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I am thinking about turning my 29 into a very peaceful hatchet and pencilfish. I am going to take out my tetras, danios, pleco, and crawfish. My pet store has 7 different pencils i can order. and 4 hatchets. I will use 3 cories and 2 kuhlis as bottom feeder. And 3-4 ottos. depends on amount of algae. Of course it will be very heavily planted with fake plants. I hav plenty of experience with both. I have 2 brown pencils or tube mouthed pencils and 3 marbled hatchets in my 55. And all 5 are always together. They go down a lot in the planted parts. But i think they are scared of the angels and faster moving fish. they are my favorites and i think want them to be happy. How many pencils? i'm thinking 3 of 4 different kind. and maybe 4 marbled hatchets and 4 black winged hatchets. Does that sound good. I've already decided on pencils and hatchets. But how many and tell me your experiences with them.

I have no experience with either the hatchets or pencil fish, but I do know that cories and ottos prefer groups of at least six... not sure about the kuhlis. What about the hatchets and pencils? Are they schoolers? I would make sure you figure out schooling needs before you go ahead and order anything. Schooling fish are happy fish when they have friends!

Sounds like it would be a fun tank. Good luck!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

yes hatchets do need schools. thats why i am getting, hopefully, 5 of the hatchets a piece. And i don't pencils need groups but i bet they like friends. And my two always stay together with my hatchets. Its really an odd looking group really. I mean 3 marble hatchets and 3 brown pencils traveling all aroung the top of the tank and some times in the planted areas in the middle of the tank.

when i said 3 pencils with my the hatchets i ment 2 pencils and three hatchets.

That aquarium should be big enough for at least 6 of each. And ideally, they're the numbers you should be looking at.

I've not had a great deal of experience with hatchets, but I've had Beckford's Pencil Fish now for 18 months or more, and I can tell you that anyone who says Pencils are delicate wants to see mine - mine are tough little critters!

Somewhere I posted links to photos of them in Photo Booth, but that was over a year ago. They've grown a bit since then!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

yeah i know calli mine are anything but delicate
and you really think 6 of each that is awsome.
they are just awsome fish.

I did have 6 Beckford's in my aquarium until one of the psycho males beat up a female (sigh) ... now it's 5. That's something you'll have to watch with Beckford's, they can develop sociopathic urges now and again

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002