nannostomus mortenthaleri advice

[discus_noob]

Hi guys,

I am highly considering purchasing 8 x nannostomus mortenthaleri from fishchicks in the next week and am wanting to know a few things. If I cannot get the coral reds I am wanting I will choose a different sort of pencilfish such as the trifasciatus.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, only reason it is in here is I know most people who keep pencilfish will also MOSTLY have apistogrammas in that same tank and it is for an apistogramma tank.

* I am wanting to know how do they get along with melaleuca? After speaking to Japes I heard that they do not like melaleuca and he had lost one or two from this issue? Is this the case

* What are their tank mates like in terms of tetras? Are lemon tetras too big and nippy for them?

* Do the apistogrammas ever bother them when they are raising fry? Considering apistos are bottom dwellers and the pencilfish are mid to top I am assuming it is safe to say they wont really interact which is safe but you never know haha?

* How sensative are these guys to temperature?

* How sensative are these guys to water flow in particular filtration flow as on the current 3 foot there is a 2217 and a aqua one advanced 1250. Is this too much water flow for them?

* The water quality will be always perfect as you can imagine I am a perfectionist when it comes to making sure my fish get the best, but should there be any issues I face along the way with keeping these guys happy and breathing haha.

Sorry for all the questions, just thought I wouldnt mess about and just straight up ask the people who have kept them (yes I have done my own research, but would rather know what personal experiences people have had with them as books and online stuff are completely different to peoples experiences).

Thanks,

Adam

[japes]

Hi Adam,

Will try and answer the following as best I can from my experience keeping them.

* I am wanting to know how do they get along with melaleuca? After speaking to Japes I heard that they do not like melaleuca and he had lost one or two from this issue? Is this the case

I kept Coral Red Pencilfish for about 7 months and lost all 12 over this time while my Apistogramma and Corydoras in the same tank thrived - I have a customer that comes in fairly regularly to the store who loves his Pencilfish - he does not browse online forums - and asked if I had ever used Melafix with my Pencilfish. I said no, inquired why and he said after dosing Melafix for another fish in the tank, presumably to expedite healing of a wound, that his Coral Reds went belly up literally immediately. I kept mine in a tank full of melaleuca with regular water changes, exactly the same routine as my other Apistogramma tank that sits literally next to it, where I have lost 1 Dwarf Pencilfish in the last 14 months. I have no scientific proof, but I think he might be onto something. Given the price and availability of the Coral Reds, and knowing how devastating it is to slowly watch them bloat/wither away, I try and inform people that keeping them with melaleuca MAY be an issue.

That's about as accurately as I can describe my reasoning for bringing that up with you previous.

* What are their tank mates like in terms of tetras? Are lemon tetras too big and nippy for them?

Hard to say. I'd keep a very close eye on it. You will get better behaviour from the Pencilfish if they aren't with the Lemons. With that said, I've kept Golden Pencilfish successfully with Lemons which thrived.

* Do the apistogrammas ever bother them when they are raising fry? Considering apistos are bottom dwellers and the pencilfish are mid to top I am assuming it is safe to say they wont really interact which is safe but you never know haha?

Absolutely. Coral Reds are not top dwellers in aquarium setups like other Pencilfish. The Pencilfish will be quick enough during the day to evade damage, and at night they sleep at the surface. The below video might interest you as it shows how they lived for me in aquaria.

* How sensative are these guys to temperature?

Not overly sensitive. They're kept at the store in about 25 degree water, and they don't mind the warmer temperatures - pretty standard for most South Americans, they don't mind fluctuations either.

* How sensative are these guys to water flow in particular filtration flow as on the current 3 foot there is a 2217 and a aqua one advanced 1250. Is this too much water flow for them?

To be honest, yes, I kept them in a 3x18x18 with an Eheim Pro 2228, which is the same flow rate as the Classic 2217, and they coloured up much more vividly when I directed the flow around the bottom of the tank instead of across the surface. That sounds quite overfiltered.

Fantastic fish, hope you have some luck with them if you do decide to keep them.

[discus_noob]

Hi Ryan,

I do believe you are right. After long searches with using their scientific name - NOTHING. One search using Pencilfish and tea tree oil in google and bam! It is all hypothesis related at present but in both articles it has some interesting points, and if you read the comments on the second page down the bottom from various readers, they have similar issues with dosing of melafix (similar to a long term leaching of melaleuca wood in the tank.

http://everythingaquatic.proboards.c...ay&thread=2470

http://www.fish-as-pets.com/2008/12/...inth-fish.html

http://www.americanaquariumproducts....dication4.html

http://www.fishlore.com/*********/ge...ease-read.html


I am a noob at this stuff and I currently read both half asleep so I probably did not soak much of it in as I am zomped out but I will reread and edit this post if I made some dumb mistakes haha! But by the looks of this article, I will be unfortunately not be buying these gorgeous fish anymore. Kind of devoed my whole plan was to have these gorgeous fish and now I cannot as all my wood is melaleuca pretty much identical to yours haha!

Adam

[japes]

Consider Dwarf Pencilfish, as they are fine with melaleuca.