My new 2 Silver Hatchetfish.

[kdxj5]

New Silver Hatchetfish Care? Help?

Hello!

I just wanted to start off saying this is my first thread! Anyway today I traded in 5 platies that I got for free for 2 Silverhatchetfish at my LFS. Pretty good deal if you ask me. I know hatchets are supposed to be in a group of at least 6. That is where I decided to make this thread.
See Ive had silver hatchetfish before. In fact I had 6 at one time. I was a little kid (about 12 years old) when I bought them and didnt know too much about them except they could jump out of the tank and were pretty difficult too take care of. Boy were they ever! The first week I had them they caught ick. I was about 30 miles away from the nearest LFS. I didnt have a way to get there because my parents thought it was a waste of gas driving 30 miles to get medication for fish . All I had was salt . Anyway everyday I came back from school, one would be dead. By the second week all of them were gone.
That experience has left me scarred to this day, and Ive never kept silver hatchets untill now. The reason why I didnt buy more when I should have is because I dont want them to die out like the others. These are trial fish. Ill keep them for a week, and if none of them die and there healthy, ill get more. I was wondering has anybody kept silver hatchets before? Im looking up as much info about them as I can. Im still pretty new them. My tank is in great condition, but I need to do a water change soon. Im afraid if I do a water change too soon my hatchets will get stressed and die . Or they might not be able to adjust to the water change. Ugh! I need as much info as I can to take care of these hard to care fish. Their beautifull fish, perfect for my south american setup. I just dont want to them to end up like the rest of them.
Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[kdxj5]

*Update*

My fish are swimming around fine now. Their in the middle upper strata of the tank which is normal I supposed. One of them ate and the other was hesistant at first, but he started eating.

 

[Razorbackfan]

I love silver hatchetfish. I have had six of them for about eight months, although one died a few weeks ago (unknown reason). They definitely prefer to be in a group of 5-6 (or more). When kept in smaller numbers, they tend to become stressed. As you have already mentioned, they need to have a cover over the tank or they will jump out. They have a knack for getting out of the smallest openings. Be particularly careful when doing partial water changes; they'll jump if startled. I usually drape a towel over the the opening at the top of the tank when I'm syphoning or cleaning gravel, just to be sure.

They only eat food that's on the surface of the tank so make sure to give them flakes or frozen brine shrimp (etc.) that will float for a few moments to give them a chance to eat.

How large is your tank? Do your hatchetfish have any tankmates? I've been told that silver hatchetfish are frequently wild-caught so it's important to quarantine them for a few weeks before adding them into your large tank. Wild-caught fish are more likely to carry parasites, etc.

Mine also seem to enjoy having some kind of floating plant near the surface of the tank. They don't always stay at the top of the tank, but they seem happy hanging around the plants.

Silver hatchets were the last fish I added to my tank when I set it up (the first fish to go in were hardier fish: von rio tetras, black neons, and eventually albino corys). Silver hatchets are very particular about water conditions so just make sure your tank is cycled and that you keep up partial water changes. They should be fine!

One last thought: Be sure to get a test kit for water (most people recommend the API Freshwater Master Test Kit --the one with test tubes and drops, not test strips). You can't tell if your water is "fine" just by looking at it, and your fish are more likely to become stressed by poor water conditions than by partial water changes.

 

[bettaowner]

Hatchet fish are top dwellers so you would want foods that float like flakes or wingless/flightless fruit flies.

 

[Razorbackfan]

One more thing, KDXJ5: Welcome to the forum!

 

[kdxj5]

Thanks for the info guys! No ick so far. I did a water change today. The hatchet werent stressed out at all when I did my water change. Although I fed them afterwards to say "everythings alrite". The problem was when I crushed up their pellets to fine and when I put it into the tank the pellets floated everywhere! Anyway it wasnt too much and I guess my cories will have them a big meal .