Taxonomy & naming
Tan and Lim described Gymnochanda verae in 2011 from the Gantung area of Belitung (Pulau Belitung), an island between Sumatra and Borneo. It belongs to the Ambassidae, the Asian glassfishes, in the genus Gymnochanda, whose members are small, transparent and live in blackwater streams.
Morphology
A miniature glassfish with a nearly transparent body. FishBase gives a maximum of 1 in SL.
Habitat
FishBase calls it a freshwater, pelagic fish known only from the Gantung area in the eastern part of Pulau Belitung, a large island at the northwestern corner of the Java Sea. No temperature or pH range is recorded.
Feeding
Diet is not recorded for this species. Small glassfishes take live zooplankton and tiny crustaceans, and the species in the trade is fed on baby brine shrimp and similar foods.
Mating
Courtship has not been described for this species.
Breeding
Breeding of G. verae is not documented in the sources available to the atlas.
In the aquarium
Best kept in a group in a quiet, soft, acidic planted tank with small, peaceful tankmates. It is rare in the trade and offered by specialist importers.
Conservation
FishBase lists Gymnochanda verae as Endangered on the IUCN Red List; no assessment year is given in the cached record. It is known from a single area of one island.