Pencilfish – Red (Nannostomus mortenthaleri) “Rare”

Description

Maximum Standard Length

25 30 mm.

Aquarium Size

Base dimensions of at least90 30cmor equivalent are necessary if you wish to keep a mixed-sex group since males can be particularly aggressive towards one another (see Behaviour and Compatibility).

Maintenance

Should ideally be kept in a heavily-plantedset-up, preferably with a darksubstrate.

The broken lines of sight that exist in such a display allow it to display natural behaviour as well as helping to reduce skittishness and offering refuges for sub-dominant individuals.Floating plants are a useful addition as are driftwood branches and dried leaf litter, the latter in particular drivingestablishment of microbe colonies asdecompositionoccurs.

Such microorganisms can provide a valuable secondary food source forfry, whilst the tannins and other chemicals released by the decaying leaves are also thought beneficial.

Use gentle filtration; an air-powered sponge-style unit should prove adequate in most cases.

This species requires stable water conditions and should never be added to an immature aquarium.

Water Conditions

Temperature:24 28 C

pH:4.0 7.0

Hardness:18 90 ppm

Diet

Amicropredatorfeeding on tiny invertebrates and otherzooplanktonin nature.

In theaquariumit will accept dried foods of a suitable size but should also be offered daily meals of small live and frozen fare such asArtemianauplii,Moina, grindal worm, etc.

Behaviour and Compatibility

Peaceful with other species but does not make an idealcommunityfish due to its small size and rather timid nature.

Ideally it should be maintained alone or at most with diminutive, non-aggressivecharacids and smaller callichthyid or loricariid catfishes.It also makes an ideal dither fishforApistogrammaspp. and other dwarf cichlids since it tends to inhabit the middle-to-upper regions of thetank, and does not actively predatefry.

Thoughgregariousby nature its a shoaling rather thanschoolingspecieswith territorial rival males sparring on a regular basis during daylight hours.

Its more aggressive than the majority of congeners, and in confined quarters serious injury or even death can occur.

For this reason a spacious aquarium should be used and dcor arranged in such a way that plenty of broken lines-of-sight are provided.

Buy as many as possible, ideally 10 or more, as when kept in larger groups any aggression is spread between individuals plus the fish are bolder and exhibit more natural behaviour.