Elongate glassy perchlet

Chanda nama, (syn.: Ambassis nama )

Chanda nama is a freshwater and brackish water fish from the family of glass perch ( Ambassidae ). It is found in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma.

Features

It reaches a maximum length of 11 cm and has a glass perch fairly elongated body that is laterally strongly flattened and covered with tiny, partly irregularly arranged scales. The column foot is deep, the lower jaw is facing. Chanda nama is transparent, shimmering green yellow and is covered with numerous tiny black dots. They compress behind the gill cover to a black line that runs from the beginning of the lateral line down to above the pectoral fin base. The top of the head and the eyes are dark. The lateral line is partially clear to see, it was partially reduced. The unpaired fins of the males are orange, the upper edge of the first dorsal fin and the tip of the second black. The fins of the females are yellow. The two dorsal fins are almost completely separated.

• Fins formula: Dorsal 1 VII, dorsal 2 I/16-17, Anal 11, Ventral I / 5

Ecology

Chanda nama lives in stagnant and flowing waters, in clear streams, canals, ponds and flooded rice fields. It is often during the rainy season, is site- faithful and revier forming and feeds primarily on insect larvae, including the larvae of fever mosquitoes ( Anopheles ) and small crustaceans. Especially during the rainy season they also eat the scales of other fish. You can do the mouth open at a 90 ° angle and have four cones in the lower jaw, forward facing teeth with which they tear the scales from the sides of their victims.

Swell

• Günther Sterba: freshwater fish in the world. Urania - Verlag, 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4
• Archis R. Grubh, Kirk O. Winemiller (2004): Ontogeny of Scale Feeding in the Asian Glassfish, Chanda nama ( Ambassidae ) Copeia 4: 903-907. doi: 10.1643/CE-02-095R1