Has anyone kept.....?

Bubbles

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Apr 23, 2009
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Milton Keynes
Marbled Hatchetfish
Carnegiella strigata


Glass Catfish
Kryptopterus bicirrhis


These fish really caught my eye as they are unusual and i was wondering if anyone keeps them and could give me more information?

Would either of these make good tankmates for a common BN?

Many thanks in advance.
 
Apr 27, 2009
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Middle Earth
Never kept either but Glass Cats are ok you'd need a shoal of at least 6 to keep them happy or they will stress but not a problem to keep, they feed readily on live Daphnia and Brine Shrimp but will also accept flake.
The Hatchets are also fine but would recommend some floating plants like Frogbit to make them feel more comfortable. as they only reach about 1.5" you could happily accomodate a good size shoal of these.
Sometimes the best tank mate for a pleco is... another pleco :woohoo: just kidding... no really get more plecs :lol:
 

Bubbles

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Apr 23, 2009
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Milton Keynes
Never kept either but Glass Cats are ok you'd need a shoal of at least 6 to keep them happy or they will stress but not a problem to keep, they feed readily on live Daphnia and Brine Shrimp but will also accept flake.
The Hatchets are also fine but would recommend some floating plants like Frogbit to make them feel more comfortable. as they only reach about 1.5" you could happily accomodate a good size shoal of these.
Sometimes the best tank mate for a pleco is... another pleco :woohoo: just kidding... no really get more plecs :lol:

:hi: chuck

I would also think floating plants would stop the Hatchets from jumping ( hopefully) dont want any hurting themselves and i agree i could keep a good size shoal ( great minds think alike).

Thanks also for the plant name i dont know anything about plants so any help is gratefully recieved.

More plecos :woohoo:, stop putting ideas into my head :lol:
 

Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
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Glass catfish are ok, but from my experience of them not very healthy these days plus you need a group of them and they can be shy
 

Andrew

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May 3, 2009
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Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK.
I have kept marbled hatchetfish before.
A local fish store had some in and i left it for a couple of weeks before getting six, as i had read that they don't handle a change of tank well, like clown loaches can be in the beginning, but had no problems with them.

They like to hide in the shade, so some type of floating plant is needed, but the tank dosn't need to be covered in floating plants, just some for the fish to hide under when they want to.
I found the best food for them to be freeze dried food, or flake crumbled up, because a lot of foods sink too quick, and they were the two that floated the longest.

If you spook them they can jump well, not that they jump that high, but they are so quick.
I had them for a couple of years, but watch out when cleaning the tank, as i lost mine over time to them jumping out and falling down the back of the tank.
It must have been when cleaning the glass on the inside of the tank, as i would be all over the tank wiping it and must have spooked them, because every so often one would dissappear and i always found it down the back of the tank.
 

Bubbles

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Apr 23, 2009
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Milton Keynes
Glass catfish are ok, but from my experience of them not very healthy these days plus you need a group of them and they can be shy
Thanks Doodles i am glad i asked now thats a real shame though as they look unusual.

Back to the drawing board as they say :D
 

Irene0100

UK Support Team
May 14, 2009
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Norfolk, UK
I kept marbled hatchet fish for a while, they were super to watch, but only lived a few weeks, I thought it was perhaps poor stock. but on more research my tank may not have been ideal either as they like fairly still water and plec tanks tend to need a bit of current, so I did not try any more.
 

rpp1973

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Apr 26, 2009
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Stroud (Gloucestershire)
I have some glass catfish and once settled and feeding they are easy to keep. couldnt get them to feed for the first week but tetra prima did the trick!

would be a good idea to ask the shop what they are feeding if you do go for these fish!


nice unusual fish but they dont realy stand out in a display tank
 

dw1305

Global Moderators
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May 5, 2009
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Wiltshire nr. Bath, UK
Hatchets and Fruit flies

Hi all,
Marbled Hatchets are the easiest Hatchets, but they are still quite tricky. They need good quality water (they will tolerate a pH over 7, but the water has to be really clean and have a low conductivity).

Feeding and jumping are the other issues, they jump and for long term maintenance they need feeding with (wingless/vestigal winged) fruit flies, mosquito larvae and "greenfly" (Aphids).

I kept a group of 6 (7 originally) for several years, but they never bred. I found keeping the fruit fly culture pure was difficult, as unless you go through it fairly frequently you get a lot of wild type (winged) which eventually take the culture over (they would be as good as food, but they are difficult to feed to the fish).

I used to stun the adults, & pick them out singly (this is what you do when you use them as lab animals), but after I'd stopped keeping them, some asked me why I didn't just open the culture bottle lid and let the winged ones fly away! (I'm so st*pid, I'd never thought of this).

cheers Darrel
 

indigoj

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May 3, 2009
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Bury, Lancs
I've got some glass cats and they are fab little fish, I've got 4 because I lost one and never got round to replacing but they are fine, maybe because I have other shoaling fish in there that they hang out with. If you can get a good batch, quarentine them for 4 weeks 'just in case' then they are a lovely addition.