Hatchetfish are deep-sea fish found in temperate and tropical waters of the world's oceans. They got their name for the characteristic appearance of the body, reminiscent of the shape of an ax - a narrow tail and a wide “axe-body”.
Most often hatchets can be found at depths of 200-600 m. However, they are known to be found at depths of 2 km. Their body is covered with light silvery scales that bounce off easily. The body is strongly compressed laterally. Some hatchet species have a pronounced expansion of the body in the area of the anal fin. They grow to small sizes - some species reach a body length of only 5 cm.
Like other deep-sea fish, hatchet fish have photophores that emit light. But unlike other fish, hatchets use their ability to bioluminescence not to attract prey, but, on the contrary, for camouflage. Photophores are located only on the belly of the fish, and their glow makes the hatchets invisible from below, as if dissolving the silhouette of the fish against the background of the sun's rays penetrating to the depths. The hatchets regulate the intensity of the glow depending on the brightness of the upper layers of water, controlling it with their eyes.
Some species of hatchetfish gather in huge flocks, forming a wide, dense “carpet”. Sometimes it becomes difficult for watercraft to penetrate this layer with their echolocators, for example, to accurately determine the depth. Scientists and navigators have been observing such a “double” ocean floor since the mid-20th century. Large concentrations of hatchet fish attract some large ocean fish to such places, including commercially valuable species, such as tuna. Hatchets also form a significant part of the diet of other larger deep-sea inhabitants, such as deep-sea anglerfish.
Hatchetheads feed on small crustaceans. They reproduce by throwing eggs or laying larvae, which mix with plankton and, as they mature, sink to depth.
But it turns out that the name “hatchet fish” is used by two completely unrelated species of fish. Both are distinguished by a wide and flat body, similar to the blade of a small hatchet.
Freshwater hatchetfish are found in South American rivers and spend most of their time near the surface, catching insects.
- 2 The best baits for catching crucian carp Crucian carp belongs to the genus of fish of the carp family. It comes in three types, namely: gold, silver and ordinary, which is found very often in our area and reaches a length of 9-24 cm and a weight of 600 g. Many fishermen are sure that to catch the usual type of crucian carp there is no need for preparation or special tools, but not everyone manages to catch it. True, fishermen attribute this fact either to bad weather or to the well-established expression: “capricious fish.” Effective bait for crucian carp Bait for crucian carp on a spring Bait for crucian carp on a feeder Bait for catching crucian carp in summer Ground bait for crucian carp Video Effective bait for crucian carp What is the best bait for crucian carp? To prepare truly effective bait for crucian carp, it is necessary to analyze all aspects of its behavior, as well as its habitat. Having made a thorough analysis and sorted everything out, you can make sure that the crucian carp has a fairly well-developed sense of smell, and this allows it to clearly distinguish odors in the water. The second feature of fishing is the visibility of the bait. The grass at the bottom of the reservoir can easily hide it from the fish. Also, the bait should not be too nutritious. As for the fishing location, crucian carp most often bites where there are no other fish besides it. The nearby underwater vegetation and the depression adjacent to the fishing site will also have a beneficial effect. The basis of our bait should be bread or crackers, which in turn will not become part of the muddy bottom. It all starts with a batch breadcrumbs with white or brown bread. Afterwards, part of the bran is added, which allows our bait to remain on the surface of the water for more time. The amount of oatmeal should be related to the depth of the planned fishing location. At the final stage, given the excellent sense of smell of crucian carp, you can add an aromatic ingredient, namely dill, seeds or cinnamon. Garlic, which can be found in the kitchen of any housewife, is also famous for its good aromatic properties. Bait for crucian carp on a spring Catching crucian carp on a spring is a fairly common method, which has one important advantage - a large and high-quality catch. Auxiliary tackle should be 5 cm in length and 1.5–2 cm in diameter. During manufacturing, the spring and hooks are mounted between the sinker and the fishing line, which allows only the sinker to sink into the silt, while the bait itself remains on the surface. The bait should be dry with water added at the fishing site. You can make such a mixture yourself by boiling pea or wheat cereals with the addition of ground into flour oatmeal and crushed seeds. Homemade stand for fishing rods. You will learn how to make it in our article. And here we will talk about how to make covers and tubes for fishing rods with your own hands. Moscow region - fishing in silence and solitude
How long does crucian carp live?
