We have received this dwarf glass perch from Indonesia, which was named in honour of Alex Ploeg, who was in the passenger plane shot over the Ukraine on 17 July 2014.
Gymnochanda ploegi is known so far only from West Kalimantan, the part of Borneo belonging to Indonesia. It is a pure freshwater species that lives in very soft, acidic water. The peaceful fish become only 3-4 cm long and is a schooling species. Their care is not difficult, however, Gymnochanda, like most glass-perches, accept only live and frozen food, the latter only after habituation. It is best to feed such small treasures with live Artemia nauplii.
Only the males have enlarged and red colored fins. Glass-perches often spawn in the aquarium, they are plant-spawners without brood-care. The raising of the tiny young, who often only accept certain food organisms, is, however, a very high school of aquaristics.
For our customers: the animals have code 419622 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
