Breeding Hockeystick Pencilfish (Nannostomus Eques) In The Aquarium

Location

This freshwater species lives in coastal areas of lakes with a lot of plants in the northern part of the South America.

Body description

Colour of the fish is variable and it depends on their habitat. Colour of the back is usually gray-olive, colour of the under-side is light. There are 2 horizontal stripes along the sides of the body. First stripe is narrow and silvery shine. Second stripe is thick and dark from mouth to the end of the bottom part of the caudal fin. Body of the fish is elongated and slender. Male is thinner than female. His pelvic fins have white-blue borders.

Temperament and behaviour

This is shoal, peaceful species. It prefers to swim close to the water surface angled towards the surface. This is how they search for food. They only eat food from the water surface or floating in the upper water levels.

Aquarium decoration

These fish prefers single species aquarium with dark substrate and a lot of plants.

Breeding

This is an oviparous species. Breeding these fish is not easy task. You should breed them in a separate tank. Breeding aquarium should have a little bit warmer water and a lot of plants with wide leaves. The fish spawn for few days. Female lays over a dozen eggs on the leaves of plants every day. You must immediately remove the parents after the spawning because they eat the eggs. The eggs hatch after 1 day. The fry starts to swim and feed 6 days later.