Golden pencilfish care
Nannostomus beckfordi · Guyana, Suriname and the lower Amazon
Golden pencilfish are slim, slow-moving fish with a dark side stripe and red fins.
- Tank size
- 15 US gal or larger
- Temperature
- 75 to 82 °F (24 to 28 °C)
- Group size
- 6 or more
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Adult size
- 2.6 in (standard length, without the tail; most stay smaller)
- pH
- 5.5 to 7.5
- Hardness (GH)
- 2 to 10 dGH
- Lifespan
- 4 to 6 years
- Diet
- Micropredator
- Care level
- Moderate
In a 15 gallon
24¼ × 12½ × 12¾ in outsideHow to keep golden pencilfish
Golden pencilfish are slim, slow-moving fish with a dark side stripe and red fins. Keep six or more in a 15 gallon or larger, covered, planted tank at 75 to 82 °F with gentle flow and calm tankmates.
Diet: Micropredator: small frozen and live foods, crushed flakes. Fish food types compared · how often to feed.
Where they swim: Top of the tank.
Golden pencilfish tank mates
Share the temperature and water, and neither side eats, nips or bullies the other. Check the full group in the stocking checker.
Sterbai corydoras
2.6 in · 20+ gal · 74–82 °F
Colombian tetra
2.6 in · 30+ gal · 75–79 °F
Platy
2.5 in · 10+ gal · 70–80 °F
Dwarf chain loach
2.5 in · 20+ gal · 75–82 °F
American flagfish
2.5 in · 20+ gal · 65–79 °F
Odessa barb
2.5 in · 29+ gal · 68–79 °F
Julii corydoras
2.5 in · 20+ gal · 72–79 °F
Bronze corydoras
2.75 in · 20+ gal · 72–80 °F
Keep apart
White cloud mountain minnow: No shared temperature: golden pencilfish need 75 to 82 °F, white cloud mountain minnows 64 to 72 °F.
Pea puffer: Pea puffers belong in a tank of their own.
Amazon puffer: Amazon puffers nip slow fish such as golden pencilfish.
Fancy goldfish: No shared temperature: golden pencilfish need 75 to 82 °F, fancy goldfish 64 to 74 °F.
Convict cichlid: Convict cichlids are aggressive towards peaceful fish such as golden pencilfish.
Oranda: No shared temperature: golden pencilfish need 75 to 82 °F, orandas 64 to 74 °F.
What a golden pencilfish tank needs
A tank of 15 US gallons or more (such as the 15 gallon) with a tight lid (they jump), and the equipment below.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Aqueon QuietFlow Internal Power Filter 5–15 gal
Rated by the maker for 5–15 US gal, which covers a 15 gallon golden pencilfish tank without being built for a far bigger one.
hygger AquaFall Aquarium Filter, M
Rated by the maker for 12–17 US gal, which covers a 15 gallon golden pencilfish tank without being built for a far bigger one.
hygger Precise Aquarium Heater 100W
Golden pencilfish need 75 to 82 °F; most homes run cooler, so a heater holds the temperature.
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
Tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, the readings that matter most before and after adding golden pencilfish.
Seachem Prime 100 mL
Removes chlorine and chloramine from tap water at every water change.
Fluval Edge Thermometer
Shows the water temperature at a glance, so you know it stays within 75 to 82 °F.
We don’t list fish food: any good brand of the foods under Diet will do. Plan the whole tank's equipment →
Common golden pencilfish problems
- Small mouths and slow feeding: target-feed small foods if fast fish take everything.
- They jump; keep a lid on.
Test the water first whenever fish look unwell: see what your readings mean, then match the symptom. For disease, a vet who treats fish can diagnose it and advise treatment.
More to compare
Sources
Name, origin and adult size checked against Wikipedia: Nannostomus beckfordi. Temperature, pH, hardness, group size, lifespan and minimum tank size are common hobby guidance, not figures from that article. Ranges are the range the species tolerates; aim for the middle. Minimum tank sizes are for an adult group. Drawings are our own; photo credits follow.
Photo credits
Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.
- Sterbai corydoras Matthew Mannell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Colombian tetra Marrabbio2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Platy Monika Korzeniec, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Dwarf chain loach Stefan Maurer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- American flagfish nat_t (iNaturalist), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Odessa barb Anandarajkumar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Julii corydoras Bob Jenkins, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Bronze corydoras Quatermass (English Wikipedia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- White cloud mountain minnow Petrtyl, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pea puffer Beta Mahatvaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Amazon puffer O. Schneider, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Fancy goldfish Benson Kua, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Convict cichlid S. Olkowicz, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Oranda Lawrencekhoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Neon tetra Holger Krisp, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cardinal tetra CHUCAO, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Black neon tetra Debivort, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Green neon tetra Sascha Biedermann, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
