Red Pencil Fish | Nanastomus Beckfordi

The Red Pencilfish (Nannostomus beckfordi) is a popular smaller pencil fish with reddish top half of the fish then a black line, followed by a white underbelly.  The male’s “nose” has a red spot on it. Both have bluish/white colored bottom fins.  They come from Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, plus the eastern Amazon drainage in Amapá and Pará states, Brazil. These are captive raised with emphasis on increased red coloration. They are perfect community fish with other similar sized fish.

They grow to the adult size of less than 1.5 inches.  They make a perfect addition to a 10-gallon tank or larger with like sized calm fish such as small tetras and rasboras.  They enjoy being around live plants, so those are a plus. It is encouraged that they be kept in groups of 10 or more so they feel comfortable in their aquarium. In a group of males and females, the males will have brighter colors as they display to the rest of the group.

Please Note: All fish shipments have a 100% Live Arrival Guarantee when shipping with FedEx Overnight (1 Day) option. All other options void our Live Arrival Guarantee for fish. 

To replicate their natural habitat, the use of rock work, plants, and driftwood should be included in the aquarium. They also enjoy tannins in their water, so the use of Indian Almond or Guava leaves is highly recommended. They enjoy having a shaded aquarium so keeping floating plants is encouraged to cut down the light reaching them. Gentle filtration is encouraged using a sponge filter. We would not recommend keeping this fish with shrimp colonies due to the likeliness of the red pencilfish eating baby shrimp.

The scientific name for the red pencilfish is: Nannostomus beckfordi ‘Red’

They are omnivores by nature. We feed our red pencilfish a mix of frozen foods including daphnia, baby brine, cyclops, and bloodworms.

Our Tank Parameters

• Ph: 7.2 to 7.5
• Gh: 6 to 16
• Kh:  2 to 7
• TDS: 120 to 200
• Temp: 70 to 74

Tank Recommendations

• Leaves: Indian Almond or Guava
• Wood: Mopani or Malaysian
• Cones: Alder Cones
• Other: Buffering substrate to lower pH, not required