Can pencilfish live with african dwarf frogs?

Verdict

Yes, with care

Yes, with care. Pencilfish and african dwarf frogs can share a tank, but watch one thing. African dwarf frogs eat slowly and nearly blind. Fast pencilfish will take the food first, so target-feed them.

Pencilfish75–82°F · pH 5–7.5

African dwarf frog72–82°F · pH 6.5–7.8

What to watch

Watch outAfrican dwarf frogs eat slowly and nearly blind. Fast pencilfish will take the food first, so target-feed them.

What works

Both are fine at 75–82°F.
pH 6.5–7.5 suits both.
They use different parts of the tank: pencilfish the mid, african dwarf frogs the bottom.

Water side by side

The green band is the temperature range both can live in.

The green band is the pH both tolerate.

Size to scale

Adult length in an aquarium. A fish can swallow anything that fits in its mouth, roughly a third to half its own length for predators.

Care at a glance

	Pencilfish	African dwarf frog
Temperature	75–82 °F	72–82 °F
pH	5–7.5	6.5–7.8
Adult size	2.0 in	2.5 in
Minimum tank	15 gal	10 gal
Temperament	Peaceful	Peaceful
Swims at	Middle	Bottom
Group	Groups of 6+	Groups of 2+
Diet	Omnivore	Carnivore