Hatchet Fish

The silver hatchetfish (Thoracocharax stellatus) is a South American characin with a deep, keel-shaped chest and a flat back, built for a life spent right at the water's surface. Wild fish come from slow, tannin-stained stretches of the Amazon and Orinoco systems. Under aquarium light the body has a bright, almost metallic sheen, and a group hanging motionless just below the surface is one of the more distinctive sights in a planted tank.

Aquarium care

• Adult size is around 6 cm, with most of that depth rather than length.
• A shoaling fish — keep six or more, and more again if you have the room.
• Peaceful and non-territorial; it will not bother other fish.
• A top dweller that spends nearly all its time in the upper few centimetres.
• A determined jumper. A tight-fitting lid with no open gaps is not optional.
• Prefers warm, soft to moderately hard water that is well filtered but not turbulent.
• Takes floating flake and small frozen foods; sinking food is largely wasted on them.

They suit a calm community tank with open surface space and some floating cover — small tetras, corydoras, dwarf cichlids and peaceful rasboras all work well. Avoid boisterous or fin-nipping tankmates, and anything large enough to treat a hatchetfish as a meal.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is available for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. Browse the rest of the freshwater fish collection.