Longitudinal banded tetra - Nannostomus beckfordi

The pretty and rather lively Long-banded Ornamental Tetra (Nannostomus beckfordi) is a small schooling fish from South America, where it lives in heavily weedy waters. This interestingly marked tetra grows to about 4.5-6.5 inches long, with females growing larger than males.

Longitudinal banded ornamental tetras have transparent fins except for the anal fin - which is faintly reddish to bright red in color, as is the base of the caudal fin. The body is divided down the middle by a  black longitudinal line, above the ornamental fish is brown, below silvery. When the males are in courtship mood, they are real eye-catchers and also turn bright red on the underside. At night the fish have a different pattern than during the day - then they have wide diagonal cross stripes. This ornamental tetra is strikingly slender, almost torpedo-shaped, indicating a fast and skillful swimmer, earning it the nickname pencilfish.

Nannostomus beckfordi is a rather crepuscular lively group fish that actively interacts with its conspecifics. The males form territories, but are not aggressive. Their imponation behavior is absolutely worth seeing. A group size from 10 Longitudinal Banded Tetras upwards has proven successful. Due to its lively nature Nannostomus beckfordi needs an aquarium with some space - from 80 cm edge length and well planted, but also with swimming space. In soft water and at a temperature of 24-26 °C the beautiful tetras feel well.

The Longbanded Tetra can be kept well in a community aquarium with other rather lively and robust, but peaceful fish. For shy and rather very calm fish it is not the suitable partner. With dwarf shrimps a socialization is well possible, shrimp babies may be eaten. Adult shrimps and large shrimp species such as Amano shr imps will not be approached by the Longbanded Ornamental Tetra.

Nannostomus beckfordi is quite easy to breed. For this purpose a breeding pair is placed in a heavily weedy breeding tank. Like all tetras the Longbanded Tetra is a free spawner. The parents go to the spawn and later to the young and should therefore be moved again after spawning. Longband tetras need soft and slightly acidic water with a pH value of about 4.5-6. The larvae of the Longband tetra hatch after 1-2 days and are fed with finest live food like slipper lizards, artemia euplii or rotifers after free swimming.

Like practically all tetras, the interesting Longbanded Tetra is an omnivore. In the wild it likes to take approach food like insects as well as insect larvae or small crustaceans. In the aquarium a good and high quality flake food or granulated food is well suited for small omnivorous ornamental fish. From time to time you should supplement its diet with small Live food and Frozen food something more varied.

Our food recommendation: This NatureHolic main feed is a professional staple feed for all aquarium fish. Main feed we supply in the form of soft granules, which thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter can be easily absorbed by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: For planting, use NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.