The elegant pencilfish belongs to the family Lebiasinidae, the pencilfishes, with a slender, elongated body and small fins. Reaches 3.6 centimeters standard length, a little more than the shining pencilfish and well over the striped-and-spotted pencilfish. It lives in tropical fresh waters, from the bottom to midwater, with records in the Amazon River basin near Santarém, in Pará. It belongs to the genus Nannostomus, the pencilfishes. Because it is tiny, it has no interest for sport fishing.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the elegant pencilfish; in the meantime, see the similar species.
how to recognize it
identification
A slender, elongated pencilfish with small fins, of the family Lebiasinidae, with a dark stripe along the body, like the others of the genus Nannostomus. Reaches 3.6 centimeters, a little more than the shining pencilfish (3.5 cm) and well over the striped-and-spotted pencilfish (2.4 cm). The three live in different places, so the capture location is the safest way to tell them apart.
how elegant pencilfish fishing looks
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
Known from the Amazon basin, near Santarém, in Pará, Brazil.
Habitat: Tropical fresh waters, from the bottom to midwater.
native to the basins
Amazon
what the law says
rules for the elegant pencilfish
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency. Conservation: Not on the Brazilian national list (Ministerial Ordinance GM/MMA No. 1.667/2026).
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
piracema closures in the basins where the species lives
Spawning closure (piracema) in Mato Grosso (all basins)
01/10 to 31/01MT
Allowed: All fishing modalities are prohibited in rivers, including catch and release (Law 9.096/2009, art. 19-A). Exceptions: subsistence fishing from shore (3 kg or 1 fish, no transport or sale) and scientific fishing. Law 13.159/2025 now allows licensed sport fishing in UHE/PCH hydropower reservoirs, natural lakes and border rivers, subject to a scientific study and a license from the environmental agency. We have not confirmed whether these licenses are already being issued.
Allowed: Recreational anglers with handline or rod, line and hook are outside the Annex II prohibitions, with a bag limit of 5 kg + 1 fish, unless a stricter state rule applies.
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
It is not dangerous. It is very small and fragile: handle it only if necessary, with wet hands, and return it to the water quickly.
calculator
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00661, b = 3.13; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
