A tank of glass catfish caught my eye at the fish store, so I described the fish in my community tank to the dealer and asked if the catfish would make a good addition. He answered in the affirmative, and sold me two of these interesting transparent fish. He also said nothing about special feeding requirements, and since they are catfish, I never thought to ask.

At the counter, I bought a few other things, cinluding the July issue of Aquarium FIsh International. When I got home and opened the magazine to page 71, I found a short article on glass catfish telling me (1) they must be kept in groups of 6 or more, (2) are difficult to feed and eat only live or frozen food, and (3) should not be kept in a tank with active fish.

My question is: who’s right, the magazine or the fish dealer? If the magazine is right, should I assume the dealer did not know these facts about glass catfish? Which fish experts do you trust these days?