Two-striped Pencilfish Care Guide
Nannostomus bifasciatus is a slim pencilfish from the coastal rivers of Suriname and French Guiana, marked by two horizontal stripes.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Nannostomus bifasciatus is a slim pencilfish of the family Lebiasinidae. The specific epithet means "twice-banded", referring to the two horizontal stripes along the flanks. FishBase gives a maximum standard length of about 3.4 cm. It was described by the Dutch ichthyologist Jacobus Johannes Hoedeman in 1954.
Taxonomy
- Family: Lebiasinidae
- Genus: Nannostomus
- Scientific name: Nannostomus bifasciatus (Hoedeman, 1954)
Habitat
FishBase records the species from the coastal rivers of Suriname and French Guiana; Wikipedia adds occurrences in Amapá, Brazil, with the type locality at Berg en Dal on the Suriname River. These are tropical lowland waters on the Guiana Shield.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 60 L
- Temperature: 23-27 °C (73-81 °F)
- pH: 5.5-7.0
- GH: 1-8 °dGH (soft water)
- School size: 6 or more individuals
- Lifespan: 3-5 years
- A calm, planted tank suits this small surface fish
Diet
As with other small Nannostomus, this is a micropredator best fed small live and frozen foods such as Artemia nauplii and Moina alongside suitably sized dried preparations.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2020).
Two-striped Pencilfish (Nannostomus bifasciatus) Breeding Guide
Overview
Nannostomus bifasciatus Hoedeman, 1954 is a small lebiasinid pencilfish recorded from the coastal rivers of Suriname and French Guiana, reaching about 3.4 cm standard length (FishBase). According to FishBase, the species breeds in captivity; its eggs are adhesive and attach to plants but receive no parental care. Within the genus Nannostomus, Wikipedia notes that most species will spawn in a thickly planted single-species aquarium, the eggs are not eaten, and fry are later found among the plants.
Sexing
Detailed sexing data specific to N. bifasciatus is limited in the sources opened. Across the genus, mature males of Nannostomus are typically slimmer and more intensely coloured than females, while ripe females are deeper-bodied; the documented behaviour for this species is gregarious schooling in groups of about a dozen individuals (FishBase).
Conditioning
Source-specific conditioning protocols for N. bifasciatus were not located. The genus-level approach reported by Wikipedia is to maintain a thickly planted, single-species tank with soft acidic water, where well-fed adults spawn without special intervention. FishBase lists an environmental range of pH 5.5-7.0, hardness up to 4 dH and 23-27 degrees C for the species.
Breeding Setup
Because the adhesive eggs attach to plants and are not guarded (FishBase), a densely planted aquarium with fine-leaved vegetation gives eggs and emerging fry refuge, consistent with the genus pattern in which fry are found growing among the plants (Wikipedia). Soft, acidic water within the species range of pH 5.5-7.0 and up to 4 dH is appropriate (FishBase).
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Specific spawning triggers for N. bifasciatus are not documented in the opened sources. The genus generally spawns spontaneously in a suitable thickly planted tank rather than after a single induced trigger (Wikipedia), with eggs adhering to plant surfaces (FishBase).
Egg & Fry Care
The eggs receive no parental care (FishBase). In the genus, fry are subsequently found developing among the plants in the breeding aquarium (Wikipedia). Detailed first-food schedules for this particular species were not present in the sources opened, so they are omitted here.
Common Challenges
As with related pencilfishes, the main challenge is providing dense planting so unguarded, adhesive eggs and tiny fry are not consumed, and maintaining the soft, acidic conditions reported for the species (FishBase).