It is very difficult to answer such a question, especially in our time, when in order to catch it, humanity has come up with a lot of gear that leaves little chance for the fish to extend its long life. Not only that, but in the underwater kingdom, many predators and other troubles await her that affect her life expectancy. If we add to all of the above the environmental component (emissions of chemicals into water bodies), then it is simply amazing how fish are still alive in our water bodies and continue to delight all fishermen, although not with large catches. When they say that a fish lives until it is caught, this is absolutely not relevant in relation to our time.
In order to prolong its life, the fish goes through many obstacles and withstands extreme conditions: heat, cold, lack of food, various predators.
Amazing capabilities of crucian carp
Unlike other fish species, crucian carp can withstand most of these conditions and even more. It can fall into a state of suspended animation when there is a lack of oxygen in the water, buries itself in the silt and remains there in this state for quite a long time: the time can be calculated not in days or months, but in years.
A female crucian carp can lay from 50,000 to 300,000 eggs, most of which may not produce offspring due to unsuitable conditions, and some may simply be eaten by other fish species.
Under certain conditions, the surviving part of the eggs will give rise to fish offspring in the form of small crucian carp, which are practically not protected by anything in the first days of life. They appear 2-3 weeks after the eggs have been laid and fertilized. During this period, quite a lot of crucian carp fry die. The first year or two is very difficult for him, after which it is easier for him to survive until puberty, which occurs in the 3rd or 4th year of life. In two years, if there is enough food, he can gain weight from 200g to 300g and may no longer be afraid of most of his hunters. But this is exactly the weight that fishermen love very much and are not averse to having such crucian carp as a trophy.
Types of crucian carp
As far as we know, two types of crucian carp can be found in our reservoirs: golden and silver. Golden crucian carp prefers reservoirs with stagnant water, and silver crucian carp can live anywhere: in rivers, lakes, ponds, stakes, etc. Even small, artificial “diggings” somehow become populated with white crucian carp over time.
Red crucian carp can live, if it is not caught during this time, up to 10 or 12 years, gaining a weight of 5 kg during this time and reaching a length of about half a meter. As a rule, inveterate “crucian carp fishermen” know the habits of this fish well, since they give preference to catching golden crucian carp, which is considered tastier than its silver counterpart. To catch such a handsome fish, appropriate baits and attractants have been developed. In this case, the habits of the red crucian carp are used, which moves around the reservoir using its “paths”. Every fisherman has a great desire to catch red crucian carp, which, weighing about half a kilogram, resists very seriously. They also say that he is much smarter than the white one, therefore, he very rarely falls for the bait.
Silver crucian carp lives no more than 10 years, reaching a weight of about 1-1.5 kg. Being in the same reservoir with red crucian carp, it gradually displaces it and takes a dominant place. Most likely, this is due to the fact that silver crucian carp is more tenacious and prolific, while eating its golden brother. At the same time, it is able to live in very muddy water. Sometimes you just wonder how white crucian carp can live in such a reservoir, with such muddy (sometimes green) water, and in large quantities at that.
As a comparison, we can say that the beluga can live up to 100 years. Fish such as carp, catfish, and sturgeon can live up to 50 years, and smaller fish can boast a life expectancy of about 10-15 years.
From the above we can conclude: than more fish, the longer her life.
Fishing for crucian carp in winter from ice
Catching crucian carp in the spring with a float rod...
Hook for crucian carp
DIY dough for crucian carp
Catching crucian carp with a spring
Bait for catching crucian carp
Catching large crucian carp
How does crucian carp bite?
Catching crucian carp in summer with a float rod...
The best baits for catching crucian carp
Crucian carp belongs to the genus of fish of the carp family. It comes in three types, namely: gold, silver and ordinary, which is found very often in our area and reaches a length of 9-24 cm and a weight of 600 g.
Many fishermen are sure that there is no need for preparation or special tools to catch a common type of crucian carp, but not everyone succeeds in catching it. True, fishermen attribute this fact either to bad weather or to the well-established expression: “capricious fish.”
Lake Solkovskoye
Fishing on Lake Solkovskoe
Rabalka on the Golden Veshka
Lake Zabolotskoye
Lake Ozeretskoe
Sinkovsky Pond
Rivers Sestra, Dubna and Yakhroma
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Features of fishing on the Kola Peninsula
Today we are heading strictly to the north of the Moscow region. I fully admit that many Muscovite fishermen do not even know about some reservoirs in this direction; mainly only local amateurs from the Taldomsky district and the neighboring Tver region fish here.
Getting to some bodies of water is problematic due to the lack of convenient access; you have to walk through the wilderness for miles with a backpack on your shoulders and fishing rods in your hands. Only true fishermen, true fans of their craft, are capable of this.
You immediately forget all the road difficulties and hardships as soon as you reach the final goal - you find yourself in a fabulously beautiful corner of nature untouched by “civilization.” And what kind of fishing is there! Imagine that you hooked a fish and the rod bent into an arc, the stretched line began to cut through the water with a ringing sound, and after exciting fishing you pulled out a golden-bronze giant crucian carp weighing three kilograms! Yes, don’t be surprised, there are places here where you can catch such fish with a fishing rod.
However, first things first. At the very outskirts of the northern Moscow region there is Lake Kuznetsovskoye. The village of Kuznetsovo is located nearby, hence the name of the lake. The reservoir is rich in a variety of fish: crucian carp, roach, perch, pike. There are especially a lot of crucian carp, and large ones at that. Whoever visits here will not regret it and will certainly want to come here again and again. A rich catch of plump crucian carp is almost guaranteed. The fish here, one might say, is not spoiled with different “dishes”, as is observed in the reservoirs of the near Moscow region. Therefore, it always bites on a worm and other bait.
Fishing here is possible both in summer and winter. In summer, you can use a float rod to hook crucian carp, roach, and striped robber perch. Pike and large perch are caught using spinning rods and fishing rods. In winter, pike can be caught well with girders. There are also perch. In winter, perch and roach are caught using jig tackle. The most successful fishing occurs on the first and last ice.
It is especially pleasant to sit with a fishing rod on the western shore of the lake. Here the forest comes close to the water, protecting it from the wind and creating a special coziness. You can always find a place to pitch a tent and do your favorite thing - fishing.
How to get to Kuznetsovsky
Directions: by car along the Dmitrovskoe highway through Taldom to the village of Kvashonki, here turn right to the village of Khrabrovo, then go north to the village of Glebovo. From here follow the dirt road to the lake, which will be to the right of the road.
Lake Solkovskoye
A few kilometers southwest of Kuznetsovskoye is Lake Solkovskoye. It is surrounded on all sides by dense forest. If you decide to go here for the first time, it is better to go with a partner who knows this area. Otherwise, you can get lost in the forest, but never reach your goal.
Fishing on Lake Solkovskoe
And the fishing here is simply fabulous. The fish composition is almost the same as on Lake Kuznetsovskoye, but the fish are much larger and bite better. Apparently, this is due to the fact that, due to its inaccessibility, the reservoir is rarely visited by fishermen and the fish are not scared. Large crucian carp, roach, and heavy perches are caught using a float rod. Spinners don’t have to get bored either. There are a lot of pike here, and large ones, which greedily grab almost any bait - a spinner, a wobbler, a twister, a vibrotail, a foam rubber.
Along with the toothy predator, there are also large perches. Fishing is also possible in winter. She is especially lucky during the first ice season. At this time, pike and perch are well caught using winter lures and vertical lures.
And there was not a soul around. Quiet and deserted. Only the quack of a duck sometimes breaks the pristine silence, and the wind rustles in the treetops. My soul is light and calm. At such moments, you especially acutely feel your unity with Mother Nature.
