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Marbled Hatchetfish
Carnegiella strigata
Animalia›Chordata›Actinopterygii›Gasteropelecidae
📍 Amazon Basin, Peru & Brazil
A beautiful surface dweller with marble-patterned markings across its deep, hatchet-shaped body. One of the few fish that can truly fly using its powerful pectoral muscles. A classic choice for the upper levels of blackwater and planted tanks.
Care Guide
Diet
Marbled hatchetfish are carnivorous surface feeders that require small, protein-rich foods. Offer high-quality flake food, micro pellets, and small frozen foods like brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms once daily in small portions. They will also consume small insects and zooplankton at the water surface.
Behavior
These delicate fish are peaceful schooling fish that spend most of their time at the water surface, using their large pectoral fins to glide and occasionally jump. They are most active during dawn and dusk, and become stressed when kept singly—they should always be maintained in groups of at least 6. They are easily startled and require a calm environment with minimal sudden movements.
Breeding
Breeding marbled hatchetfish in captivity is extremely difficult and rarely achieved in home aquariums. They require very specific conditions including soft, acidic water, dense floating plants for egg scattering, and pristine water quality. Most specimens in the hobby are wild-caught, and successful breeding requires expert-level care.
Tank Mates
Similar size, peaceful temperament, and identical water parameter requirements make them ideal companions
Peaceful schooling fish with matching water chemistry needs and non-aggressive behavior
Peaceful bottom-dweller that won't compete for surface food and tolerates soft, acidic water
Peaceful invertebrate that occupies different water zones and prefers similar soft, acidic conditions
Peaceful but may occasionally nip at small fish; monitor behavior and ensure adequate space
Common Diseases
Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis)
White spots on body and fins, rapid breathing, lethargy, rubbing against surfaces
Raise temperature gradually to 28-29°C, perform daily water changes, use ich medication or salt treatment; maintain excellent water quality
Fin Rot
Frayed or deteriorating fins, discoloration at fin edges, lethargy
Perform large water changes, improve water quality, use antibacterial medication if severe; ensure pristine conditions to prevent recurrence
Stress-Related Illness
Loss of color, clamped fins, hiding, reduced appetite, susceptibility to infection
Reduce tank disturbances, maintain stable parameters, ensure group of at least 6 fish, provide floating plants for security
Bacterial Infection
Ulcers, open sores, cloudy eyes, torn fins, behavioral changes
Perform frequent water changes, use broad-spectrum antibacterial medication, isolate severely affected fish if possible
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Quick Facts
- diet
- Carnivore – floating foods, fruit flies, freeze-dried bloodworms
- lifespan
- 2–5 years
- max size
- 4.5 cm (1.8 in)
- tank size
- 15 gallons minimum
- school size
- 6+
- temperament
- Peaceful, schooling
Water it likes
- ph
- 5.5–7.0
- ammonia
- 0 ppm
- nitrate
- <20 ppm
- hardness
- 1–12 dGH
- temperature
- 75–82°F (24–28°C)