The Marbled Hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata) is a small, surface-dwelling fish that is very common in the wild. It reaches a maximum length of about 4.5 cm. A very dark form (“vesca”) is found in the upper Amazon (Peru and Colombia), while a lighter, more delicately patterned form is found in the middle Amazon (Brazil). The photos accompanying this post show fully grown specimens from Brazil.
When caring for them, it is important to keep in mind that these fish have a high food requirement. One should feed at least 2x, better 3-4x daily, but always only as much as is eaten up completely in a few minutes. An automatic feeder can be helpful. Maybe it is the hugely enlarged ventral keel, where the “flight muscles” are attached, which is responsible for the fact that the stomach is not very expandable and therefore the fish have to eat frequently. If you pay attention to this, you will enjoy these beautiful animals for a long time.
For our customers: the fish have code 214205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
