▷ Hatchetfish – Marbled Hatchetfish | All info

Data sheet hatchet – Marbled hatchet tetras

German name:
Hatchet-Bells – Marbled Hatchet-Bellyfish

Scientific name:
Carnegiella strigata

Origin:
South America (in the Amazon vin Oeru to the Guiana countries)

Size:
4 cm and maximum 5 cm

Aquarium

Length:
from 50 cm edge length

Contents:
from 60 liters content

water values

Temperature:
24°C and 28°C

pH:
5.0 and 7.5 pH

GH:
5 and 19°dGH

Behave

Area:
upper area

Lining:
Live food (e.g. black mosquito larvae, fruit flies), fine flake food

Behave:
like to jump, peacefully

Number:
in a school, at least 6 to 10 animals

Difficulty level:
Advanced, also suitable for beginners

SOK, Sven Kullander, Carnegiella strigata lateral view, CC BY-SA 4.0

In nature, hatchets live in blackwater. So you need low carbonate and total hardness. The pH should be well below 7.

Hatchet bellies are somewhat shy animals. They like to eat live food. In nature, they feed primarily on flying insects.

Hatchet bellies are therefore good at jumping. In nature, they jump up to 1.5 meters. Fruit flies and Drosophila are well suited for feeding in the aquarium.

Marbled hatchet tetra Source: Picture on Wikimedia Commons License: CC Attr. SA 3.0 Author: BS Thurner Hof

A closed aquarium must be well secured because hatchet bellies can also get through smaller openings due to their frequent jumping. Openings are therefore closed with filter sponge or filter floss. Gaps can be taped with insulating tape.

An open aquarium needs a correspondingly high frame that hatchet bellies cannot jump over.

A 20 centimeter high border is usually sufficient. In a normal pool, they can’t run up enough to jump over it.

When frightened, they usually jump straight up. They can then jump up to 30 centimeters from a standing position. Because they then jump up vertically, they end up back in the aquarium.

Hatchet bellies like some current. However, the current must not be too strong. Hatchet bellies like to stand in the current; if the current is too strong, they take rest breaks, ie they dive into deeper water layers for some time.

Black-winged Hatchetfish Source: Image on Wikimedia Commons License: Public domain Author: Tsunamicarlos

Animals in the trade are usually completely malnourished because they don’t get enough food in the pet shop.

Hatchetfish only eat from the water surface. Practically everything will then be eaten, even if live food such as Drosophila is of course preferred.

Because there is no time in wholesale and retail, the animals are slowly starving. Hatchet bellies so emaciated never fully recover and always remain dwarfed.
The animals must therefore be carefully observed before buying them.

Because ax bellies are very sensitive to transport, polystyrene packaging must be used for longer transports. To reduce stress, some water treatment agent is put in the transport bag beforehand.

The animals are slowly introduced into the new aquarium. The transport bag is slowly filled with aquarium water over a period of at least 2 hours.

In the adjustment phase, subdued lighting is advantageous. A floating plant cover is suitable for this, or a small root is tied to the top of the aquarium.

Marbled hatchet tetras

Under the name marbled hatchet tetra there are 2 forms. C. strigata strigata and C. strigata fasciata. C. strigata strigata has great coloring. Mostly C. strigata fasciata are commercially available. Without image comparison, e.g. B. with the mergus, both forms can only be kept apart with difficulty.

Marbled hatchet tetras grow to 4 to 5 centimeters.

Carnegiella strigata strigata:

Carnegiella marthae: