Golden pencilfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep them in a group of at least six to settle them and show off their behavior. They occupy the upper to middle levels and stay peaceful, which makes them good for calm community tanks. Hold the temperature in the low to mid 20s C and pH from 6 to 7.5. Their mouths are small, so feed fine flake, micro pellets, and small frozen foods like daphnia and baby brine shrimp.

In the wild

Golden pencilfish come from slow streams and small rivers across the Guianas, northern Brazil, and Venezuela. The water is soft, acidic, and stained brown with tannins, full of roots, leaf litter, and plants. Recreate that with a planted tank, some floating cover, gentle flow, and a darker setup. Tannins from driftwood or leaves help.

Good to know

Nannostomus beckfordi belongs to the family Lebiasinidae, the pencilfishes. It has a slim, pencil-shaped body with a gold stripe from snout to tail, and reaches about 6 cm. It is an egg scatterer, moderately breedable in soft, acidic water, with no parental care.

Did you know

Many pencilfish, including this one, swap their daytime pattern for a different nighttime one. As the lights go off the bold stripe fades and breaks into blotches or bars, so the fish you check on at night can look like a different species.

Related species

• 

  Harrison's pencilfish

  Nannostomus harrisoni

  2.2 in (5.5 cm)16 gal (60 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
• One-lined Pencilfish

  Nannostomus unifasciatus

  1.6 in (4 cm)17 gal (65 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Hockeystick pencilfish

  Nannostomus eques

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)
• Twostripe pencilfish

  Nannostomus digrammus

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)12 gal (45 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Three-lined pencilfish

  Nannostomus trifasciatus

  1.3 in (3.3 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Barred pencilfish

  Nannostomus espei

  1.2 in (3 cm)15 gal (55 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)