the hedge...

[Magnum Man]

the hatchets have settled in nicely with the riparian vegetation, look completely at ease

the silver dollar in this tank, is the lumber jack... it's in this tank, as a companion fish for the angel... both of which will be moved to " the big tank" when I get it set up... though they both leave everyone alone, except the smaller cardinal tetras, which the angel hunts

 

[Magnum Man]

the hatchets are chasing around this morning... hopefully a playful move... still only seeing 3, so hopefully they aren't picking on each other, because the group size is too small, with the Thanksgiving holiday, I couldn't get my back up crew here, until next week, when the combined group will grow to 10... still not witnessing any leaping into the hedge...

 

[gimme30]

There must be something about all those plant roots to make them comfortable enough to stay put. Or they've figured out a way to breed out the "hey lets see what's on the other side of that wall!' instinct.
I'm glad to see it's working out!

 

[Magnum Man]

water changes tonight... hatchets just take it in stride, and not leaping when I do it... but then there is no cover to the tank, that they witness me opening... my suction and fill "J" hooks just slip between the plants along the back... bigger group of the marble hatchets, should be here next Tuesday

 

[Magnum Man]

can you spot the hatchets in the grand scheme of things??? they are there... picture taken this morning early... note the companion pairing experiment ( angel fish / silver dollar ) is still going well... I have 2 angel fish, that would bully each other , yet they seem to get along fine with silver dollars, in both cases

 

[Back in the fold]

I don’t see the Hatchetfish . There’s too many hiding places for them . I am totally amazed that you don’t have any jumpers . I think you’ve hit on the reason why with the thick top plant growth .

 

[gimme30]

I think so too.

I've been staring at that picture for 5 minutes and can't find a single one. Now that you've got the picture are you going to put them back in the tank?

 

[Magnum Man]

they are there... it took me a couple close up's to get one very visible in the picture... they blend in so well...

 

[Magnum Man]

the hatchets are very active at 1st light... the back ground lighting comes on dimly at 1st, then gets more bright, as a plant light or two behind the aquarium come on, incrementally... at this point, the tetras are all still sleeping, but the hatchets are active... then the main, over tank, light comes on, but it's mounted on the ceiling, so is shaded by about 18 inches of pothos vines, between the light, and the surface of the tank... at that point the tetras begin waking, but the hatchets have been active for 20 minutes or so...

the rest of the school of hatchets, enough to get me to 10, arrive tomorrow...

 

[Magnum Man]

9-10 marble hatchets fills the top of the tank... at least the activity draws the eye, as they are still very camo

 

[Magnum Man]

more hatchets on the surface, seem to draw the other tetras upwards... but the hatchet are still hard to see, blending into the roots of the riparian vegetation...

 

[Magnum Man]

with the larger group of hatchets, it's easy to see how they end up jumping.... the smaller group mostly were calmly in the roots, they were more active at 1st light, but with the larger group, at 1st light they seem to get the "zoomies" ( hey, I didn't create that word ) flying across the tank in the middle of the top, where there are no roots, not back and forth, giving the impression they are caged, but one or two at a time, like they are drag racing... in a tank like this, fish do disappear, but at least most are still visible, and none found on the floor, or work shelf behind the tank... but if they are going to continue to drag race, I may have to place a small piece of plexiglass, on the end that is the weakest barrier as it's more open, with only pothos vines on that end...

 

[gimme30]

That's been my experience with them. Mostly they'd sit there waiting patiently for food, but every now and then....zoomies.
Who knows why but that was definitely not the best time to feed them!