Family: Gasteropelecidae
Distribution: Carnegiella schereri, better known as the Marbled Hatchetfish, is distributed in the upper middle levels of South America’s Amazon River basin; Columbia’s Caquetta River; and in Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Brazil. It prefers to swim in places with plenty of surface vegetation, such as forest streams and tributaries.
PH: 5.0 – 8.0
Temperature: 24°C – 28°C (75 – 84F)
Hardness: 5 – 19 dH
Description: Carnegiella strigata can reach a maximum length of 3.5 cm. One of the better-known members of the Gasteropelecidae family, the Marbled Hatchetfish displays a gold stripe from its eye down to its caudal fin, and below lies a cream and brown, marbled pattern. Males and females are difficult to sex unless the female is carrying eggs, at which point they are visible through her body. The Marbled Hatchetfish has a life expectancy of up to five years.
Diet: This surface dwelling species will enjoy a mostly live-food diet, primarily of insects, brine shrimp, bloodworms and black mosquito larvae. It will also most likely accept various small, dry foods over time.
Breeding: Like with all Hatchetfish, breeding in an aquarium environment is exceedingly difficult. In some successful cases the water used was soft and acidic, with the adult pair conditioned with live foods. It is important to remove the parents as soon as the eggs are laid in case they decide to devour them.
Comments: Carnegiella schereri should be housed in a tank of at least 27 litres in volume. Make sure you keep a cover on your tank to prevent this species from jumping out onto the kitchen floor, as this is probably the most likely species of Hatchetfish to jump out of your tank. You might like to provide a slight current for this species to swim against. It is recommended you cover the water’s surface with floating plants to simulate its natural environment, and perhaps some driftwood and a sand substrate elsewhere in the tank. Breeding difficulties aside, Carnegiella strigata is a relatively easy species to look after and is recommended to newcomers to the hobby.
Article/Books:
Recommended Compatible Species: Carnegiella strigata is a peaceful – but sometimes nervous – species that will not compete well with others for food. It is best to tank it with small fish that will stay in different levels of the tank. They will live happily with most Tetra species (particularly the Neon Tetra and Black Tetra). They are also great tank mates with Discus, Apistogramma‘s like Apistogramma Cacatouides and Apistogramma Borelli, Corydoras Catfish (particularly Corydoras Sterbai and Corydoras aeneus) Angelfish, Clown loach, the common Guppy and Platy and most Gourami (such as the Blue Gouramiand Dwarf Gourami like the Honey Gourami) Also can live happily with most Danio (particularly the Zebra Danio and Pearl Danio) and also many Killifish make great tank mates.
Originally posted 2010-01-05 12:29:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
