The black-winged hatchetfish, Carnegiella marthae, is a freshwater ray-finned

Actinopterygii

The Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes constitute a class or sub-class of the bony fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize...

 fish native to South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

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Physical description

Black-winged hatchetfish has a convex body. It has a very deep ventral profile with its anal fin set back. This species has wing-like pectoral fins that often extend to half of the fish's body length. In general, coloration is silver with black patches and stripes but, depending on the angle of light, colors may vary. A stripe that is usually gold stretches horizontally from the gill cover the base of the tail. Black-winged hatchetfish can reach up to 1.5 inches in length.

Distribution and habitat

Black-winged hatchetfish live in the calm stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s and pools of the Orinoco

Orinoco

The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...

 and Negro region in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

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Diet

Black-winged hatchetfish are omnivorous. They can be fed live as well as flake foods. In the wild, they feed mainly at the surface for insects, but can also eat crustaceans.

In the aquarium

Black-winged hatchetfish are peaceful fish that will do well with many other types of tropical fish such as smaller species of catfish and tetra

Tetra

thumb|right|250px|Pristella tetra — [[Pristella maxillaris]].thumb|right|250px|Golden Pristella tetra, a [[morph |morph]] of [[Pristella maxillaris]].thumb|right|250px|[[Silvertip tetra]] — Hasemania nana....

s. Make sure that there are small floating plants. Cover every hole at the top of the aquarium because in the wild, hachetfish catch insects by jumping out of the water. Blackwinged hatchetfish inhabit the top of the aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

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