Golden Pencilfish

Golden Pencilfish (Nannostomus Beckfordi)

The Golden Pencilfish is a small, captivating freshwater fish known for its slender body and distinctive golden hue. They have a horizontal red stripe running along their sides, adding to their visual appeal. These peaceful fish are perfect for community aquariums and exhibit fascinating shoaling behavior. They are an excellent choice for the newcomer to fishkeeping since it’s less demanding than most of its relatives. The Golden Pencilfish is also known as Beckford’s Pencilfish or Brown Pencilfish.

Reaching an adult size of up to 2.4 inches, Golden Pencilfish thrives in schools of 8 or more, allowing them to display their natural behavior and feel secure. They are compatible with other peaceful, small fish such as tetras, rasboras, and small catfish.

These fish also make excellent dither fish for Apistogramma species and other dwarf cichlids, as they typically occupy the middle-to-upper regions of the tank and do not prey on fry.

Golden Pencilfish has an omnivorous diet, enjoying a mix of small live or frozen foods like brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, and high-quality flake foods and micro pellets.

To create a comfortable habitat for Pencilfish, provide a well-planted aquarium with a dark substrate with subdued lighting to enhance their colors. Include hiding spots using driftwood, rocks, cavies, and plenty of live plants to mimic their natural environment. Pencilfish tends to swim in the middle and top regions of the tank; the addition of floating plants offers an additional sense of security and diffuse light. Pencilfish also requires a spacious aquarium, and their décor arranged to create plenty of broken lines-of-sight to reduce aggression between males.

These fish thrive in soft, slightly acidic water with a moderate water flow. Use a gentle filtration system; an air-powered sponge-style unit is generally adequate and performs regular water changes.

A minimum aquarium size of 15 gallons is recommended, with an ideal community aquarium size of 30 gallons or more. Golden Pencilfish prefers water conditions with a pH of 5.5-7.5, hardness of 5-12 dGH, and a temperature range of 75-82°F (24-28°C).

A well-fitting tank cover is also necessary, as Golden Pencilfish may jump when startled.
Introduce these fish into a mature, stable aquarium environment to ensure their health and well-being.