Spotfin Hatchetfish Breeding Guide

Breeding of Thoracocharax stellatus is unrecorded in aquaria. This large surface hatchetfish is a powerful jumper requiring a tightly sealed cover.

Overview

Thoracocharax stellatus is the largest of the commonly traded hatchetfishes, distributed widely across South America through the Orinoco, Amazon and Parana river systems. Seriously Fish records a size of 60-70 mm SL. It is a surface-dwelling, primarily insectivorous species; like all freshwater hatchetfish it is a powerful jumper, so a tightly sealed cover is essential (Wikipedia).

Sexing

Seriously Fish notes that females are noticeably rounder-bodied than males when full of eggs. No further reliable sexing method is described.

Conditioning

In nature the diet is almost entirely insects, with one study cited by Seriously Fish reporting that 99.6% of the diet consists of insects, 87.6% of which were terrestrial. In the aquarium offer frozen and live foods such as bloodworm, Daphnia and fruit flies at the surface. Documented parameters are 20-28 C, pH 5.0-7.5 and hardness 18-215 ppm (Seriously Fish). Keep groups of at least half a dozen.

Common Challenges

With no documented spawning and a strongly insectivorous, surface-oriented, nervous nature, controlled breeding has not been achieved and no protocol can be cited.