Taxonomy & naming
Hamilton described the species in 1822 from the Gangetic provinces of India. Stores list it as Parambassis lala, the genus in which it long sat, but the Catalog of Fishes places it in Pseudambassis, and the atlas follows that. The family is Ambassidae, the Asian glassfishes.
Morphology
A small, deep-bodied and semi-transparent glassfish with a tall first dorsal fin, which gives the common name. FishBase gives a maximum length of 1.5 in TL. Males in good condition show orange to reddish edges on the fins.
Habitat
FishBase lists the habitat as freshwater and brackish, demersal, in ponds, ditches and pools, and says that it enters brackish waters. The range runs through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. Temperature, pH and hardness are not recorded.
Feeding
FishBase gives no diet. Glassfish take small live and frozen foods, such as daphnia, bloodworm and brine shrimp, and the species takes fine flake in aquaria.
Mating
Courtship and spawning behaviour are not described for this species in the sources available to the atlas.
Breeding
Eggs, larvae and clutch size are not recorded by FishBase.
In the aquarium
Keep a group of six or more in a planted tank with calm tank mates and moderate current. The species is peaceful, and groups show the best colour and activity. A little salt in the water is tolerated and common in the trade. Feed live and small frozen foods.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List classes Pseudambassis lala as Near Threatened, last assessed in March 2010. Wild stocks in the Ganges plain are exposed to habitat loss and fishing pressure, and the aquarium trade takes wild-caught fish.