Hockeystick Pencilfish
Nannostomus eques
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 3.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
Species profile
Golden Pencilfish
Nannostomus beckfordi
Common names: Golden Pencilfish, Beckford's Pencilfish, Red Pencilfish
Recognized speciesPencilfish
Adult size
Up to 6.5 cm
Typical adult length 5–6.5 cm.
Up to 6.5 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A calm planted community
- A keeper with soft or moderately hard water
- A group of 10 or more in a medium tank
Think carefully if
- Your tankmates are boisterous
- You keep fish large enough to eat it
- Your tank has strong flow
A slim, peaceful South American fish with a dark line on a golden body. It is adaptable and social, and suits planted community aquariums.
Appearance and Identification
A slim, golden body with a dark line from snout to tail. Males show red and white in the fins, particularly when spawning. The pattern changes at night to dark bars.
The single dark line and golden body are typical, but several pencilfish look similar. Colour forms sold as Red Pencilfish belong to this species.
Males are more intensely coloured, especially when spawning, and females are rounder-bodied. The male’s anal fin has a curved rear edge, while the female’s is straight.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 80–120 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 50–75 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 40 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 45 cm
- Minimum group size
- 6
- Recommended group size
- 10
- Activity level
- Moderate
- Flow preference
- Low
- Planting preference
- Heavily planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Moderate
Use dense planting with some floating cover and gentle flow. Males need some space from each other, so plan for a bigger tank with more than one male.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Peaceful and social. Males display and hold small spaces but rarely cause harm.
Keep in a group, ideally 10 or more.
Males may hold small areas and display to each other.
Suitable with small tetras, rasboras, corydoras, and dwarf cichlids. Avoid large or boisterous fish.
Water Parameters
Adaptable to a broad range of water, with soft water bringing out the best colour.
Parameter caveat
Acclimate slowly. Keep nitrate low with regular water changes.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Insectivore, Omnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Once or twice daily
- Preferred foods
- Fine micro granules or crushed flakeUse a particle size the fish can swallow whole, and feed only what is eaten within a couple of minutes.
- Frozen or live daphnia and cyclopsSmall crustaceans add variety and help bring adults into breeding condition.
- Frozen or newly hatched brine shrimpA good small meat food a few times a week rather than the only food.
A micropredator that takes small foods from the middle and upper water.
Use small foods, because the mouth of this fish is small.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Scatterer
- Breeding difficulty
- Moderate
- Brood or egg count
- A small number of eggs each day over several days
- Incubation
- 2 days
- Parental care
- None
- Baby foods
- Infusoria or parameciumNeeded for the first days after fry become free-swimming, because the fry are very small.
- Fine powdered fry foodUse sparingly as a supplement, and siphon out anything left uneaten.
- Newly hatched brine shrimpIntroduce once the fry are large enough to swallow it, usually after several days.
- MicrowormsA useful next step for fry that are still too small for brine shrimp.
An egg-scattering free spawner with no parental care. Use a planted or mesh-based tank and remove the adults after 2 to 3 days. Fry appear about 3 days later and need very small food.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Amazon Basin, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, South America, Suriname
- Natural habitat
- Blackwater, Slow River, Vegetated Shoreline
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Beginner
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Nannostomus
- Family
- Lebiasinidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pencilfish
Have you kept this species?
You can write a note about what worked for you, or send a photograph. We check everything before it appears here.
Share a note or photo
Miniature Pencilfish
Nannostomus anduzei
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 1.6 cm
- Minimum tank
- 40 litres
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
One-Lined Pencilfish
Nannostomus unifasciatus
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 4 cm
- Minimum tank
- 68 litres
- Temperature
- 23–28 °C
Purple Pencilfish
Nannostomus rubrocaudatus
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 3 cm
- Minimum tank
- 81 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C