hatchetfish compatibility... or silver dollars

8551 Views 17 Replies 5 Participants Last post by RSVBiffer, Apr 9, 2014

OrangeAugust

Discussion Starter · Apr 8, 2014

I was in an lfs purchasing an angelfish and the silver hatchetfish caught my eye.
I'd like to get some if they are compatible with my other fish.

But I'm also wondering about silver dollars... they're supposed to be in groups of at least 3, right? Will they be ok in a 55 gallon tank?

Here is my current stock in my 55 gallon tank:
angelfish (1)
dwarf gourami (1)
serpae tetra (15)
pearl danio (15)
platy (6)
amano shrimp (3)

I would get one or the other- silver dollars or hatchetfish but not both.
Are they compatible?
Will I be over stocked?

Also wondering about the hatchetfish being able to fly... do they do that often and is it easy for them to fly out of an open-top aquarium with water about an inch below the top?

TIA!

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jaysee

· #4 · Apr 8, 2014 (Edited)

I don't think that you are overstocked at all. A 55 can accommodate a lot of little fish. Too, the 30 fish between 2 schools is not the same as having 5 schools of 6 fish, which would use considerably more space.

Silver dollars are big, active fish - I wouldn't keep them in a 55. The hatchets are much better suited, and are a better match for your other fish. I would not get less than 10 hatchets, though you do not have to get all 10 at once. They really appreciate having a decent size school for security.

I wouldn't worry much about the hatchets and serpaes. The hatchets will stay near the surface and the serpaes stay near the bottom.

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jaysee

· #11 · Apr 8, 2014

I agree, no flying fish without a top.

Aqadvisor is a very conservative stocking guide, which is good. But "100%" is not anywhere near being overstocked.

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jaysee

· #17 · Apr 8, 2014

RSVBiffer said:
To be honest, I think European stocking levels tend to be far more conservative than US ones, I know many people are shocked over here by the stocking recommended on Aqadvisor (as in being way too high). I think it is just one of those grey areas that shows a real a divide between the opposite sides of the Atlantic....we can't even agree on the volume of a gallon ;-)

I remember one of our members from the Netherlands (I think) was concerned about putting their betta in less than a 10 gallon tank. It was a 7 gallon tank IIRC. They wanted to make sure that that was big enough.

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