Alessa

I have been reading about these fish and I cant seem to find an average number for a school... i have heard that they are fine in groups of three?
does anyone know if this is true?

TFA101

I'd have to say go with a minimum of five. they are social fish and require plenty of their own species. also be sure to have a proper fitting cover, cuz these guys can jump.

Alessa

I am really in love with these fish... and I am trying to see if at least a small school could do with my stocking plans... they are lovely!

another thing that confuses me a lot is that i have seen so many different sizes for it in different websites... in some it says 1.5in in others it says 3in... if they are 1.5-2 i could probably (maybe) be able to hold a small school... if they are 3in...

i dont understand how people hasnt been able to yet determine the standard size. Does anyone know why?

TFA101

like people, the sizes of fish will vary. For example, my Bronze Corydorases are about 7 months into my aquarium and are about 2" long. It's been a while, and it seems they aren't growing any bigger. My friend bought some Bronze Cories at around the same time I bought mine and starting off, her catfish and my catfish were almost exactly the same size (1.5"). Her's are still 1.5" and mine are quite larger. Everything grows at a different pace, which makes determining the maximum size of any one species of fish variable.

I've read 2" in every marbled hatchet fish article, so I'd just guess a median of about 2.5" per fish

Blub

Hatchets. Great fish, jsut a big lack of info. ABSOLUTE MINIMUM IS 6 - 8 IS BETTER! These fish are just plain difficult to keep in numbers under that, as they can easily jump several metres through the air with their 'wings'. If you are interested in hatchets, take these points into consideration:

1) These fish need schools for their general wellbeing. No lessd than 6 hatchets per tank! However, 8 or more is really what I say is best. However, all the hatchet species will school together, so you can have a mixed group of different hatchet kinds.
2) These fish's maximum size is yet to be determined. Why, I do not know. However, they should take up about 2" of space in your tank each, as they are only several millimetres 'thick' at the 'thickest' point on their body.
3) You really need a carnivorus diet for them. Lots of meaty foods like Bloodworm etc.
4) NEVER attempt to keep them in an open top tank. They can easily jump several metres when stressed, so a tight cover is more important than ever.
5) Be wary of filters. At night, the Hatchets will be 'sleepng' like any other fish, and the current of the filter can suck they're several millimeter wide bodies up the intake with ease! You should install some sort of guard on your filter to prevent this.

I know it sucks, but I don't think you have enough space for a school of hatchets in your tank. Those mystery snails are big poopers! If you removed 1 Snail you would probably be safe with 6 hatchets.

Alessa

omg... i so want them....

but I recently lost a Dwarf gourami... does that help that way I would currently have 2 mystery snails, 4 1.5inch male guppies and 2 platies in my 28 gal....

I so need another tank... just have no

Blub

I wasn't counting the gourami when I said it wasn't a good idea. It says you recently lost him in the Aquarium info. Poor old fellow!

Alessa

I know... And today my big mystery snail somehow got out of the tank and fell and broke her shell.. Thanks god I found her (trapdoor closed) and I returned her to the aquarium... Oh boy bad luck recently...

Blub

If a snail can get out of your tank then it is deffinately not hatchet safe! These are the fish who can jump several metres.

Alessa

yes... I will wait until I can have another tank for the hatchets

Fishies-for-me

I had a snail that was an escape artist. It got out every day ( don't know how ) for a couple of weeks and I would find it on the floor somewhere in the room with the tank on it. I was lucky it never did get hurt and after a while it stopped. Some time later I happened to turn over the light holder and there was a dried out clump of snail eggs. I guess she was looking for a good place to lay her eggs and as a last resort she laid them there ... the heat from the light dried them out and killed them.

Alessa

I know, I found the cluster of eggs nearly completely dried out in the outside of the filter...

Angelika

I love these fish too, they are so amusing to watch... I cannot wait to get more to join the ones I already have...as I need to get them in a larger school and follow Hatchethavens advice... but right now Im on hold until I get a few things sorted out in my tanks...

cichlidlover

i would at least get 6

outlaw

Have you seen this page? http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile89.html

Hope it helps and Good Luck!

mjordan

can i get a school of 7 or 8 in a 10g. no other fish besides a couple kulhi loaches

Alessa

Not really, it would be very overstocked. The guideline for fish up to two inches is: "One inch of adult fish per gallon of water"

mjordan

well then take out the kuhili loaches. then could i fit a school of 6-8. i thought somebody said these fisheys have a low bio-load

Alessa

Probably a school of 5, and that would be pushing it. Not because of the bioload, but the swimming space. These fishes have a 2 inch fish bioload, but can grow about 3 inches big,

David593

Blub,
Any suggestion on what to put on the intake part of the filter? hatchet fish are on my stocking list for my new tank and I am glad that you made me aware of it.

mjordan

i thought they got to 2 inches and about 1 inch or 1.5 inch bioload but i could be mistaking.

sorry no trying to hijack the thread

mrfish

I have 4 marble hatchets in a 20 along with some other fish. They are about 1 inch long, I assume they are not fully grown. They seam to be pretty happy. I would go with a school of at least 5, i plan on getting more for my current 4. A 10 gallon aquarium for a whole school of hatchets is pushing it pretty far. I think it was a good idea to wait for another tank. Good luck!

Blub

Watch the betta and hatchets - I've never tried to combine them out of fear for the hatchets. It may work though, but I guess it depends on your Bettas personality. Hatchets are peaceful fish that confine themselves to the top I suppose - which is like corys (except they stay at the bottom) so the combo may work.

David - sorry for the late reply! I'd put any kind of aquarium safe meshing stuff on the filter; you may of course not have that problem, as many people don't but I seemed to have it a lot.

Mjordan - that would be overstocking as hatchets ideally need at least 20gals of space, as they only use the top space and a in 10gals they wouldn't get much swimming space. They do have a vey low bio-load though ,due to their slim body shape.

agabr123

i just cut a whisper biobag (lots of extras from my whisper filters that came with kits) in half and use fishing line or cotton thread to attach it

mrfish

I think the reason the Betta doesn't attack the hatchets is because their fins are so short. Long fins attract Bettas because they look more like their own.

Blub

Yeh I once knew someone with a female betta with fancy guppies... And I tell you those gup's tails looked like stubs!

mrfish

That happened to a long finned danio that i had. I didn't think about the long fins. It was pretty stupid of me. A couple of days later, those fins were shreds.

mrfish

I had to move the Betta to a different container for a while.

mrfish

Wasn't fun for it i bet.

mjordan

so blub do u think i could get away with 4 hatchets in the 10g or do i need to increase that school. only prob. is that i not realy able to put them in my 30g unless i switched the hatchets for my neon tetras which im not really looking forward to if i were to have to....


thatnks and im hopin 4 a reply