silver hatchet fish died

Question
i have a 40 gallon tank that has been running for 3 months now. i have one male betta, 3 neon tetras, 3 black neon tetras, 3 prisella tetras, 1 lace catfish and 1 silver hatchet fish. i dont know the ph, ammonia or nitrite levels :(. this is my frist tank and i just had my first death today it was my second silver hatchet. this morning he was acting completly normal. he did look thinner than the other. well when i got home from work and he was laying on the bottom of the tank dead. im feeding the fish flake food, shrimp pellets, and i have betta food. could he have starved to death from me not offering the right food? i feed them once a day is that enought? also is there anyother type of food i should feed them?
anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated
thanks
mickelle  

Answer
Hi Mickelle;

That's a shame. If he was eating the food you have offered him he should have been fine. There was probably something internally wrong. It happens sometimes. We don't always know why.   

Your fish would probably really like some freeze-dried blood worms or frozen brine shrimp three or four times a week. Feeding your fish just once a day is plenty.
Hatchet fish readily eat floating food because of the way their mouths are built. In their natural environment the wild hatchets eat bugs. The bugs fly around above the water surface and the little hatchets will sometimes actually jump out of the water to catch them. That's whay they are flat on top. They fit the line of the water surface.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins