Hatchetfish: complete care guide
- Dec 08, 2020
- Anshika Mishra
- 979 0 0
Hatchetfish are super cool schooling fish that hang out at the bottom of the tank, but they got some individual care requirements that if you don't know ahead of time, you will surely run into some problems.
So, here are some pro tips that will help you become a successful hatchet fish keeper.
Tight-fitting lead
This is the most important thing with the Hatchetfish, they have to have a top. They are built like skipping stones, if you don't have any cover they will shoot right out of the tank. They love to catch insects above the water, so if you don't have a top you will not be able to keep them for long.
So make sure you have a very tight-fitting lead, they can jump from little spots too, so make sure to cover the above of the filter properly, otherwise, in a couple of weeks you will be like "I had 12 before, now I have four" and that is sad, right?
Diet
Since you know that they like to jump out of the water, so you will also know now that they want food at top of the water. When you feed them you want food that can stay at the top for a long time. It can be tiny pellets, that can be frozen cubes, or bloodworms, flake food, anything that just can stay at the top for as long as possible.
You want to see them eat because most of the time, we can just not keep them for long because they are underfed. We threw food in there and go away even though we didn't see them eat. Most food eventually ends up sinking and these fishes won't go down and eat it very well.
Water Parameters
In general,
- pH should be between 6-8 or above, it is good to keep it stable at 7.6-7.8.
- The temperature should be between 75-80 degrees range, they can get a bit cooler, they can also go a little bit warmer, but nothing too extreme there.
The biggest problem that people usually run into is that most Hatchetfish still come wild-caught and because they are hard to feed when they are in a giant group when they are caught, they go to the wholesaler, who feeds them very little, then to shops and then to us.
In all that way they are not taken care of so, they often get sick or another common disease when they land in our tank because their immune system is already too weak. Therefore it is recommended, to always bring them home and quarantine them and feed them up really well. Medicate them and also deworm them before they finally step into your aquarium.
Thriving Hactes in you tank
This way they will already be healthy when they get into our aquarium and they can really be happy and thrive. A minimum of 20-gallon tank is required to home the smaller Hatchetfish, but for the bigger ones, you will surely need a bigger tank.
Get a group of them (6-12), with bright light up top, they will look very pretty. Watch them eat at the aquarium and get the good ones because they are a bit expensive when you are buying a group of them
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