Rummy Nose Tetra

Rummy Nose Tetras display a variety of different colors and patterns across their body. This unusual mix of styles makes them stand out in your tank as one of the more attractive fish.  Keeping a shoal of at least 6 will intensify these colors and patterns as they move around in unison. The more you have, the better the effect.  A great fish for beginners with well established tanks, adult size 5 – 6 cm, minimum tank size 80 litres.

There are three very similar species which are all known as rummy nose tetras:

• Hemigrammus rhodostomus (The True Rummy Nose Tetra)
• Hemigrammus bleheri (Also known as The Brilliant Rummy Nose Tetra or The Common Rummy Nose Tetra)
• Petitella georgiae (The False Rummy Nose Tetra)

All three species are native to South America where they live in the Amazon River (each species occupies a different region).

Behaviour

These fish shoal, so they will spend most of their time grouped together which creates an impressive display in your tank. The colors are more striking and their behaviors are more impressive when swimming together and the larger the shoal, the better the display. Don’t be tempted to overstock your tank because they love having plenty of swimming space.  Usually they swim around the middle levels of the water, however they might stray up or down in order to feed.  They will hide in the plants if they get stressed by bright lights or pestering fish.

Tank Conditions

Use a fine grained substrate to closely mimic their natural habitat. You can use gravel if you prefer since rummy nose tetras don’t spend much time in the lower levels of the tank. Pick some plants that will grow into the middle levels of the water. These are the preferred shelter of tetras; they may want to get away from other fish or bright lights when stressed. Decorations aren’t important, so you can add some if you want. Just make sure that you leave plenty of space for swimming.

Standard aquarium lighting is suitable; they’ll take cover in the plants when they need shelter from the lights.

An external filter is advisable since rummy nose tetras can be sensitive to ammonia/nitrates in the water and external filters tend to be more effective.

Compatibility

In general Rummy Nose Tetras are very peaceful fish. They can make the perfect community fish, and a school of them really helps to bring colors and activity to your tank. As they are a small fish you should only place them in a community tank with other non-aggressive fish that aren’t big enough to eat them. As for ideal tank mates you should be thinking of:

• Gouramis (Avoid the Giant, Pearl and Opaline)
• Barbs
• Zebra Danios
• Small Catfish (e.g. Cory)
• Dwarf Cichlid
• Kuhli Loaches and Otocinclus (for the bottom of your tank)
• Cherry or Ghost Shrimp
• Mystery Snails

Fish to AVOID in the tank with Cardinals:

• Bettas
• Angelfish
• Cichlids
• Anything big enough to eat Neons

Feeding

Rummy Nose Tetras are omnivores. So in the wild they would eat small bits of plant debris, small insects, larvae or eggs. Generally anything that would fit into their mouths. There are lots of commercial foods available to provide them with a similar diet at home. Flake and pellet foods are some of the simplest options and they are designed to contain all the nutrients they need.  Use flakes or pellets as the staple of their diet, and then give them additional treats once or twice a week.  Both live and frozen foods are good ways to provide some protein, and they can be used to give your tetras some variety. Daphnia and bloodworms are good choices.

Aim to feed them twice a day. Breaking up their feeding like this gives them a chance to digest their food. Only give them an amount that they can finish in two minutes, remove any excess food after this so it doesn’t decay in the tank.

Care

Add tannins to both soften and darken the water or use these soft water conditioner products to simulate the black waters of their natural habitat.

An easy way to spot if something is wrong is by looking at their red noses, they often get much paler in bad water conditions.  Poor nutrition can also contribute to these problems. If your tetras aren’t getting everything they need from their diet they will be more susceptible to disease. Switching up their diet is a great way to ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need. A healthy rummy nose tetra should live for 6-8 years.

It’s important to know how to clean a tank properly because poor water quality helps the disease spread through the water. Give your tank a clean and see if there is any improvement.

Dropsy and Ich are a couple of common diseases. Dropsy is a fluid build-up causing the body to swell. Fish with Ich will develop white spots all over their body.

See Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment at Rebel Pets for help with diagnosing and treating diseases.