There are two species of black-winged dwarf hatchets in South America. These cute fish only grow to around 3 cm in length. According to scientific data, both species are very widespread (Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru), Carnegiella marthae has been described from Venezuela (Caño de Quiribana, near Caicara) and C. schereri from Peru (Caño del Chancho, near Pebas). These two dwarf hatchets are so closely related that they used to be regarded as subspecies of each other. They were then called Carnegiella marthae marthae and Carnegiella marthae schereri. The two species can be reliably distinguished by their ventral coloration: C. schereri is spotted, C. marthae finely lined.
From Peru and Colombia we occasionally have Carnegiella schereri in our stock; however, this species is usually sent as a juvenile of Gasteropelecus sternicla. Carnegiella schereri actually looks very similar in colour to its significantly larger cousin, but you can always recognize the species without a doubt because, like all Carnegiella species, it lacks the adipose fin. Gasteropelecus, on the other hand, always have an adipose fin. Carnegiella marthae, on the other hand, comes from Brazil. Given the wide distribution of both species, why we only ever receive C. marthae from Brazil is a mystery to us.
These cute fish are always kept in a group of at least 6 animals. The aquarium must be absolutely escape-proof, otherwise the fish will jump out sooner or later because they jump for small flying insects. When feeding, it should be noted that Carnegiella only eat from the surface of the water. They leave food lying on the bottom! It is important to feed these small animals several times a day, as they never eat large amounts of food at once. Carnegiella are completely peaceful and should never be kept with aggressive or hectic species.
For our customers: Carnegiella schereri has code 214152, C. marthae 214002 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer
