amedublu1 Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 Hello, I have had my first 30 gal community tank fully stocked for about 6 weeks now. It has 6 Pristella tetras, 8 Ember tetras and 6 Golden Pencilfish (Nannostomus beckfordi) (2 males, 4 females). All seem to be doing really well...eating, growing. The pencilfish are my favourite as they are so interesting to watch as they move around, find hiding places and interact with each other and their environment. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on what I will call fish fighting behavior, as I have observed the 2 males recently really colour up. They are now posturing and rubbing against each other at all sorts of swimming angles (Youtube if you want to see it). They do their posturing then "fight" for a few seconds and take a break for a bit to chase the females swim around before coming back to do it again. I'm mostly home in the evenings to watch this so not sure how long it happens during the day, and it does stop after the lights go off. I'm wondering if there is ever a point where you separate fish acting this way? Note that I am not trying to breed fish at this point, but the pencilfish and pristellas seem ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodives Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 This is perfectly normal in a well running tank. Mine do it very regularly. The males become more intensely coloured and shiver next to each other with their flanks pressed together. If females are ready they actually become more pale coloured. Mine do it mostly early in the morning and they spawn on the roots of my floating plants. Occasionally I have some fry survive by themselves but most eggs/fry get eaten. It is the only Nannostomus I have had spawn in my tanks and they are also very attractive and lively fish. Enjoy your new tank. You seem to be doing well. If you are interested in fish behaviour consider a pair of dwarf cichlids, they should go well with the tetras you already have. Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amedublu1 Posted November 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2018 I am replying to my own post with an updated question about these lovely pencil fish. Unfortunately I have had a few fatalities a few months ago that affected only my pencil fish. The surviving three fish are doing great but I am left with only 1 female and 2 males. These males torment the lady all the time and I feel bad for her. She is always darting away from one of the boys to hide. As this is my first tank, I'm curious what you do when your fish school depletes to a number that is not really ideal for the species? I have thought about stocking up again, but if I don't do that, would you suggest I keep the last few until the very end or re-home to someone with a larger school? Or any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodives Posted November 10, 2018 Report Share Posted November 10, 2018 This is going to happen sooner or later. Same when one fish of a breeding pair dies. For common fish you can just buy some more, but N. beckfordi are not always available. I tend to let them live out their lives in a community tank but that only works if you have multiple tanks and I've not had the issue where harassment started as the group got smaller. If I knew someone who had a larger group and was willing to adopt a few more I would donate the fish, but again finding a match will be tricky for less common fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.