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Red Arc PencilfishPeruvian Red, Coral Red, and Ruby Red PencilfishFamily: Lebiasinidae Nannostomus mortenthaleriPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David BroughLatest Reader Comment - See More These fish are truly a really nice fish to be in an aquarium. They are in my planted tank with discus, other tetras, cories, gouramis, and others. They are doing... (more) Elias What's exciting for fish enthusiasts?... the newly discovered Red Arc Pencilfish. It is both eye-catching and friendly!Red Arc Pencilfish Contents Probably the most beautiful of the species of pencilfish, the Red Arc Pencilfish would be a great addition to any community tank containing small, peaceful fish. This newly described species of pencilfish is one of the most beautiful characins available today. The males and females are both very colorful but when the males are displaying to each other, their colors are incredible! Just like the Siamese Fighting Fish, the males can be tricked into displaying by the use of a mirror. They believe that their reflection is another male so they have to show off. For now, the price remains high because only a relative few are collected in Peru but it has been tank spawned. It is hoped that commercial breeders will be able to mass produce them in the near future. For more Information on keeping this fish see: |
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Habitat: Distribution / Background
The Red Arc Pencilfish, also known as the Peruvian Red, Coral Red, and Ruby Red Pencilfish, was described by Paepke and Arendt in 2001. They are found in South America, specifically from the Rio Nanay in Peru.
- Scientific Name: Nannostomus mortenthaleri
- Social Grouping: Groups - Best kept singly or in groups or 6 or more.
- IUCN Red List: NE - Not Evaluated or not listed
The Red Arc Pencilfish, true to its name has a elongated body that is pointed at the snout. It has a beautiful red body color with two strong horizontal black lines, giving it a broadly striped appearance. The lower portion is paler and often white. Males are the more brightly colored sex and have a white patch at the base of the dorsal fin.
- Maximum Size: 2.0 inches (5.08 cm)
- Aquarium Hardiness: Difficult - Most are wild caught specimens which tend to be less tolerant of varying water conditions than commercially bred fish.
- Aquarist Experience Level: Intermediate
Since they are omnivorous they will generally eat all kinds of foods. The Red Arc Pencilfish is not a picky eater so they will eat most prepared fish foods including small pellets, freeze dried foods and most flakes foods. To keep them looking their best, brine shrimp (live or frozen) or frozen blood worms should be fed occasionally.
- Diet Type: Omnivore
- Flake Food: Yes
- Tablet Pellet: Yes
- Live foods (fishes, shrimps, worms): Some of Diet
- Vegetable Food: Some of Diet
- Meaty Food: Some of Diet
- Feeding Frequency: Several feedings per day
- Water Changes: Bi-weekly
Red Arc Pencilfish like a well planted aquarium.
- Minimum Tank Size: 15 gal (57 L)
- Substrate Type: Any
- Lighting Needs: Low - subdued lighting
- Temperature: 72.0 - 82.0° F (22.2 - 27.8° C)
- Range ph: 5.8-7.0
- Hardness Range: 2 - 10 dGH
- Brackish: No
- Water Movement: Moderate
- Water Region: All
The males of this species can be aggressive towards each other but usually little damage is done during their fights. If you plan on having more than 1 male in your tank, to be safe you should keep as many as you can afford to keep aggression to a minimum. Fortunately they aren't aggressive towards other species so the Red Arc Pencilfish are a good community fish.
- Venomous: No
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Compatible with:
- Same species - conspecifics: Yes - Males can be aggressive towards each other, so keep as many as possible to spread out aggression.
- Peaceful fish (): Safe
- Semi-Aggressive: (): Threat
- Shrimps, Crabs, Snails: Safe - not aggressive
- Plants: Safe
The males have an obvious white patch at the base of their dorsal fin.
This fish has been bred in captivity but not in commercial levels. If you want to attempt to breed the Red Arc Pencilfish, one successful breeder used a water temp of 78 F, with a pH of 6.6 and a total hardness of 20 ppm. For more information on breeding characins, see the description in Breeding Freshwater Fish.
- Ease of Propagation: Difficult - Propagation is not impossible but a specific method hasn't been perfected due to the novelty of this fish. A seperate breeding tank with soft acidic water should be the basis of attempts to breed.
This is a relatively rare species and the price can be quite high. It is hoped that in the near future someone will be able to breed them in commercial levels so the price will drop.
They are sold as the Red Arc Pencilfish as well as under the name of Peruvian Red Pencilfish, Coral Red Pencilfish, and Ruby Red Pencilfish.
Animal-World References
Freshwater Fish and Plants
Tropical Fish ~ Freshwater Fish ~ Aquatic Plants
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