"Glass catfish" in the aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 trade refers usually to the Ghost Catfish

Ghost Catfish

The Ghost Catfish , also known as the Phantom Catfish or Ghost Fish, is an Asian glass catfish. Until 1989, it was considered to be the same as the Glass Catfish , and even today the latter name is commonly seen in the aquarium fish trade. However, the larger K...

, K. minor (see below). It can also mean any of the Asian glass catfishes (Kryptopterus) or the African glass catfish

African Glass Catfish

African Glass Catfish, Eutropiellus buffei, Eutropiellus vanderweyeri, Kryptopterus Buffei, belonging to the family Silidruae are a shy fish except when in schools. They live in Africa. So, they should not be confused with the Kryptopterus spp. that live in Borneo...

es (Parailia).

The Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus bicirrhis) is an Asian glass catfish of the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Kryptopterus. Until 1989, it included its smaller relative the Ghost Catfish

Ghost Catfish

The Ghost Catfish , also known as the Phantom Catfish or Ghost Fish, is an Asian glass catfish. Until 1989, it was considered to be the same as the Glass Catfish , and even today the latter name is commonly seen in the aquarium fish trade. However, the larger K...

, now known as K. minor. Its scientific name and common name

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 are often still used in the aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 fish trade to refer to the Ghost Catfish; as it seems, the larger and more aggressive K. bicirrhis was only ever export

Export

The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

ed in insignificant numbers, if at all.

In western Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, where they are sympatric, both K. minor and K. bicirrhis are collectively known as lais tipis in the Malay language

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

, but when locals want to distinguish the two, they refer to the Glass Catfish as lais limpok. In Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, where it is known as trey kes prak, the Khmer people

Khmer people

Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...

 use the Ghost Catfish as a key ingredient in the fine fish condiment

Fish sauce

Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia, and features heavily in Thai and Vietnamese...

 prahoc.

Description

The main difference to K. minor is the longer anal fin of the Glass Catfish, which in the latter has more than 54 and up to 68 rays. The present species also grows much larger – 15 cm (5.9 in) standard length, or twice the size of its relative; specimens measuring as much as 24.5 cm (9.6 in) standard length are reputed to exist. Its head is also lighter on average.

Like the Ghost Catfish, K. bicirrhis is transparent

Transparency and translucency

In the field of optics, transparency is the physical property of allowing light to pass through a material; translucency only allows light to pass through diffusely. The opposite property is opacity...

 except for the head, bone

Bone

Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...

s, and the internal organ

Organ (anatomy)

In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...

s which are located directly behind the head. When struck by light, they show an iridescence

Iridescence

Iridescence is generally known as the property of certain surfaces which appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes...

, and when dead, they turn milky white. They have two long barbel

Barbel (anatomy)

A barbel on a fish is a slender, whiskerlike tactile organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, sturgeon, the zebrafish and some species of shark...

s, which are as long again as the body in front of the anal fin. The dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

 is reduced to a tiny triangle, and the pectoral fins are longer than the head.

Ecology

While the Ghost Catfish

Ghost Catfish

The Ghost Catfish , also known as the Phantom Catfish or Ghost Fish, is an Asian glass catfish. Until 1989, it was considered to be the same as the Glass Catfish , and even today the latter name is commonly seen in the aquarium fish trade. However, the larger K...

 is sympatric with the Glass Catfish in western Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

 (Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

), the present species' range is much larger. Apart from the whole of Borneo, it also includes Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, the Malay Peninsula

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

, as well as the Chao Phraya and Mekong

Mekong

The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....

 drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

s.

These freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

 catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

 inhabit large river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

s with turbid water, where they typically seem to live near the shore in regions with pronounced currents. Peat

Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

y water with a rather low temperature (for its tropical range) of 21 to 26 °C (69.8 to 78.8 F) seems to be preferred. They are diurnal predators which mainly eat true water bugs (Nepomorpha) and occasionally smaller fishes.