Tropical Fish Hobbyist

the bottom of the tank. Incubation is short and the remarkably large fry will appear three or four days after the eggs are laid. The adults are very proficient fry predators, however, so steps will have to be taken to save the fry. They are too small to be netted, so either collect and move the eggs to a hatching tank, or alternatively, move the adults to a different tank after a few days worth of eggs have been laid. Once the adults are out of the tank, the fry will be able to survive.

The fry are much larger than one would expect—they can eat microworms or vinegar eels immediately, and will also pick at infusoria in the tank. After a week they can be given baby brine shrimp, at which point they will start to grow quickly. Once they are half-grown (about ¼ inch) they can be safely housed with the adults. The development rate is rather impressive: the fry reach adult size within two months, and they start producing eggs and fry of their own within three months.

Adult male Danionella translucida are smaller than females of the species.

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Getting Your Hands
on the Micro Glassfish

The availability of D. translucida is sporadic at best. They are rarely exported for the aquarium trade, and when they are, the losses can be huge. A few specialty importers have been getting them occasionally, so interested aquarists should obtain them when they can, because there is no predicting when they will show up again. They are not difficult to breed however, so tank-raised fish should be more common in the future.

An important consideration the susceptibility of this species to environmental toxins. They have a low tolerance for poor water quality and harsh medications. The combination of being extremely small and scaleless means that normal concentrations of medications can be toxic. If medicating is necessary, avoid any chemicals not recommended for scaleless fish and use half dosages of everything else. Increase dosage of medication slowly if the problem does not get better, so that there is less risk of toxic shock to the fish. Luckily this species is otherwise very hardy and has not proven to be disease prone.

D. translucida is a species that needs to become established in the hobby. It is interesting, easy to maintain, and is not difficult to reproduce. They are certainly conversation starters. D