What to Feed Glass Catfish?

Native to the warm waters of Indonesia, Thailand and the Indies, glass catfish prefer their aquarium homes to closely mimic these water conditions. They thrive around groups of dense plants in the wild and in a tank, preferring to school in front of live plants. In the wild, glass cats are omnivorous, but enjoy a high-meat diet over one that has more plants. Larvae of aquatic insects and other, smaller water creatures are frequently on the menu in their native home.

Few species of aquarium fish are as picky about their food as the glass cat. Because they thoroughly enjoy meaty meals, you should start them out on live, frozen or freeze-dried worms. Bloodworms and tubifex worms are a good choice for these transparent omnivores. They'll also appreciate brine shrimp from time to time.

Although it's not guaranteed, glass cats may also take flakes. In general, you should start them out on a meaty diet of live, frozen or freeze-dried foods and then gradually work in flake feedings. Always use a high-quality flake food for your transparent cats. Flake foods should never be the sole source of food for your glass cats, but used to supplement worms and shrimp.

True schooling fish, glass cats are healthier and more active when placed in a school. Ideally they should be kept in schools of at least five or six fish. When they are in a healthy school, glass cats will more readily take flake foods and eat more of their worms and shrimp, as they are happier and healthier. In many cases, having too few glass cats in a tank will cause them to waste away as they become stressed out and don't eat their fill.