Hockey Stick Pencilfish

This pencilfish is instantly recognized by the way it swims head-up, with its body tilted at an angle of about 45 degrees. Below its brownish-gold back runs a dark stripe that starts at the snout and descends into the enlarged lower lobe of the tail. At night this stripe fades and is replaced by dark crosswise blotches.

It is a calm, interesting species that lives near the surface. It is hardy in an aquarium set up with the right water values and floating plants.

It lives in slow-flowing waters covered with floating plants in the Amazon basin, the Rio Negro and the Guyana region; it is usually found within the vegetation near the shore, just below the surface. The water is soft and acidic.

• Volume: at least 60 liters for a group of 6–10.
• Water: 24–28°C, pH 5–7, soft water.
• Decor: floating plants and stem plants reaching up to the surface are essential; the fish stay beneath these plants. Gentle flow.
• Lid: a good jumper; a lid is needed.
• Maintenance: a 20–25% water change every week; it needs mature water with low nitrate.

It mostly takes its food from the surface and the area just below it. Fine flakes, floating micro granules, frozen cyclops, daphnia, mosquito larvae and newly hatched brine shrimp are suitable. It rarely takes food that sinks to the bottom.

Peaceful and calm. In groups it waits beneath floating plants in its slanted posture and makes short dashes to catch food. It does not harm other species and can be kept safely with shrimp.

Good companions: small tetras, other pencilfish, rasboras, corydoras, otocinclus, dwarf cichlids, shrimp.

Avoid: active species that snatch food at the surface (danios, large tetras), fin nippers, large predators.

It lives in a loose group: at least 6, ideally 10 individuals. In a larger group it is bolder and comes out from under the plants into the open. The sex ratio is not critical. Males put on small displays among themselves by spreading their fins, but they do not harm each other. Fish kept in small numbers hide constantly and fall behind at feeding time.

It is an egg scatterer. A separate tank is prepared with soft, acidic water and fine-leaved plants; the pair places its eggs one by one on plant leaves. Because the parents may eat the eggs, they should be removed after spawning. The fry are very small and are fed infusoria.

• Competition for food: when kept with fast species it cannot feed adequately.
• Jumping: losses occur in tanks without a lid.
• White spot (ich): may appear after transport; quarantine is recommended.

Males are more slender, and their anal fins are larger and rounder. Females have a plumper belly.