Blackwing Hatchetfish Care Guide
Carnegiella marthae is a tiny, surface-dwelling South American hatchetfish that needs a tightly fitting lid and a group of its own kind.
Overview
Carnegiella marthae, the blackwing or black-winged hatchetfish, is a tiny South American characiform described by George S. Myers in 1927. It is a surface-dwelling species with a deeply keeled, hatchet-shaped belly and wing-like pectoral fins, marked by a fine dark line along the body.
Taxonomy
- Family: Gasteropelecidae
- Genus: Carnegiella
- Scientific name: Carnegiella marthae
Habitat
The species occurs in the upper Orinoco drainage in Venezuela and the rio Negro and rio Madeira drainages in Amazonian Brazil. It lives in blackwater environments, including igapó and igarapé habitats characterised by thick, often overhanging riparian vegetation and calm streams and pools.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 60 L (about 16 gal)
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 5.5-7.0
- GH: 1-10 °dGH
- School size: at least 6, ideally 10 or more
- Lifespan: 3-5 years
Surface dimensions of about 60 x 30 cm or larger are recommended, with gentle to moderate flow. A tightly fitting cover is essential, because the fish may jump when startled, especially in darkness.
Diet
Carnegiella marthae is a micropredator that feeds at the water surface, taking small invertebrates and insects. In the aquarium it accepts suitably small dried foods but should be offered regular small live and frozen items such as Artemia nauplii, Daphnia, Moina and grindal worm.
Compatibility
The species is very peaceful but is timid and, owing to its small size, is not an ideal general community fish. It is gregarious and should be kept in as large a group as possible, ideally ten or more, which makes the fish bolder and reduces nervousness. Suitable companions are similarly sized peaceful characids and smaller callichthyid or loricariid catfishes; it also works as a dither fish for dwarf cichlids such as Apistogramma.
Breeding
Breeding of Carnegiella marthae is essentially unrecorded in aquaria, so reliable spawning details are not available.