of pleasure.
In this video you will learn more about this fish:
Glass perch is an aquarium fish. He is very unusual and stands out among other inhabitants by the transparency of his body. This fish allows you to examine the insides and bones. That is why it was called “glass perch”. Indeed, through a small body you can see everything, as if through glass. Caring for perch in an aquarium is not at all difficult; it is quite peaceful towards its neighbors and is relatively hardy. In order for the fish to feel comfortable, you need to know some rules for caring for it.
Transparent fish - glass perch
As stated earlier, main feature The thing about glass perch is its transparency. The fish is laterally flattened and tall, with a body diamond-shaped. This feature is especially evident in fry; unusual perches change with age.
Males and females differ in color. First in mature age become orange with a golden tint, females at the same age are silver with a steel tint. When a male perch is ready to spawn, a bluish border appears along the edges of the dorsal and anal fins, and specks appear on the elongated swim bladder. In females it is round, in in general terms they look less interesting than the males.
Aquarium glass perch: lifestyle
Originally a transparent fish from its homeland, it lives in both fresh and brackish water, and feels more comfortable in reservoirs with standing water. Perches live in flocks and do not like loneliness.
Glass perch is also famous in our area. Aquarium fish, as already mentioned, do not like loneliness. Gather a flock of 10-12 perch, together they will feel good and calm. The young swim quickly as a group around the aquarium, while the adults look for places to procreate. Having decided on a place for spawning, the male begins to show competitors his right to a home. If a stranger encroaches on occupied territory, then the consequence of such impudence will be a fight. As a rule, there are no casualties in such battles. The aquarium volume should be no less than 50 liters, otherwise the fish may have health problems.
Glass perch practically does not quarrel with its neighbors in the aquarium, so the issue of sharing is easily resolved. Carpet eleotris, bee gobies, catfish, rasboras can be excellent neighbors... Provided that the water is brackish, you can safely add guppies and mollies to the perches. When choosing neighbors for transparent beauties, stick to one rule: do not add too active and aggressive fish to them.
At aquarium maintenance glass perch, if the neighbors do not require it, it is not at all necessary to add salt. The reaction can be from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. It is recommended to maintain the water temperature in the aquarium at 26 degrees. It is necessary to change a third of all water every seven days, aeration and filtration are required.
If you want your fish to feel at home, create a natural atmosphere for them in the aquarium. For this special effort not required, the very first thing is to make a dark substrate of fine gravel or coarse river sand. Then you need to plant thick algae, also place floating aquatic greenery in the glass fish house, now add driftwood and stones. That's it, the natural atmosphere for glass perches has been reproduced!
What and how to feed?
In order for glass perch to develop well, it must be fed properly. IN natural environment fish feed on larvae, crustaceans, insects and worms. In the aquarium, the diet of transparent water inhabitants consists of daphnia, coretra, tubifex and small food bloodworms. It should be noted that perches do not really like dry food and consume it reluctantly.
Reproduction
At the age of six months, glass perch is ready to breed. At this time, males begin to divide the territory and choose a place for spawning. Foreign males are prohibited from entering the occupied territory; for females, on the contrary, the “door” is always open. “Boys” actively invite “girls” to join them. Mating season lasts four days, during which time a loving couple of perch spawns several times.
The female glass perch lays six eggs at once, and the male fertilizes them immediately. During one spawning, a female can lay about three hundred eggs. The incubation period lasts 25-30 hours.
Fish larvae swim after the second day, at which time you need to start feeding them. Diet of larvae - living dust and rotifer. When the babies grow up, after about fourteen days, they begin to eat Cyclops nauplii with appetite. You need to carefully care for small fish and feed them regularly, then they will grow healthy and well developed.