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Encyclopedia / Tetras / Silver hatchetfish
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Variations

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Silver hatchetfish

Gasteropelecus sternicla · Common hatchetfish, Hatchetfish

Peaceful surface dweller; needs a tight lid as it can leap out.

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6.5 cmAdult size ✓
24–28 °CTemperature ✓
5–7pH ✓
108 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • White cloud mountain minnow needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while Silver hatchetfish is tropical.
  • They need different temperatures (24–28 °C vs 14–22 °C). No setting suits both.
Not recommended
  • Giant gourami eats animals up to about 10 cm. Silver hatchetfish only grows to 6.5 cm.
Not recommended
  • They need different temperatures (24–28 °C vs 10–22 °C). No setting suits both.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
With conditions
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 24 °C.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

310 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓1–12 dGH
Group size ✓6 or more
Temperament ✓Peaceful
Swims at ✓Top
Care level ✓Easy
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–4 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Peaceful surface dweller; needs a tight lid as it can leap out. Keep a group with calm tankmates.

Food

Small floating live and frozen foods such as fruit flies, daphnia and bloodworms.

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Male or female

Hard to sex; females are noticeably rounder-bodied when full of eggs and grow larger than males.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Breeding is unknown; it has not been bred in captivity, so aquarium fish are wild-caught. It probably spawns like the marbled hatchetfish.

Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionSouth America – Amazon basin & the Guianas
Rivers and lakesAmazon and Guiana rivers
HabitatSurface waters of slow streams
Native rangeAbout 2,000 km across
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The story of the silver hatchetfish

A silvery freshwater hatchetfish whose deep, keel-shaped chest holds huge pectoral muscles; it can leap from the surface and glide several metres to catch insects or escape predators, but high-speed video showed it does not flap its fins in flight.

Carl Linnaeus described this hatchetfish in 1758, making it one of the first South American aquarium fishes to be named. Its deep, keel-shaped chest holds large muscles that power its pectoral fins. It lives right at the surface and can leap out of the water to escape predators.

First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

  • It can leap clear of the water to escape danger.
  • Its deep chest holds powerful muscles for its pectoral fins.
  • It feeds on insects at the water surface.

Sources

15 facts checked with sources