up with the hatchets

[Magnum Man]

I'm witnessing the larger group is using the whole top of the aquarium, even the areas with flow... the smaller ( test ) group, mostly remained in a tangle of roots, in a calm area... also with the larger group, often harder to find, being spread out over the whole tank, but I'm watching one this morning that has been staying down 6 to 8 inches below the surface... this seems to be encouraging the other tetras to go higher in the tank... so there is a layer of mixed fish in the upper 1/3 of the tank... some of the smaller hatchets, seem to remain at the very surface among the roots...

it's funny I can sit in my spot 6 feet from the tank, and because of the motion, watch the hatchets swim around, but in the frozen time of a picture, they have to be zoomed almost to beyond recognition, to see them...

in fact, right now, a group of 5 or so are swimming around in the current of one of the hang on back filters output water fall, in a particularly shaded spot...

 

[Magnum Man]

curious if anyone has mixed various hatchets in the same tank, if they would group, and interact with each other, or just be competing for space, and force jumpers???
for example Gasteropelecus maculatus, got mentioned, and they are much bigger than the Carnegiella strigata, that I have, which are slightly larger than the Carnegiella myersi

 

[GaryE]

It's been done. I had mixed hatchets when I didn't know what I know now. That means I didn't pay enough attention to the dynamics to be able to comment in depth, but I recall no aggression.
The tank set ups I used to have - I missed out on a lot on that old if I had known then what I know now approach. But based on what I recall, they should group together. Even if they don't like each other, they live in the same niche in their various habitats.

 

[Magnum Man]

I would have suspected the others ( Gasteropelecus maculatus ) for example, being larger, and not in the same family, may try to eject the Carnegiella???

 

[Magnum Man]

... and now a half hour later, apparently the "zoomies" are over, and I only see one from my seat...

 

[anewbie]

curious if anyone has mixed various hatchets in the same tank, if they would group, and interact with each other, or just be competing for space, and force jumpers???
for example Gasteropelecus maculatus, got mentioned, and they are much bigger than the Carnegiella strigata, that I have, which are slightly larger than the Carnegiella myersi

I have mixed 3 groups g. maculatus, c. strigata and c. something or other - they never interacted. The smaller species c. strigata dont' seem to live that long in my setting - maybe 18 months i don't know how old they are when obtained - they don't seem to be jumping out (the tank is weird with a glass cage all the way up and a small land mass in the back) and i've not seen any corpses on the land mass.

Anyway they don't seem to interact and keep to their own groups even the two sets of c whatever though it is a lot safer to mix the different genus if you are going to mix them and breed them.

 

[anewbie]

Here is a picture of one of them; i woudl say it is closer to twice the size as the smaller ones also it is more willing to use the full water column:

 

[Innesfan]

I have mixed 3 groups g. maculatus, c. strigata and c. something or other - they never interacted. The smaller species c. strigata dont' seem to live that long in my setting - maybe 18 months i don't know how old they are when obtained -.

That's not bad for a hatchet, which are not known for longevity compared to other characins. Innes again:

"Importations surviving for more than a year are considered to have done well."

He also states that C. marthae is proving to be the hardiest of the then-known species, which were many fewer than those we know today.

 

[Magnum Man]

hatchets are still doing well, and I've yet to find one outside of the tank.. one in the center ( top ) of this picture

 

[Magnum Man]

another center top of this picture

 

[GaryE]

One of my great disappointments as a fishkeeping kid was the discovery hatchets couldn't fly. Around here, they were sold as flying fish, and that was their trade name when they could be found in every equivalent of a Walmart. They were supposed to be able to lift off. Now though, we see them as leaping and falling with style.

That was one of my first encounters with "It sounded so cool but it isn't true - deal with it!" thinking.

 

[Magnum Man]

I saw a listing for "giant hatchets" quite a while ago, before I was really looking hard at getting any hatchets... sorry, I don't remember the scientific name, if I remember right, they were up to 4 inches long, and could literally soar for 9-10 feet... closer, to flying, but alas, still falling with grace...

this may have been that fish... when I originally saw them, they were listed from an on line seller...

Google Search

 

[Magnum Man]

well the hatchets seem to like a full tank, with the plants, and an open top, and the drier house during the winter, the tanks require topping off every 2-3 days... they are easier to see, with the water level lower, being surface fish, and when the tank is completely full, they are hidden by the top trim of the tank, and can go deeper into the roots, which they seem to like better??

 

[Magnum Man]

bug bites seems a great food for the hatchets... all my fish are fed a varied diet, but milled bug bites were their last meal, and with as busy as I've been lately I've only seen 4-5 at a time in my tank, also I typically feed everyone from the back work area, then go around front to watch the show... yesterday I fed that tank, last, then went around to the front and was treated to the show of 10-12 of them racing around eating... I'm glad they found my tank acceptable, and decided to stick around...

 

[Magnum Man]

all the tanks got "shrimp cocktail" last night ( includes frozen bloodworms, along with several frozen shrimp, but, mostly consisting of brine ), I mix this up with RO water, in protein shakers... the hatchets love those, and appear more active than normal, this morning, hunting for remnants in the root tangles... all the tetras love them, as well, and of coarse I try not to over feed, so there really isn't much for them to find the morning after, but they are actively searching, anyway...