Taxonomy & naming
Hamilton described Chanda ranga in 1822 from the Gangetic provinces of India. Hobby and older literature call it Parambassis ranga, and some stores still sell it under that name; Catalog of Fishes treats Chanda ranga as the valid name. It belongs to the Ambassidae, the Asian glassfishes.
Morphology
A deep-bodied, compressed, almost transparent fish. FishBase gives a maximum of 3.5 in TL. Fish sold in the trade are sometimes injected with dyes, which is a trade practice and not a natural colour.
Habitat
FishBase lists it as a freshwater and brackish, demersal fish that is potamodromous, found in sluggish and standing water, and a common species in impoundments, most abundant in the rainy season. It occurs in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal. FishBase gives temperature as 68–86 °F, pH 7 to 8 and hardness 9 to 19 dH.
Feeding
FishBase reports that it feeds on invertebrates, worms and crustaceans. In the aquarium it takes live and frozen foods such as brine shrimp and daphnia, and many learn to accept flakes.
Mating
Males are the more colourful sex in breeding season. FishBase notes that the species breeds during the rains and builds a nest.
Breeding
FishBase says it breeds everywhere during the rains, builds a nest and guards its young, producing up to 500 eggs.
In the aquarium
FishBase advises keeping the species in groups of five or more in an aquarium at least 23.5 in long. Provide plants and open water, and avoid mixing it with aggressive or boisterous fish. It does well in hard, alkaline water.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List classes Chanda ranga as Least Concern (assessed 16 March 2011). It is common across much of its range.