boban_nz Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Carnegiella marthae - Blackwing hatchetfish Just have a good look at a school of Marble hatchetfish in your LFS and if you are lucky some Blackwing hatchetfish could be there. If you are lucky you might come across some. Silverdollarboy2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Very interesting. I have a few hatchets that I always thought were Thoracocharax securis (silver hatchetfish) but apparently this species grows up to 9cm and my fish certainly are not that size so I presume they are actually Gasteropelecus sternicla (common hatchetfish). However, there is a morphological difference between the members of my group. Half look like this, with the stripe that I thought was a characteristic of G. sternicla: And the other half look like this, with a differnt caudal fin, black outline and a spotted-type line (are these also G. sternicla?): Sorry about the distracting bubbles in the photos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Oh I love Hatchets! Damn Butterflyfish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 I like them too! I don't know why everybody bags them, I think they are great. Mine are very active and very territorial and most of them spend very little time at the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 I like them too! I don't know why everybody bags them, I think they are great. Mine are very active and very territorial and most of them spend very little time at the surface. That's weird... When I had mine they spent ALL their time at the surface chasing each other around and swimming around in circles... They like absolutely no surface movement. What other fish do you have in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Rainbows mostly, some shoaling tetras. This is the first time I have had hatchets - have always liked them - and was under the impression that they liked to be in groups, but these guys definately do not appreciate eachother's company. There are quite a few surface plants and I feed them a lot of flying insects harvested from the garden. Maybe they aren't hungry enough to spend ime at the surface. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 How interesting... I had marbles and they were awesome little fish, had a little school... swam up to and checked out every floating object... loved insects... spent more time in the open then around the floating plants though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Half look like this, with the stripe that I thought was a characteristic of G. sternicla: (are these also G. sternicla?): The top photo is either Gasteropelecus levis or Gasteropelecus sternicla. Silver and Common are fairly similar... I forget how to tell which one is which. The bottom is definitely Gasteropelecus maculatus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 The bottom is definitely Gasteropelecus maculatus Just did a search.... 9cm??? I can see these guys seriously outgrowing my tank! ...any idea how common these guys are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Just did a search.... 9cm??? I can see these guys seriously outgrowing my tank! ...any idea how common these guys are? 9cm is a bit off.. 6cm max. Many Hatchetfish don't grow big in captivity.. they just won't. http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... p?ID=11903 They say 6.4cm which I'd say is a bit more realistic! I have seen some fairly large ones for sale though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Yeah, well I have had mine for 6 months and they have doubled in size from the 'standard' small hatchets you see in the shops. Hopefully they will just stay the size they are now. I have seen a really big group in a photo but my guys won't go near eachother. Maybe I need more. Don't often see the spotted variety in shops though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boban_nz Posted February 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 And the other half look like this, with a differnt caudal fin, black outline and a spotted-type line (are these also G. sternicla?): Looks to me it is Gasteropelecus maculatus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.