glassfish, any of about 24 small Indo-Pacific fishes of the family Chandidae (or Ambassidae, order Perciformes), most with more or less transparent bodies. Sometimes placed with the snooks and Nile perch in the family Centropomidae, glassfishes are found in freshwater and in the sea along coasts and river mouths. They are deep-bodied and have a deep cleft between the spiny anterior and the soft-rayed posterior portions of the dorsal fin.
The genus Chanda includes most of the glassfishes. Three are familiar to home aquarists: C. ranga (or C. lala), sometimes called Indian glassfish, a popular Asian species 5 cm (2 inches) long with blue-edged fins; C. buruensis, a 5-centimetre Indonesian species; and C. nama, a 10-centimetre fish of India and Asia. The name glassfish is also given to certain other unrelated, semitransparent fishes, including the icicle fish (q.v.).