How high can hatchetfish jump?

[Crat]

I'm looking into hatchetfish for my 125g that I keep at about 100g, witch leaves about four inches from the the top of the tank to the water level. I was wondering if they can jump high enough to get over that hurdle?

I have 9 giant danios that like to jump at food and none of them have ever jumped out. Just wondering if anyone has any input on this. Thanks a bunch AC!

 

[Death Pony]

The question isn't how high they can jump, but how far can they travel and how high can they climb once in the air and using their pectoral fins to actually fly.
A 4-6" gap is plenty of space for them to become airborne safely.

If you provide a lot of surface cover you should be fine.

 

[rocker92]

a glass top is even better tho IMO

 

[jpappy789]

Why not cover the top?

If you cannot afford a glass top, eggcrate is a cheap alternative.

 

[andyjs]

I was in the Amazon basin a few weeks ago, and I saw wild hatchets take off out of the way of our boat. They got over a foot above the surface and traveled well over 6' in one jump. Surface cover will help, but I'd personally actually cover the tank

 

[Crat]

I guess if I go with hatchets I will have to cover the top. I really like having the open top so you can see the water surface well. I like watching the giant danios jump at the food and was thinking hatchets would be cool to have as well. I have been trying to decide on new fish for this tank for a while now. Thanks for the input everyone.

Caleb

 

[bazil323]

If you want to watch the danios jump for food, why don't you just open the top for a little while when you're watching? That way the hatchets will be safer, but you can still enjoy and open top.

 

[Sawyer]

If you don't want a hood or glass top (harder to lift off) you could get a screen for the top.

 

[bazil323]

Oh, yeah, good idea. You wouldn't even have to make it a fine screen, just small enough that the hatchets won't get caught in it or go through it.

 

[Crat]

I think a glass top is in the future sometime, I already have half the tank covered with a sheet of plexi to keep the splash from the HOB from hitting the lights. I was planning to replace the HOB with a canister when my budget allows and remove the cover. I guess I will just have to look into some cheep alternatives for the time being, another sheet of plexi perhaps, someone mentioned egg crate, might have to look into this more. Still trying to make up my mind about what fish to add. The hatchets are cool but something with a little more color would be nice also. May have to do both.

Just another quetion, How well do barbs get along with angelfish? I'm worried about fin nipping so I was going to go with some type of larger tetra instead. The barbs just seem more active and might coexist with the overly high-strug danios better.

Caleb