Beckford's Pencilfish Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

Beckford's Pencilfish are slender, torpedo-shaped characins with a warm golden to silvery body and a dark horizontal stripe running from the snout towards the tail. Depending on mood and condition, the stripe may appear almost black, while the fins can show yellow, orange or reddish tones. Their streamlined shape gives them an elegant, hovering appearance that is typical of pencilfish.

Beckford's Pencilfish are native to northern South America, particularly the coastal river systems of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, with records extending into eastern Venezuela and northern Brazil. They inhabit slow-moving forest streams, flooded margins and quiet backwaters with dense aquatic or overhanging vegetation.

A group should be kept in an established aquarium of at least 60 litres, with a footprint around 60 × 30 cm or larger. Use subdued lighting, gentle filtration and plenty of plants, including fine-leaved species, floating cover and shaded areas that make the fish feel secure. Dark sand or fine rounded gravel, driftwood and leaf litter can recreate the appearance of their tea-coloured forest waters, while open swimming space should remain available near the middle and upper levels. A tightly fitting lid is advisable because pencilfish can jump.

Up to 6.5 cm (2.6 in) in total length; males are usually slightly smaller and more slender than females.

In nature, Beckford's Pencilfish feed mainly on tiny insects, insect larvae, small crustaceans and other minute organisms picked from the surface and among vegetation. Offer a varied diet of suitably sized fine flakes or micro-pellets supplemented with newly hatched brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops and other small frozen or live foods. Their small upturned mouths are best suited to repeated modest portions rather than large pieces of food.

Beckford's Pencilfish are peaceful community fish and suit similarly gentle South American species such as small tetras, ember tetras, hatchetfish, Corydoras and peaceful dwarf cichlids. They can also live with other calm small rasboras and peaceful bottom dwellers when water conditions are compatible. Avoid large predatory fish, boisterous tankmates and fin-nipping species, which may intimidate them or damage their delicate fins.

Beckford's Pencilfish are egg-scattering spawners that can breed in a mature, calm aquarium. Condition a group with plenty of small live or frozen foods, then provide fine-leaved plants, spawning mops or Java moss among gentle-flowing cover. Eggs are scattered among the vegetation and the adults may eat them, so remove the parents or protect the spawning area. The eggs usually hatch within one to two days, and the tiny fry need infusoria or another suitably small first food before they can accept newly hatched brine shrimp.

Females are generally fuller-bodied, especially when carrying eggs, while mature males are slimmer and often develop stronger red or orange colouration in the fins and along the lower body. Males may also show more intense markings when displaying to one another or courting females.