Glass Garden Fins

Current residents

Species

The fish, shrimp, crabs, and snails living in the 70L planted aquarium — where each species comes from, how it lives in the wild, and original tank footage as the library grows.

Fish

4 species

5 residents

Rainbow emperor tetra

Nematobrycon lacortei

A small, iridescent characin closely related to the emperor tetra, reaching about 3.6 cm. Described in 1971, it is a much rarer aquarium fish than its better-known congener.

Native range
Endemic to Colombia, restricted to the San Juan and Calima river basins on the Pacific slope.
Habitat
Soft, acidic blackwater and clearwater streams and tributaries.
Behavior
A peaceful schooling mid-water fish best kept in groups. An egg-scatterer that spawns among fine-leaved plants; adults eat their own eggs if not separated.

6 residents

Sanke koi swordtail

Xiphophorus hellerii

A captive-bred color morph of the green swordtail displaying koi-like patches of red, white, and black. Males grow to about 14 cm with the namesake elongated lower caudal sword; females reach 16 cm and lack it.

Native range
The wild species ranges from Veracruz, Mexico through Guatemala and Belize to northwestern Honduras; the koi patterning is a domesticated strain not found in nature.
Habitat
Swift-flowing, heavily vegetated rivers and streams, but also warm springs and canals; tolerant of fresh to mildly brackish water.
Behavior
An omnivorous livebearer eating plant matter plus small crustaceans, insects, and worms. Breeds prolifically, with live fry every 4-6 weeks, and can hybridize with platies.

1 resident

Red bristlenose shortfin pleco

Ancistrus sp.

A captive-bred red color form of a common bristlenose catfish, usually staying near 10-12 cm, with bony plates, a ventral suckermouth, and fleshy head tentacles on adult males.

Native range
Wild bristlenose catfish are widespread in tropical South America, especially the Amazon basin, plus Trinidad and Panama; the red shortfin morph is a line-bred aquarium strain.
Habitat
Bottom-dwelling in flowing rivers and floodplain waters; appreciates current, oxygen-rich water, and caves or wood for shelter.
Behavior
A mostly nocturnal grazer of algae and aufwuchs. A cave spawner: the male fans and guards the brood alone, and it breeds readily in home aquaria.

6 residents

Gold laser Corydoras

Corydoras sp. CW010

An undescribed armored catfish known in the hobby by the code CW010, distinguished by a brilliant metallic gold-to-orange stripe along its flank. Thought to be a natural color variant of the bronze cory lineage.

Native range
Peru: streams and tributaries of the upper Amazon, including the Rio Ucayali system around Pucallpa.
Habitat
Soft, slightly acidic to neutral waters with sandy substrates, often shaded by dense riverbank vegetation.
Behavior
A peaceful shoaling bottom-dweller best kept in groups of five or more over soft sand to protect its sensory barbels. Like other corydoras, it gulps atmospheric air at the surface.

Invertebrates

3 species

5 residents

Thai micro spider crab

Limnopilos naiyanetri

A tiny, fully aquatic freshwater crab whose carapace reaches only about 1 cm, with a hairy (setose) shell and claws that trap detritus as camouflage and food. It entered the hobby in 2008 and remains uncommon in the trade.

Native range
Endemic to Thailand, confirmed only from the Tha Chin River in Nakhon Pathom province.
Habitat
Slow-moving, vegetation-rich freshwater; the original specimens were found clinging to the roots of floating water hyacinths.
Behavior
Nocturnal and very shy, foraging for detritus and biofilm on plants and mosses. Captive breeding has never been documented, so trade stock is wild-caught.

6 residents

Amano shrimp

Caridina multidentata

A freshwater shrimp growing to about 25-35 mm, translucent with broken lines of reddish-brown dots and a pale dorsal stripe. Popularized for algae control by aquascaper Takashi Amano in the early 1980s.

Native range
Native to Japan, especially southwestern Japan, and Taiwan.
Habitat
Fast-flowing freshwater streams; the species is amphidromous, with a wide, short rostrum adapted to life in current.
Behavior
A tireless algae grazer that is extremely sensitive to copper. Larvae must drift downstream to brackish water to develop, so it will not reproduce in a freshwater tank.

3 residents

Bamboo shrimp

Atyopsis moluccensis

A large, peaceful filter-feeding shrimp reaching 8-10 cm, also sold as fan shrimp or wood shrimp. Its front legs bear feather-like fans used to strain food particles from the water.

Native range
Widespread across South and Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, from Sri Lanka and India through Indonesia to islands as far east as Samoa.
Habitat
Flowing freshwater streams and rivers, where it perches on rocks and wood in the current to filter feed.
Behavior
A passive filter feeder that holds its fans into the current, resorting to picking through the substrate only when food is scarce. Larvae require brackish water, so it will not breed in freshwater aquaria.

Snails

6 species

2 residents

Yellow Poso rabbit snail

Tylomelania sp.

A bright yellow rabbit snail — a group of large freshwater snails named for their long, drooping, ear-like antennae. Depending on species, they can reach 10-12 cm.

Native range
Endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia; the yellow form originates from Lake Poso, one of the island's ancient lake systems.
Habitat
Warm, alkaline lake water, roughly pH 7.3-8.5 and 25-29 degrees C, over sandy or rocky lake margins.
Behavior
A peaceful, curious grazer of algae, biofilm, and detritus, active day and night. Ovoviviparous, giving birth to a single fully shelled juvenile at a time, so populations grow slowly.

2 residents

King Koopa snail

Neritona juttingae

An aquarium-trade nerite of about 2-2.5 cm whose spiny, horned shell projections evoke the video-game villain it is named after.

Native range
An Indo-Pacific freshwater and brackish neritid; hobby specimens are reported from Indonesian waters, though trade locality data is informal.
Habitat
Freshwater to brackish coastal waters typical of amphidromous nerites, such as lower river reaches and estuaries.
Behavior
A dedicated grazer of algae and biofilm on glass, wood, and stone. Its planktonic larvae need brackish or marine conditions, so it cannot overpopulate a freshwater aquarium.

2 residents

Magenta apple snail

Pomacea diffusa

A captive-bred deep pink-purple color morph of the spike-topped apple snail, the common mystery snail of the hobby, with a shell reaching about 5-6 cm.

Native range
The wild species is widespread throughout the Amazon Basin of Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia; magenta is a domesticated color strain.
Habitat
Warm, slow-moving freshwater such as floodplain lakes, swamps, and quiet river margins.
Behavior
A peaceful scavenger and grazer that is generally safer with live plants than larger apple snails. Females lay conspicuous egg clutches above the waterline, so reproduction is easy to control.

2 residents

Red Racer snail

Vittina waigiensis

A small nerite of about 3 cm whose shell shows variable bands of red, orange, yellow, black, and white in repeating arrow patterns like racing stripes; one of the rarest nerites in the trade.

Native range
Native to the Philippines and Indonesia, including Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands.
Habitat
Amphibious in fresh, brackish, or marine coastal waters with dense vegetation, such as mangrove forests and river deltas.
Behavior
A highly effective algae and biofilm grazer, relatively long-lived at around 4 years. Its veliger larvae survive only in brackish water, so it cannot reproduce in freshwater aquaria.

2 residents

White Hercules snail

Brotia herculea

The creamy-white trade form of the giant tower cap snail, a large freshwater snail whose thick, turreted shell can reach 8-10 cm and tapers like a unicorn horn.

Native range
Native to Southeast Asia, occurring in Myanmar and Thailand.
Habitat
Freshwater rivers, streams, and wetlands; in aquaria it prefers fine sand and moderate-to-hard, non-acidic warm water for shell health.
Behavior
A slow-moving, peaceful grazer of algae, biofilm, detritus, and leftovers. A livebearer that reproduces only two or three times per year, so there is little risk of overpopulation.

15 residents

Malaysian trumpet snail

Melanoides tuberculata

A small freshwater snail with an elongated, conical tower of whorled shell, usually 2-3 cm. Famous in the hobby as a substrate burrower and one of the most prolific reproducers among aquarium snails.

Native range
Native to tropical Africa and southern Asia; now established in warm fresh water worldwide, largely spread by the aquarium trade.
Habitat
Buried in sandy or muddy substrate in lakes, rivers, and ponds, often emerging after dark.
Behavior
A burrowing detritivore that aerates the substrate while foraging and grazes surfaces at night. Parthenogenetic and live-bearing, so a small starting group can grow quickly.

Sources

Species profiles draw on the following references.