Golden Pencilfish
Golden Pencilfish
Currently unavailable
We do not take backorders on live fish, invertebrates or plants. Livestock arrives on the shipping schedule our suppliers and the weather allow, so we will not promise a date we cannot keep.
What is in the tanks changes from week to week. Ask us and we will tell you what is in and what is coming, or check back shortly. Visit us or get in touch.
Free local pickup at our Lethbridge store. Livestock guarantee
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The golden pencilfish (Nannostomus beckfordi) is a slim, cigar-shaped fish from the Guianas and the lower and middle Amazon. A dark stripe runs the length of a gold-bronze body, with red at the base of the fins that intensifies on displaying males. Females are plainer and fuller in the body. It is the most forgiving of the pencilfish and a sensible place to start with the group.
Aquarium care
- Reaches about 4 cm.
- Keep a group of eight or more so males display to one another rather than fixating on one fish.
- At night the horizontal stripe breaks up into blotches. This is normal night colouration, not illness.
- Prefers soft, slightly acidic water in a planted tank with floating cover.
- A small mouth, so food must be correspondingly small.
- Peaceful, and a quiet, deliberate feeder.
They suit a planted community with dwarf shrimp, corydoras, small tetras and dwarf cichlids. Avoid fast competitive feeders such as danios and larger barbs, which will strip the tank of food before a pencilfish has begun. Dim light and floating plants keep them confident and out in the open.
Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is available for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. Browse the freshwater fish collection.
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