East Indies Glass Catfish

About

The East Indies Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus macrocephalus) goes by several alternative names in the hobby, false glass catfish, mottled glass catfish, and tawny glass catfish among them, which hints at the identification confusion surrounding this group. It's a small, slender catfish native to the blackwater peat swamps and shaded, slow-to-moderate streams of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, where tannin-stained, acidic conditions are the norm. In terms of color, it shows a pale body marked with dark brown spots or stripes, which sets it apart from the closely related Kryptopterus piperatus, whose spots are smaller and more scattered. It doesn't show up in the trade all that often, so when you do come across it, it's worth knowing what you're getting. This is a gregarious species that genuinely needs companions of its own kind. Four or more individuals should be considered the minimum, as they school together and seem less stressed in a group. Despite being a carnivore, it's well-behaved in mixed community setups, though it can make a snack of very small tankmates and tends to retreat when kept with loud, pushy fish. Calm, similarly-sized cyprinids, loaches, and other small catfishes make the most sensible companions. Breeding in captivity hasn't been documented.