Golden Pencilfish
Nannostomus beckfordi
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 5–6.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 40 litres
- Temperature
- 21–27 °C
Species profile
Dwarf Pencilfish
Nannostomus marginatus
Common names: Dwarf Pencilfish
Recognized speciesPencilfish
Adult size
Up to 2.5 cm
Typical adult length 2–2.5 cm.
Up to 2.5 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A soft-water nano aquarium
- A tank with very small, calm fish
- A companion for dwarf cichlids
Think carefully if
- Your water is hard or alkaline
- Your tankmates are large or active
- You can only keep a few fish
A tiny, striped pencilfish from South America, about 2.5 cm long. It is timid and gentle, and it suits soft-water nano aquariums with small, calm tankmates.
Appearance and Identification
A tiny, stocky pencilfish with dark horizontal bands, a gold line, and red spots in the fins.
Small size and bold horizontal stripes are the main features. Several geographic forms exist.
Males are slimmer than females.
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
- 10
- Recommended group size
- 10
- Activity level
- Low
- Flow preference
- Very low
- Planting preference
- Heavily planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Use dense planting, leaf litter, and dim light with a gentle sponge filter. Guard filter intakes because this fish is very small.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Peaceful but timid, staying among plants until it feels secure.
Keep at least 10 together. Fish are gregarious and show more natural behaviour in groups.
Not strongly territorial.
Suits smaller peaceful characins and catfish, and works as a shoaling companion for dwarf cichlids. Avoid large or boisterous fish.
Water Parameters
Soft, acidic water suits this fish best. Change water gently.
Parameter caveat
Small tanks change quickly, so keep up with gentle water changes and acclimate slowly.
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 needs very small food.
Use the smallest foods available, and make sure faster fish do not take them first.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Scatterer
- Breeding difficulty
- Difficult
- Brood or egg count
- Not well documented
- 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.
Rarely achieved in aquariums. Spawning is more reliable with adults conditioned separately and with spawning mops. Feed the fry on infusoria or fine dry food.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Amazon Basin, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, South America, Suriname
- Natural habitat
- Blackwater, Slow River, Vegetated Shoreline
- Aquarium contexts
- Breeding Aquarium, Nano Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Nannostomus
- Family
- Lebiasinidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pencilfish
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Hockeystick Pencilfish
Nannostomus eques
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- 3.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
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