[Tomm1986]

Evening all

Since my last post here in Octobe everything has been going well in my little 100L community aquarium

It consists of 1 Angel, 3 Dwarf Gourami, 1 Pearl Gourami, a Honey Gourami, 3 Platy's, a Dwarf Puffer and numerous danio (around 10). They all have been getting on well due to the order in which I introduced them.

I also have 3 Hatchetfish.

On Saturday one of the hatchetfish started acting a bit oddly, swimming at angles etc.

I went to the Abyss in Stockport and bought an isolation chamber for him (I don't have enough space for a separate tank), he's still swimming at odd angles now. One moment he'll be acting normal, the next he'll dip down and be all over the shop.

Any ideas if this is a symptom of anything apart from bullying?

Whilst I was at the Abyss I bought 5 more Hatchetfish in case it was bullying (as they are a shoal fish, I recognised that one of the Gourami may have been picking on them whilst I wasn't there and I only had 3 as the shop only had 3 last time I went!).

4 of these new Hatchetfish have now died. The last one is also in a separate part of the isolation chamber mentioned above, he's acting fine. Is this a case of osmotic shock?

 

[Tomm1986]

It's almost a week on and the hatchetfish which was acting oddly has died. He had one large spot of yellow on his right fin, I don't think it's velvet. Anyone have an idea what else it could be?

Also, any ideas about the cause for the other 4 deaths would be appreciated.

 

[tankman12]

How long did you have the hatchets?
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[Tomm1986]

I bought the 4 hatchets from a local reputable store last Saturday. By the end of Sunday only one was left and he's still going strong.
The one which has just died, I've had for about 6 months.

 

[RSVBiffer]

Hatchetfish are very delicate feeders and very sensitive. I suspect, parms being ok etc, that the hatchets are starving rather than bullying being the cause. Hatchets will only take very fine food off the surface. You have them in with some very boisterous fish (in terms of the hatchets). If the water surface is disturbed when you feed them that could also be an issue.

 

[tankman12]

Mine eat whatever they see, so im thinking you probably got sick ones. The other one may of died from stress of not having anymore. Or maybe from being in an overstocked tank.
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[RSVBiffer]

Hatchets are notorious for their feeding issues especially in the early days in a setup. The fish, if they are used to feeding off the surface, generally don't adapt quickly to feeding lower in the water column. Losses within the first week for hatchets with a change to their feeding pattern range from 40-80% in the face of 'bolder' competition.

 

[tankman12]

Well my 6(silvers) dont have any issues, they also dont have any competition. As soon as the food hits they go for it, so they arent really slow eaters.
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