The Peruvian Pencil fish is a small but strikingly beautiful fish and a real eye catcher in any home aquarium. The ferocious red color looks almost as if painted. A true Peruvian beauty found in western Peru, near the foothills of the Andes mountains in small rivers and swamps.
They like dark, well planted aquariums. To achieve this you can use floating plants, driftwood, dried leaves and dark sand. You will see they will become less skittish and show more of their natural behavior. They are sensitive fish that need stable water conditions and a mature tank. The bigger the tank and the bigger the group of fish you keep them in, the less aggression there will be. Particularly males can be aggressive towards each other, fighting over the attention of the females.
It is a peaceful fish towards other species, but still it’s not really suitable for a community tank because of its size. It has a timid character and is therefore prone to being bullied.
| LATIN NAME | SIZE |
| Nannostomus rubrocaudatus | Max. 5 cm |
| REGION | WATER CONDITIONS |
| Peru | Temperature: 22 – 28 °C pH: 4 – 7 |
| NOTE | |
| Even though a small fish, they should be kept in a group of at least 5 – but preferably 10 – in a large aquarium with dark and slightly acidic water with a pH of around 5. |
