Pygmy Hatchetfish
Carnegiella myersi
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 2.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 45 litres
- Temperature
- 23–26 °C
Species profile
Marbled Hatchetfish
Carnegiella strigata
Common names: Marbled Hatchetfish
Recognized speciesHatchetfish
Adult size
Up to 3.5 cm
Typical adult length 3–3.5 cm.
Up to 3.5 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A calm, soft-water tank with a tight lid
- A planted aquarium with floating plants
- Adding interest to the very top of the tank
Think carefully if
- Your tank has gaps in the lid
- Your tankmates are boisterous
- Your filter creates strong surface flow
A tiny, deep-chested surface fish from South America with a marbled pattern. It needs a group, a tight lid, and calm neighbours, because it is nervous and an expert jumper.
Appearance and Identification
A very deep, flattened chest with a straight back, and a pale body covered in dark marbled bands. Long pectoral fins sit high on the body.
The marbled pattern and hatchet-shaped body make this fish easy to identify.
Hard to sex. Some specimens grow larger and rounder-bodied, and these are presumably adult females.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 140–210 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 75–100 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 70 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 75 cm
- Minimum group size
- 6
- Recommended group size
- 10
- Activity level
- Moderate
- Flow preference
- Low
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- High
Use floating plants, gentle flow at the surface, and a tight lid with no gaps. Leave some open surface for feeding.
Behaviour and Tankmates
A nervous, gregarious fish that stays just below the surface and can jump when startled.
Buy as many as you can, ideally 10 or more.
Not territorial.
Good with small peaceful fish that use the middle and lower water, such as corydoras, small tetras, and dwarf cichlids. Avoid boisterous fish and those that feed at the surface.
Water Parameters
Soft, acidic water suits this fish. Wild-caught fish should be acclimated with particular care.
Parameter caveat
Most fish in the trade are probably wild-caught, so quarantine them and acclimate slowly.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Insectivore, Omnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Once or twice daily
- Preferred foods
- Fine floating flake or small floating granulesThese fish feed at the surface and rarely go down for food, so use something that floats.
- Small insects such as fruit fliesClose to natural prey and readily taken from the surface.
- Frozen or live mosquito larvae, daphnia, and brine shrimpOffer near the surface a few times a week.
An insect-eater that takes small food from the surface.
Use floating foods, and check that fish are actually eating them after arrival.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Layer
- Breeding difficulty
- Not commonly bred
- Brood or egg count
- Not recorded
- Parental care
- Unknown
Breeding is not recorded in the reference used here, and the species is rarely if ever bred in home aquariums.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Amazon Basin, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, South America, Suriname
- Natural habitat
- Blackwater, Slow River, Vegetated Shoreline
- Aquarium contexts
- Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Carnegiella
- Family
- Gasteropelecidae
- Species group
- Fish, Hatchetfish
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Silver Hatchetfish
Gasteropelecus sternicla
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 3.5–4 cm
- Minimum tank
- 110 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Spotfin Hatchetfish
Thoracocharax stellatus
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 7 cm
- Minimum tank
- 243 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Black-winged Hatchetfish
Carnegiella marthae
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 2.8 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C