Hatchet Fish

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:08:06 -0400, Mister Gardener
wrote:

Now, who was it that hasn't been able to catch her hatchet fish in the
act of eating? I responded with a promise to buy some hatchet fish so
that I could watch how they eat. I purchased three this afternoon, I
wanted five, but it's a long time until payday. And I needed to save
some of my money for the Espe's rasboras that my lfs was saving for
me. The hatchets are in the 55, with all friendly tank mates - neons,
pencils, corys, a few fat platys that were used to initially cycle the
tank and now refuse to leave. I shall watch the hatchets closely at
feeding time and report back. They are presently hanging about an inch
below the water surface, directly in the very fast output stream of my
big filter, they're flapping their wings and maintaining perfect
stillness and balance in the rapids. There are several areas of dense
plant growth they can retreat to if they feel threatened, but so far
they are enjoying themselves out in the open. I haven't looked up
their specific species name, but I think they are
hatchetus ordinaryii.

-- Mister Gardener
And hour later. Feeding time went fine. The hatchets were right up
there competing with all of the other fish, they gobbled down flake
food and freeze dried brine shrimp. When they weren't actually
grabbing food from the surface, they were cruising about a centimeter
below the surface watching for the next perfect morsel. These guys can
move wicked fast!

-- Mister Gardener