How to get to Solkovsky
It’s more convenient to get here this way: by car along the Dmitrovskoye Highway we get to Taldom, then turn right to Esaulovo, and then left to the village of Glebovo, and from here again to the village of Yurino. Here you will have to leave the car and walk more than three kilometers along forest paths.
But perhaps the most remarkable lake in the northern Moscow region is a reservoir with the strange name Zolotaya Veshka. It’s even hard to believe that in our time such a wonderful, beautiful and cozy corner of nature near Moscow could survive.
Rabalka on the Golden Veshka
And most importantly – what kind of fishing is there! There are a lot of crucian carp in the lake of both types - silver and gold. Fish as big as your palm are actively biting, but often a silver crucian weighing up to one and a half kilograms is on the hook, and a gold carp weighing three kilograms! It’s not hard to imagine how many unforgettable, exciting moments a fisherman experiences while fishing for such an underwater giant!
How to get to the Golden Veshka
Directions: by car along Dmitrovskoye Highway to Taldom, then north to the village of Kvashonki, here turn right towards the village of Kolbasino. Here you will again have to leave the car and walk more than four kilometers along a forest path to the lake. You can also get there by public transport: by train from Savelovsky station to Taldom, then by local bus to Kolbasino.
Lake Zabolotskoye
There is another remarkable lake in this direction of the Moscow region - Zabolotskoye. It fully justifies its name: the forested banks are very swampy. Therefore, in summer fishing here is only possible from a boat. The lake is rich in crucian carp, roach, perch, and pike. The reservoir is very impressive in size, its length from north to south is more than a kilometer, and its width is half a kilometer. And all the banks are swampy, especially in the northern part.
Directions: by car along the Yaroslavskoe highway to Sergiev Posad, from here turn left towards Deulino and Fedortsevo. Then go left to the village of Zabolotye, from which in favorable weather you can get there along a dirt road, and after rain - only on foot (two kilometers).
Reservoir not marked on the map
A few kilometers east of Lake Zabolotskoye there is a very original reservoir, not indicated either on the topographic map or on the atlas of the Moscow region. Although it is very impressive in size, the opposite bank is not even visible. Its originality lies in the fact that numerous tree trunks protrude directly from the water, in some places entire dense rows of them. Despite its impressive size, the reservoir is shallow, only in some places the depth exceeds two meters. It is said that this vast but shallow reservoir was formed by damming a local river.
The reservoir is very rich in white crucian carp. I had a chance to visit here once and still have the most pleasant memories of that fishing. Fished from an inflatable boat. On a “sandwich” of bloodworms and maggots, the crucian carp bit simply superbly. Moreover, the float rarely sunk, most often it slowly floated up and lay down. The bite was so active that the usual joy at the sight of a bite gradually dulled, as fishing turned into mechanical work of casting gear and pulling out the next fish.
Out of habit, I tried to fish with semolina porridge flavored sunflower oil and anise. There were bites, but noticeably less frequently than with the “sandwich”. Only closer to noon the bite subsided. But by this time I had already caught eight and a half kilograms of crucian carp with two fishing rods.
Due to the abundance of fish and the constant bite, the reservoir is very popular among fishing enthusiasts. Suffice it to say that fishermen come here not only from the Moscow region, but also from the Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl and even Ivanovo regions. In a “spontaneous” parking lot you can always see more than a hundred cars.
Directions: after the already mentioned village of Fedortsevo, turn right towards the village of Polubarskoye. From here it is about half a kilometer on foot to the reservoir.
Lake Ozeretskoe
It should also be said about Lake Ozeretskoye, located next to the Dmitrov-Sergiev Posad highway. The reservoir is also of considerable interest to fishing enthusiasts. There are crucian carp, perch, pike, rotan here. Considering that the shores of the lake are also very swampy, summer fishing here it is only possible from a boat. Only in some places you can approach the water along paths from the shore. In winter, the lake is more accessible for fishing. You can catch pike and perch using winter baits and vertical lures.
Getting here is easy: by car along the Yaroslavskoe highway to Sergiev Posad, turn left towards Dmitrov and get to the village of Ozeretskoye. The lake is nearby, on the left as you go. Or along the Dmitrovskoe highway to Dmitrov, turn right towards Sergiev Posad and drive again to the village of Ozeretskoye.
Sinkovsky Pond
There are many ponds in the northern Moscow region that are attractive for fishing. In the Dmitrovsky district, large ponds near the village of Goritsy and near the village of Sinkovo are often visited by fishermen. In the pond near Goritsa you can catch carp, crucian carp, roach, perch, and pike. The Sinkovsky Pond is dominated by large carp, crucian carp, and perch. And near the village of Zhestylevo there is a pond of the local fish farm stretching for several kilometers, where for a fee you can catch carp, crucian carp, roach, perch, and pike.
Rivers Sestra, Dubna and Yakhroma
The Sestra, Dubna, and Yakhroma rivers flowing through this area are also of great interest to fishermen. The coolest places on the Sestra River begin in the area after Klin before it flows into the Dubna River - the river is very winding, forms many deep pools and wide reaches. From early spring to late autumn here bream, roach, perch, dace, silver bream, chub, and ide are successfully caught using a float rod and bottom tackle. To the delight of spinning anglers, there are a lot of pike here, and even catfish. Good fishing on the river in winter.
Conditions for fishing are approximately the same on the Dubna River. Its fish composition is almost the same, only there are more chub and dace here. The most interesting places for fishing are located in the lower reaches of the river, starting from Verbilki to the confluence with the Volga. There are many deep pools with a slow current, where you can always count on productive fishing.
The Yakhroma River is interesting for fishing only in its lower reaches, starting from the village of Ust-Pristan. As the water warms up after the spring flood, roach, ide, and bream are easily caught here. However, by mid-summer the river becomes very overgrown and fishing on it becomes almost impossible.
System of reservoirs from the canal named after. Moscow
And finally, in the near north of the Moscow region, within just an hour's drive from the capital, there is a whole system of reservoirs formed by the canal named after. Moscow. We are talking about the Ikshinsky, Pestovsky, Uchinsky, Pyalovsky, Klyazminsky and Pirogovsky reservoirs.
I think that there is no need to describe each of these reservoirs in detail, since they are well known to fishermen in Moscow and the near Moscow region.
The fish “assortment” in all these reservoirs is almost the same: bream, roach, perch, pike, pike perch, burbot, silver bream, ide, crucian carp, tench, ruff. Eels and catfish are less common. Fishing conditions are also similar; people fish here with both float rods from boats and donkeys from the shore; there are especially many fishermen here in winter.
Family: Cuneiformes or Gasteropelaceae.
Habitat: Found in forest streams in northeastern Brazil and Guyana.
Water temperature: 23-26.
Acidity: 6.0-7.5.
Hardness: 3-13.
size in an aquarium: up to 5 cm.
Under favorable conditions, the life expectancy of these fish reaches 7-8 years.
Hatchet fish or marbled Carnegiella (Carnegiella strigata) - the tall body of the marbled Carnegiella is greatly simplified from the sides, the profile of the belly and chest is sharp, very convex, the profile of the back is straight. The dorsal fin is displaced to back bodies, pectorals - very large. The fins are colorless. The back of the fish is olive-colored, the sides are silver with bluish, yellowish or greenish tints. A golden stripe runs from the gill covers along the entire body to the caudal fin, three oblique black stripes adjoin it from below. A thin speck is located on the abdomen. When viewed from above or from the front, the female looks fuller, the male is smaller in size.
These aquarium fish were first brought to Europe back in 1912, but, despite this, they did not gain wide popularity among aquarists. Perhaps this was due to the fish’s plainness in bright light or its timidity and susceptibility to stress. Keeping a fish is a little troublesome, but not difficult. The aquarium must have a flow of water, which must be rich in oxygen and of high quality. For the comfort of the fish, there should be floating aquarium plants on the surface of the water that create shade with roots hanging down. Since these fish are jumping, the aquarium must be closed from above.
Carnegiellas are peaceful fish that gather in schools and stay mainly in the upper layer of water. You can keep a flock of marbled Carnegiellas in a community aquarium. Perfectly compatible with angelfish, discus, livebearers, rasboras, tetras, zebrafish and peaceful catfish.
Corneghiellas are omnivores; they eat both live and dry food, which they more readily take from the surface of the water. The diet should be dominated by live food, otherwise the life expectancy of fish is significantly reduced.
Feeding aquarium fish OK must be correct: balanced, varied. This fundamental rule is the key to the successful keeping of any fish, be it guppies or astronotuses. The article talks about this in detail, it outlines the basic principles of the diet and feeding regime for fish.
In this article, we note the most important thing - feeding fish should not be monotonous; the diet should include both dry food and live food. In addition, you need to take into account the gastronomic preferences of a particular fish and, depending on this, include in its diet food either with the highest protein content or, conversely, with plant ingredients.
Popular and popular food for fish, of course, is dry food. For example, you can find food from the Tetra company, the leader of the Russian market, on aquarium shelves all the time and everywhere; in fact, the range of food from this company is amazing. Tetra’s “gastronomic arsenal” includes individual food for a specific type of fish: goldfish, cichlids, loricariids, guppies, labyrinths, arowanas, discus, etc. Tetra has also developed specialized foods, for example, to enhance color, fortified, or for feeding fry. You can find out detailed information about all Tetra feeds on the company’s official website -
It should be noted that when purchasing any dry food, you should pay attention to the date of its manufacture and shelf life, try not to buy food in bulk, and also store the food in a closed state - this will help to avoid the development of pathogenic flora in it.
Reproduction of Carnegiella. Sexual maturity occurs at one year of age. They spawn in a separate aquarium with floating or planted bushes of small-leaved aquarium plants on the surface of the water. There should be a distance of at least 25 cm between the surface of the water and the glass covering the aquarium. The lighting is diffuse and weak. The water in the spawning tank is soft, warm and acidic: dH up to 5°, T = 25-28°C, pH 5.5-6.5). The water layer is from 15 to 20 cm. The movement of water in the upper layers is ensured by a pump. A group of fish is placed for spawning, in which females predominate. Spawning occurs at the surface under small-leaved plants or plants floating on the surface of the water at night or early in the morning. Some of the eggs settle on the leaves of the plants, but most of them sink to the bottom. At the end of spawning, either the fish are removed from the spawning tank, or the eggs are transferred to a separate container with weak aeration. After ~2-3 days, the fry hatch; after another 6 days, they begin to stay near the surface of the water and swim. For the first day of life of the fry, low lighting is recommended. The fry are fed live dust.
All of the above is just the fruit of observing this type of aquarium fish and collecting various information from owners and breeders. We would like to share with visitors not only information, but also with live emotions, allowing you to penetrate the world of aquariums more fully and subtly. Register on, participate in discussions on the forum, create profile topics where you will talk about your pets in the first person and first-hand, describe their habits, behavior and content, share with us your successes and joys, share and learn from experience others. We are interested in every bit of your experience, every second of your joy, every awareness of a mistake, which makes it possible for your comrades to avoid the same mistake. The more of us there are, the more pure and transparent drops of goodness there are in the life and everyday life of our seven billion society.
Carnegiell video review
Deep sea hatchet fish (lat. Sternoptychidae) belong to the ray-finned fish from the order Stomiiformes. They got their name from the bizarre shape of a thin flexible body, reminiscent of a sharp ax blade. This family currently consists of 45 species of fish, with body lengths ranging from 2.5 to 15 cm.
Behavior
Hatchet fish, like many other inhabitants living at depths of up to 1.5 km underwater world illuminates its path using bioluminescence. She has special organs - photofluors, located along the abdomen. With help chemical reaction they produce a greenish light.
Photofluors are designed in such a way that the light flux is always directed downwards. Anyone looking up at a fish is unlikely to notice it against the backdrop of light coming from the surface of the ocean. Depending on the surrounding lighting, the hatchet can arbitrarily change the intensity of its glow.
Hatchet fish can be found in tropical and subtropical waters of the world's oceans. About her life cycle little is known for certain. Many researchers are inclined to believe that its lifespan does not exceed one year. At night, the fish migrate to shallow waters of 200-300 m to hunt plankton and small fish. She catches food floating above her.
