Elongate glassy perchlet

Elongate Glassy Perchlet
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Ambassidae
Genus:	Chanda
Species:	C. nama
Binomial name
Chanda nama Hamilton, 1822

The elongate glassy perchlet, Chanda nama, is a species of freshwater fish in the Asiatic glassfish family Ambassidae of order Perciformes, the only species in the genus Chanda. It is native to an area of south Asia from Pakistan to Burma, in the Indomalaya ecozone.

The elongate glassy perchlet reaches a maximum overall length of 11 cm (4.3 in).

The species inhabits canals, ponds, streams, and flooded rice paddies, in both fresh and brackish water, and is found in particular abundance during the rainy season. The species feeds on mosquito larvae and worms and also eats the scales of other fishes (Lepidophagy), the species may have potential use in controlling malaria and parasites.

The fish are harvested and sold for food in local markets.

Several other species of family Ambassidae were formerly classified in genus Chanda, including the well-known Indian glassy fish, Parambassis ranga, the "glassfish" of the aquarium trade; and the high-finned glass perchlet, Parambassis lala, once considered the type species of the genus.

The elongate glassy perchlet is known by a variety of names locally, including "perchlet" and several variations on its generic name ("chanda", "channa", etc.); internationally it is also known as the elongated glassfish.

References

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2004). Species of Chanda in FishBase. October 2004 version.
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2004). "Chanda nama" in FishBase. October 2004 version.
• "Chanda nama". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=645501. Retrieved 5 December 2004. 
• Archis R. Grubh, Kirk O. Winemiller (2004) Ontogeny of Scale Feeding in the Asian Glassfish, Chanda nama (Ambassidae) Copeia 4: 903–907.