I have recently seen a Giant Hatchet fish in a fish shop. I am very interested in these hatchets but I forgot to ask what they were like and the conditions they keep them in. I have tried to find this fish on the internet but instead I got a marine species that lives under the sea. In the shop I saw a giant silver hatchet for freshwater. Could you give me any info about these fish and if you have kept any and how did you get on with them! All comments would be appreciated!
2007-02-14 07:15:04 · 6 answers · asked by hathj29 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
hi i have looked every where these are two i have found so far i know there not the giant ones as you stated in your ? but these may help.
2007-02-18 19:59:39 · answer #1 · answered by sunshine 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are semi aggressive fish and need to be keep with other semi aggressive fish. Good tank mates are silver dollars, red tail silver barbs. ( these get quite large. I have 3 that are 11 inches. They are also schooling fish, silver dollars and giant hachets are also schooling fish. Keep into consideration the size of your tank. For every 1" of fish they need to gallons of water. Also do the math from the adult size not the size they are when you get them. (Example: My red tail tin foil barbs grow to a size of 12". This fish will need 24 gallons alone for just this fish. When I bought them they were 1/2 long. I placed him with two other tin foil barbs in 180 gallon tank. Hard to see them but they grew fast. These 3 fish need a total of 60 gallons of that 180 gallon tank. 180g-60g=120 gallons left. I added 5 silver dollars all were about the size of quarters and dines when I place them in that huge tank. Had hard time finding them, also but, again they grew fast. The fish grow to the size of 8" each for a grand total of 86 more inches of fish 120-86=34 gallons left. So I added 3 sharks to the mix, 2 red tail, that grow to four inches (8 more gallons) and 1 silver shark that will grow to 6" ( need 12 more gallons for him. 34 gallons left in the 180 gallon tank 34-20=16 gallons left if i want to add another couple fish. Think of it this way. Try to imagine living your whole life in your small bathroom with All your stuff + your family members and no body can EVER leave the bathroom.. You would go CRAZY and become stressed out...... Thats what happens if you over stock your tank! Please choose wisely, for your fishes sake. remember this is a schooling fish so he will need to be in a group of 3 or more...... those hatchet's grow to be 8". So 3 of them would need 48 gallon tank!
2007-02-20 11:58:13 · answer #2 · answered by julie b 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
From my handbook of tropical aquarium fishes[fresh water] by Dr HERBERT R.AXELROD....and Dr LEONARD P. SCHULTZ. Although mainly for fresh water it does include some with brackish water.
The one that I have found could fit the description you gave.
SILVER HATCHETFISH/Thoracocharax Stellatus[Kner]
RANGE;Amazon,Paraguay,Orinoco Basins to Rio Apure,Venezuela.
SIZE; 3 inches,breeding size not known.
TEMPERAMENT; A peaceful species,desirable for the comunity tank.
TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS; 74 -85f.
SEX DIFFERENCE ;Unknown.
This could be your giant hatchetfish and would be fully grown.
I have kept silver hatchetfish but they were only one and half inches big. Keep them in a well planted tank with valis at each end but leave the middle clear for swimming. They do better in shoals and with good aeration but gentle. They are suface swimmers and I have fed them with flake food and also mosquito larvae or daphnia. Good luck.
2007-02-20 08:59:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've never seen 'giant' hatchets... they usually only get to around an inch and a half to two inches at most... (dunno... if u find one on line, send me a link, i'd like to see them). but, the freshwaters usually need a min. 30 gallon tank so they have room to swim, and distinguish their territories... they hang out at the top of the tank, because they are surface eaters (upturned mouth) and they are the coolest looking fish!!! the first time I saw one i was at a friend's house and she'd just got one.... i thought it was dead, but i guess tha's it's defense mechanism.... lol
good luck, hth!!
2007-02-14 15:25:40 · answer #4 · answered by Silver Thunderbird 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Depending on where you are from or what you were reading or seeing, that could be any one of several fish. Here's a link that you can use to help figure out which one and google the scientific name for more info.
http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/ComNames/CommonNameSearchSpeciesList.cfm?CommonName=Giant%20hatchetfish
I'll bet this is the fish in question:
http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=11905&CFID=755254&CFTOKEN=50255186
Hope that helps
MM
2007-02-14 16:33:25 · answer #5 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
No sorry
2007-02-22 13:05:00 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