Care
Although only fairly recently described, the Humphead Glassfish - with its most distinctive cranial hump - has quickly become one of the most familiar and popular members of the family Ambassidae (Asiatic Glassfishes). In the wild, it has been found to inhabit large streams with clear, highly-oxygenated waters near to rapids and large riffles. The home aquarium should be spacious enough for this moderately sized, active swimmer, and should employ good filtration and areas of powerful current. Highly oxygenated water is an absolute must. The tank could be decorated with driftwood and smooth water worn boulders, cobbles, and pebbles to create eddies and some areas of slightly calmer water. It is important to create some visual barriers amongst the décor, as on occasion, males can be a little argumentative and territorial with one another; this should not become an issue if large enough groups are maintained (8+) and if they are provided with enough space and places to hide in the first place. Tankmates should be of similar size, as anything small (i.e. Guppy sized) would become a snack. In their native habitats, Humphead Glassfish will maintain their position in the strong current, waiting for small fish, shrimp, insects etc to be swept along and these are quickly snapped up into their surprisingly capacious mouths. Good choices of tankmates could include medium-sized barbs, medium-sized characins, botiid loaches, and Loricariid catfish. Ensure that frequent partial water changes are carried out, as these fish are especially sensitive to the build up of nitrogenous wastes in a closed system. It may be of interest that the scale-less hump is actually a very long and thin extension of the supraoccipital spine, and is therefore quite different to the nuchal hump seen in some cichlids.
Feeding
Initially, Humphead Glassfish may be a little fussy with regards to feeding. Start by offering live and frozen meaty items such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, Mysis shrimp, river shrimp, chopped prawns etc. In time these fish may adapt to taking some dried foods such as flake and granules, but be prepared with a choice of small frozen/live foods as detailed here, during the initial settling in period.
Breeding
The Humphead Glassfish has not been bred in the home aquarium. Like other Glassfish species, it is an egg scatterer and it is quite probable that it would breed in a similar manner. A large water change in the evening may initiate spawning of well-conditioned fish the following morning, when the first rays of morning sun hit the aquarium glass. There should be plenty of plants/spawning mops to catch the eggs as they are scattered/fertilised. The adults will likely predate on any eggs, so they should be removed once spawning is over. Glassfish eggs are notoriously sensitive and prone to fungussing, and some fishkeepers like to dose the breeding aquarium with a weak solution of methylene blue to help prevent this.
