Fish
Glassy
Ambassis productus
A tiny, near-transparent shoaling fish of KZN estuaries and sheltered inshore water, its skeleton visible through glassy flanks.
Also known as deepbody glassy, glassfish, glassy perchlet
- Typical size
- Usually under 10 cm
- Habitat
- Estuaries and sheltered inshore water
- Depth
- Shallows to a few metres
Glassies are small, deep-bodied fish with translucent, silvery bodies through which the backbone and internal organs can be seen. Ambassis productus is one of several similar species along the east coast, distinguished by fine details of its spines and body depth, and it seldom grows much longer than a finger.
They form dense shoals in estuaries, mangrove creeks and calm inshore water along KwaZulu-Natal, drifting in the shade of banks and structure and feeding on tiny plankton and larvae. Too small to be an angling target in their own right, they are important prey for larger predators and are a familiar sight to divers snorkelling in warm, sheltered water.