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How to look after
Gasteropelecus sternicla
Silver hatchet fish
(Linnaeus, 1758)

(Other members of the genus Gasteropelecus)

ADULT SIZE: 5 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Moderately soft and acidic

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-28 C

FOOD: Feed Gasteropelecus sternicla live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Guyana, Peru, Surinam, Venezuela

AQUARIUM CARE: Does fine in a planted community tank, with some floating plants. This Amazonian shoaler often jumps out of the water to catch insects in flight. This behaviour also occurs in the aquarium, and so tanks should always have adequate covers to prevent losses. They relish all live foods, both worms etc, but are particularly fond of fruit flies.
Like all shoaling characins, hatchetfish need to be kept in a social group of at least 6 individuals, but preferably more.

BREEDING: Unknown

Have you bred Gasteropelecus sternicla? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Gasteropelecus sternicla breeding reports

Gasteropelecus sternicla
Silver hatchet fish

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Gasteropelecus sternicla
Silver hatchet fish
breeding notes

BREEDING: Unknown

Have you bred Gasteropelecus sternicla? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

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This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute - whatever your experience! 2 breeders have filled in breeding reports, a summary of the results are shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Gasteropelecus sternicla, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.
Would Gasteropelecus sternicla be a good addition to a community tank? Never Doubtful, only with VERY calm fish Only with species of similar size Yes, a good community fish	How would you describe the disposition of Gasteropelecus sternicla? Very timid Slightly timid Neutral Somewhat aggresive on occasions Very aggressive
In which water conditions do you keep these fish? Very soft and acidic Moderately soft and acidic Neutral Moderately hard and alkaline Very hard and alkaline	At what average temperature? 10-15°C 16-19°C 20-23°C 24-27°C 28°C+
What, if any is the biggest difficulty encountered when breeding these fish? Poor egg production Poor egg survival Poor fry survival rate Deformities Skewed sex ratio	How would you describe sex ratios when breeding Gasteropelecus sternicla? If you are unsure please leave this question unanswered. Almost all males Somewhat male heavy Roughly equal Somewhat female heavy Almost all females
In general, how difficult is Gasteropelecus sternicla to keep and breed? Very easy Easy Average Difficult Very difficult	How sucessful have you been at breeding Gasteropelecus sternicla? Very unsucessful Fairly unsucessful Average Fairly sucessful Very sucessful

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences

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Water conditions: Very soft and acidic	Water temperature: 20-23oC
Disposition: Active, but not aggresive	Community tank?: Yes, a good community fish
Spawning Method: Other (see below)	Breeding problems: Poor egg survival
Sex ratio:	Breeding difficulty: Average
Sucess: Fairly unsucessful	Years Experience: 1
Other Comments:
Date this record created: 11th October 2011	Breeding date: 2011
Breeder: kepkep	Location: France

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Water conditions: Very hard and alkaline	Water temperature: 28oC+
Disposition: Very timid	Community tank?: Yes, a good community fish
Spawning Method: Other (see below)	Breeding problems: Skewed sex ratio
Sex ratio: Roughly equal	Breeding difficulty: Very difficult
Sucess: Very sucessful	Years Experience: 50
Other Comments:
Date this record created: 14th January 2011	Breeding date: 1990
Breeder:	Location: