''Parambassis ranga'', commonly known as the Indian glassy fish, Indian glassy perch, or Indian X-ray fish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of freshwater

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the Asiatic glassfish

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Ambassidae of order

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

. It is native to an area of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The Indian glassy fish has an extraordinarily

transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...

body, revealing its bones and internal organs; the male develops a dark edge to the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

. The fish grows to a maximum overall length of . It occurs in standing water, especially in impoundments, and it breeds prolifically during the rainy season. The species feeds on

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

annelid The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecol ...

worms, and other

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. It is, in turn, prey for larger fish, including snakeheads (family

Channidae The snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to parts of Africa and Asia. These elongated, predatory fish are distinguished by their long dorsal fins, large mouths, and shiny teeth. They breathe air with ...

). The Indian glassy fish is not important as a food fish for humans, but is very common in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. Formerly classified as ''Chanda ranga,'' the species is also known as the Indian glassfish, Indian glass perch, and Siamese glassfish.

In the aquarium

Glassfish have been kept in aquarium for many years, but have a reputation for being delicate and difficult to keep. This may be related to a persistent myth that these fish need

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

water. In the wild, they more commonly inhabit fresh water, and in captivity do well in slightly soft to moderately hard dGH 7–19, slightly acidic to slightly alkaline water pH 6.5–7.5. They can tolerate a temperature range of 20–30 °C (68–86 °F). These fish swim at the middle and lower levels of the tank, and will take most small live and frozen foods. In general, they tend not to eat dried foods (such as flake). The fish reproduce by laying the eggs (females) and then the males fertilize the eggs.

Dyed glassfish

Indian glassy fish sold to hobbyists have often been " painted", which involves injecting coloured dye into the fish's transparent tissue to make them more attractive to hobbyists. These coloured fish are often called "disco fish". Inexperienced fishkeepers are often tricked into believing such fish are natural and not told that the process is not painless and causes kidney damage to the fish.Wet Web Media
Painted_Indian_Glassy_Fish

Fish thus treated have suffered trauma and are susceptible to disease, including ''

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis ''Ichthyophthirius multifiliis'', often termed "Ich", is a parasitic ciliate described by the French parasitologist Fouquet in 1876. Only one species is found in the genus which also gave name to the family. The name literally translates as "the ...

'' infection,

fin rot A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

, and the viral disease

lymphocystis Lymphocystis is a common viral disease of freshwater and saltwater fish. The virus that causes this disease belongs to the genus ''Lymphocystivirus'' of the family Iridoviridae. Aquarists often come across this virus when their fish are stress ...

. The artificial coloration often fades within a short time. Healthy, unpainted specimens may live three to four years in captivity, but such individuals may be difficult to find in some localities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1661574 ranga Fish of Asia Fish of Pakistan Fish of India Fish described in 1822