Marble Hatchet

<p>These fish  are white with black markings, they are small only reaching 2 inches and their body is shaped like a hatchet. Marble Hatchets are often called flying fish since they move their pectoral fins after jumping to aid their flight. To keep these fish in captivity, water temperature should range from 75ºF to 82ºF and water pH should be between 5.5 and 7.5. The tank should have a cover since they are jumpers, plants, open areas for swimming and floating vegetation. This species is peaceful and can be kept in a community aquarium, it should be kept in groups of 6 or more, a 20 gallon tank is enough for such a group.</p>

<p>This species is carnivorous. In the wild it feeds mainly on invertebrates. In captivity, they can be fed with flakes, however, they also need to have live foods like insect larvae and worms in their diet.</p>

<p>To breed this species in captivity, the breeding tank should have gravel substrate, water temperature around 76ºF to 79ºF and water pH around 5.5 to 6.5. After spawning the adults should be removed since they may eat the eggs. The eggs take around a day and half to hatch and the fry will be free swimming after 1 to 2 days.</p>

<p>This species can be found in Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Peru and Brazil.</p>

<p>These fish are prone to ich so before introducing them to a new aquarium they should be kept in a quarantine aquarium for 2 to 3 weeks.</p>

<p>Marble Hatchets need to be slowly acclimated to a new aquarium, a good method for this is the drip method. The aquarium lights should be off and lights in the room should be dim, the bag in which the fish is should be placed in the surface of the water to float for about 15 minutes, this allows the water in the bag to adjust to the water in the tank. The bag contents should be poured into a 1 gallon bucket that has never been cleaned with any chemicals, the fish should be enterally submerged. A siphon, using airline tubing, should be set up and a drip line should run from the main aquarium to the bucket. Several loose knots should be tied in the airline tubing to regulate flow. Sucking the end of the airline tube that goes to the bucket will begin a siphon, the flow should be regulated to 2 to 4 drips per second. Once the water in the buckets doubles, half should be discarded and the process should be repeated until it doubles again. Afterwards, the fish can be moved to the aquarium.</p>

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