pencil fish
nannostomus latin

Ask to see the photo of the pencil fish.

Nannostomus harrisoni is a species of pencil fish.

They are usually small and are known as ornamental fishes in aquaria, including popular fishes such as the pencil fish and splashing tetra.

Nannostomus beckfordi, commonly known as the golden pencil fish, is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the genus Nannostomus in the Lebiasinidae family of characins.

All of the species in this genus are known as pencil fish or pencilfish, several of which have become popular aquarium fish due to their attractive coloration, unique shape and interesting demeanor.

Though the recently described species N. grandis has been dubbed the largest member of the genus, adult N. harrisoni commonly grow to a length of 64 mm, making it in fact the largest species of pencil fish described to date.

What are the Nannostomus better known as?

See also Nannostomus trifasciatus for additional information.

If kept in a community aquarium, the best tankmates are other species of Nannostomus, small peaceful characins and corydoras.

Nannostomus marginatus (Dwarf pencilfish)

Nannostomus minimus (Least pencilfish)

Nannostomus are also avid biofilm grazers and, for most of the species, algae is an under-reported staple of their diet.

Nannostomus digrammus (Twostripe pencilfish)

Nannostomus trifasciatus (Threestripe pencilfish)

Nannostomus unifasciatus (Oneline pencilfish)

Nannostomus eques (Brown pencilfish/diptail)

Other common names include miniature pencilfish, miniature nannostomus and Anduzi's nannostomus.

Nannostomus harrisoni (Harrison's/blackstripe pencilfish)

N. unifasicatus is one of two species of Nannostomus, the other being N. eques, that postures itself at an oblique, snout-up angle.

It is also quite commonly met with in the aquarium trade where its habit of swimming at an angle-one of two Nannostomus species to do so-makes it a popular choice.

Nannostomus bifasciatus, is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the genus Nannostomus in the Lebiasinidae family of characins.

Though the One-Lined Pencilfish is a small fish, with adults not reaching more than 6 cm in length, it is nevertheless one of the larger species of Nannostomus.

The anal fin of males, which is often modified in shape or is more colorful in many Nannostomus species, is not modified or more colorful in N. trifasciatus.

After nearly a century of debate on the subject, Dr. Stanley H. Weitzman and Dr. J. Stanley Cobb restored earlier taxonomy and expanded upon it, unifying all species under Nannostomus in 1975.

This is the only species of Nannostomus in the aquarium trade for which there is no recorded account of a successful spawning in captivity to date, this despite it being a widely kept and much admired aquarium species since the 1920s.

Nannostomus anduzei is one of 18 species currently recognized in the genus Nannostomus, which itself is one of seven genera in the Lebiasinidae, a family of freshwater fish in the Characiformes.