How to Identify and Care for Marbled Hatchetfish

The marbled hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata) is from the family Gasteropelecidae. It is native to the rivers of South America. This species is said to be the only known fish that can literally fly by jumping from the water and flapping its pectoral fins, while other flying fish merely jump from the water and sail through the air. The marbled hatchetfish is relatively easy to care for as a pet.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fish tank Filter and heater Aquarium gravel (1 lb. per gallon) Pump (optional) Basic test kits (pH, dH) Fish tank decorations Pet fish food More than one marbled hatchetfish

1. Identify your fish correctly as marbled hatchetfish to help ensure that you provide proper care. This fish has a very deep, keel-like body shape. It has a light greenish-yellow coloring, above a gold-topped, dark line running from the eyes to the caudal peduncle. Several dark, irregularly shaped bands run downward and forward across the lower body, almost parallel with the anal edge. Another dark line follows the ventral edge, ending beneath the eyes. The pectoral fins are exceptionally well developed and can flap up and down like wings. They grow to an average length of 1.5 inches (5 cm).

2. House your marbled hatchetfish in a 24-gallon aquarium. Ensure that your tank has a well-fitting cover to keep it from flying from the tank. This fish is very shy and easily frightened and will attempt to escape out of the tank when scared.

3. Set up the aquarium for your marbled hatchetfish. Thoroughly rinse the aquarium gravel with hot water and spread it in the hatchetfish's tank. Install an aquarium filter to maintain the quality of water. Attach your heater to the tank, setting it to maintain the water temperature at 75 to 82 degrees F (24 to 28 degrees C).

4. Plant several aquarium plants, including some floating plants. These fish favor a well-planted tank, with a lot of overhead plant cover. Provide several hideouts for this shy fish using driftwood, rocks and other tank decorations. These should all be cleaned before you put them into the aquarium.

5. Maintain optimum water conditions for these freshwater fish. The tank water should stay within the range of 5.5 to 7.5 pH, and water hardness in the soft to medium dH range of between 5 to 18 dH. Monitor these water conditions with the aquarium test kits on a regular basis.

6. Feed your pet marbled hatchetfish with a tropical fish flakes supplemented with a meaty food material. This carnivorous species will do well with mosquito larvae, bloodworms and fruit flies.

7. Provide this peaceful, schooling fish with six or more of its own species as tank mates. They love the company of fellow hatchetfish and tend to swim in groups just under the surface.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean out the tank if it is newly acquired. See the Additional Resources section on how to clean a fish tank. pH is a measure of the level of acidity or alkalinity of your aquarium water, using a scale of 1 to 14. Most commonly, freshwater fish need water at a range between 6.5 to 7.5 pH. For this reason, if you have a wide range of different species, your best compromise is a pH of 7.0. dH is a measure of water hardness, which refers to the levels of dissolved minerals in your aquarium water. The recommended dH for a freshwater tank is 4 to 6.

Resources

• How to Clean a Fish Tank