In the daytime, hatchets return to a depth of up to 2 thousand m. Selected species hatchetfish can gather in huge, dense schools, causing problems for vessels using echo sounders to determine depth. For the first time, sailors encountered a “double bottom” in the middle of the 20th century.
Huge concentrations of hatchetfish are good bait for large ocean fish, especially commercial tuna.
The reproductive features of hatchetfish have been little studied and most of them still remain a mystery. It is known that young individuals appearance very different from adults.
Morphological features
Among known species Argyropelecus Gigas is considered the largest hatchetfish, its body length reaches 15 cm. The body of small hatchets is covered with silvery scales. Some species are dark green or brown in color.
The hatchet species Gasteropelecus sternia has large, convex, upward-pointing, telescopic eyes that are extremely sensitive to light. Thanks to this feature, the fish can catch food falling from above and notice shadows from low light below them.
The hatchet fish has a tall body that is strongly flattened on the sides, which narrows significantly as it moves to the tail. There is a pointed keel on the ventral part.
The front part of the dorsal fin is a blade made of bones, which in hatchet fish protrude above the dorsal muscles. The large jaws are located at an acute angle in relation to the midline of the body. At the beginning of the pelvic fin there is a forked spine.
Although such features are interesting, the maintenance causes certain difficulties, so they are not recommended for beginner aquarists. There are several related species, differing primarily in size, these are the Silver Hatchetfish and the Great Hatchetfish.
Requirements and conditions:
- Aquarium volume - from 60 liters.
- Temperature - 22–28°C
- pH value - 6.0 - 7.0
- Water hardness - from soft to medium hardness (2-15dH)
- Substrate type - any
- Lighting - moderate
- Brackish water - no
- Water movement - moderate/weak
Fish parameters:
- Size - about 6 cm.
- Food - any, preferably meat products
- Life expectancy - from 2 to 5 years
Habitat
First discovered in the middle of the 18th century (in 1758) in South America. Hatchet fish are widespread in the Amazon basin in small rivers and channels with a lot of floating vegetation. They prefer the upper areas of the water, but in case of danger they immediately dive into the depths. In the wild, the main food source is insects.
Description
The fish has a bizarre body shape - flattened on the sides with a large belly, which resembles an axe. The mouth is located close to the top of the head, which helps feeding from the surface. The pectoral fins are long and rigid, and when jumping they spread out like wings, aiding maneuvering. The body color is predominantly silver, with dark specks and a stripe stretching from head to tail.
Nutrition
In nature, it is an exclusively carnivorous species, feeding on insects and their larvae from the surface of the water. In the aquarium they can consume any dry industrial food that floats on the surface. It is recommended to use freeze-dried insect products (bloodworms, daphnia, etc.). In summer, you can diversify your diet with mosquito larvae, bloodworms, fruit flies, small flies and others.
Hatchetfish require clean water and cannot tolerate fluctuations in pH and dGH parameters, otherwise their immunity is greatly weakened. The set of equipment is standard - an aerator, a heater, a lighting and filtration system, and it is advisable to use the filter with a filter element that acidifies the water. The aquarium must be covered with a lid; if the opportunity arises, a jump will follow.
The design should use floating plants like water lilies, with leaves on the surface under which fish will hide. The rest of the decorative elements are not important.
Social behavior
A very peaceful, even shy appearance, so keeping with aggressive neighbors is unacceptable. The minimum number of individuals in a group should not be less than 6. Compatible with small, peaceful and slow-moving fish.
Breeding/reproduction
Successful cases of domestic breeding are rare, mainly carried out by professional breeders for commercial purposes and subsequently supplied to the retail chain.
Diseases
Hatchetfish are often infected with Ichthyobodosis. The main reason is unsatisfactory water quality; this disease is especially common in newly acquired fish. If the aquarium is mature and all parameters are normal, then health problems usually do not arise. Read more about symptoms and treatment methods in the section “Diseases of aquarium fish”.
Peculiarities
- Can jump out of the water
- Maintain a flock of at least 6 individuals
