Things You'll Need
Fish tank, 10 gallons or larger
Powerhead aquarium current simulator
Temperature controller
Floating plants
The glass catfish is a small variety of fish that grows up to 6 inches in length and is transparent, meaning that its spine and organs are visible. They are best kept on small shoals of four or more in a large fish tank with a simulated current and a pH of between 6.5 to 7.5. The Ideal water temperature for the glass catfish is 73 to 82 degrees F.
Stimulating Spawning
Empty the aquarium down to about halfway full to begin simulating the rainy season. This is when the species naturally spawns in the wild.
Begin feeding the adult fish a diet of mosquito larvae, daphnia and bloodworms. This helps to stimulate the spawning process.
Lower the tank's water temperature down to between 72 and 75 degrees F and maintain the normal pH levels suitable for the fish.
Each day add around 5 percent to the water level in the tank. This fools the fish into thinking the water levels are rising as they would in a river environment.
Observe the fish. It can be hard to know which are female, but if the process is working, the females should start to display swollen bellies.
Move the adults to a different tank if spawning stimulation works and eggs are produced. The females will lay the eggs on the aquarium plants.
Continue to simulate rainy season conditions. You may need to remove some of the water from the tank so as to able to add small amounts back daily.
When the eggs hatch, begin feeding the small fry with freshly hatched brine shrimp. Keep them separate from the adult fish until they are closer to adult size themselves.
Tips
Glass catfish are difficult to breed, so you may need to attempt the process several times before achieving success. Glass catfish prefer to lay their eggs in natural aquarium floating plants.
