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Has anyone ever kept Rummynose Tetras? I saw some for the first time at the LFS and I am hooked! I am going to get 4 for my 10g, once I make sure the parameters are good after a large WC. (we lost a sick Betta in that tank, want to get the water right before adding more fish) We're going to replace the Betta but I want to get the Rummys first so the Betta won't be in there first and establish a territory.

I have read that they definitely need excellent water conditions (not that I would have it any other way, of course :-) )

Here's what my tanks both run:

0ppm Amm
0ppm Nitrites
20-40 ppm Nitrates (could be better)
8.2 pH (cannot get this to budge unless I use bottled water...)
74-76 degrees F

I've not tested for hardness but I know I have fairly hard water...

Thanks for any suggestions.

I have been keeping Rummynose Tetras for the past 3 years. I never tried to breed them, but i'm sure the females scatter the eggs, as sometimes i see them really fat & a few days later, they look normal. I also never saw any fry, but i have other fish in the same tank & for sure, the Corydoras will eat any eggs they'll find.

The worst part, is adapting them, as they are a bit delicate at first. If you'll adapt them slowly, you will not have big problems, but i would lower the ph a bit. I am sure that if they'll adapt well, then they'll be fine.

When i bought the first 10, i lost 2 in the first week & when i bought the 2nd batch of 10, about 2 months later, i lost 2 again. From then on, i have all the 16 left & they look quite happy. I keep them with some Black Widow Tetras & some C.trilineatus, C.aeneus albino & 2 Otocinclus. I also have 6 Amano Shrimps & lots of Ferns & Anubias attached to Drift/Bog wood.

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I hung them for about two hrs, slowly dripping tank water into their bag before I let them go. They seem to be doing well, eating, swimming very close to one another in the tank. I am hoping they tag up with the WCMMs but I can see I will need to get more rummies for a nice shoal. They are truly incredible looking little fish. I am soo glad I bought them!

How are the Rummy's doing, Scott?. Hope they are all well & you're enjoying them.

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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
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thanks for asking Jason... the Rummies, while sticking tightly together and not yet shoaling with the WCMM's, seem to be doing great. They eat, they dart, they look spectacular... I cannot wait to get more!

don't expect them to join up with your mountain clouds - they have entirely different swimming patterns. i have 40 rummies which love doing laps of the back wall of the 6 footer - quite a sight. build up your numbers and they will glow even brighter. one of my fave tetras, for sure.

thakns Jase... with the demise of my Tiger Barbs, I need to restock.... I plan to build up the Rummy shoal once I get a handle on this deal that's killing off my TB's

I'm curious about something you still cant get your PH to drop? What type of substrata do you have as some kinds will keep the PH high.

Edit: I just checked the profile for Tiger barbs. it says that the maximum PH for them is 8.0 if yours is 8.2 then that might explain their deaths....

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my high pH comes from the water here... I got it down to 8.0 in one tank with some pH down with a large WC. I have even thought to going with bottled water for several WC to help lower my pH. The bottled water I have tested is like 6.2 or so... I'd have to gradually make the change, so as not to upset the water quality, and shock the fish...

As for substrate, I have regular gravel and some rocks. The issue is the tap water... it comes out at 8.2.

pH 8.2 is VERY high for Rummynoses -- I would say that, at an absolute minimum, you have to get it down to 7.5 to have any reasonable chance of keeping them. They are, after all, among the more delicate of tetras, and come from the same blackwater-type environment as Cardinals. (The one positive point is that their faces will provide you with an immediate warning of whether they're not feeling well -- in that case, the bright-red color fades out.)

Bruce, thanks for the pH info... there is no "getting it down" unless I begin to introduce bottled water. My water is 8.2 here and pH Down and other agents haven't touched it whatsoever... So far, the Rummies are brilliant, active and feeding...

Perhaps some bottled water over several water changes would be the thing to do...

You might need RO, DI, or even the combination RO/DI to purify your water in the long run... ACIDRAIN has what he calls "liquid rock" coming out of his sink and has similar problems, and solves it by mixing purified water with tap.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

you could also try adding blackwater extract.. i am not sure if it would help, but if the rummies come for a blackwater enviroment the extract wont hurt... it softens and neutralizes a few things... not sure the exacts though ...

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Also, try a block of dried peat moss in your filter.

As much as rummies are sensitive, I don't think it's a good idea to try to drastically change the pH. Yes, 8.2 is very very high... but IME rummies are more sensitive to change than they are to pH. If the fish seem to be having trouble (which you can mostly see by the color of their nose - if they're unhappy, it will get duller), then start using purified water (in the long run it'll be cheapest to get a R/O unit for your sink) and VERY SLOWLY lower the pH by using it.

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Yeah, I'll agree on that -- watch the nose color. (I've just finished reading about a Singapore guy who specializes in breeding Zebra Plecos, and keeps exactly one Rummy-Nose in their tank as a coal-miner's canary to precisely monitor their water quality.)

I'll add that when they start feeling better again, the nose brightness comes back very quickly.

I have kept rummy nosed tetra's in ph around 8. They are doing pretty well and have really bright noses. I have found that they are very e to transport shock, paper bags work best when taking them home. They will school pretty well with bloodfin tetras if you wanted some variety. I believe stability and keeping the variables constant is key. Using things like ph down can be kinda tricky and may end up creating a yoyo effect.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

well, based on the fact that rummies are particularly sensitive to change more so than a particular pH, I am thankful that my pH is stubbornly high! lol

I have had these two for nearly three weeks and they are still vividly colored at both ends, feeding well and darting around the tank with one another. My thing now is to find more so I can have a proper schoal.

So far, so good. I don't think I will be messing with the pH!

just a quick update... I was fortunate enough to stumble upon 6 Rummies at a LFS. I was a little concerned when I bought 'em as their color was not bright at all. But, I think they had just arrived at the LFS that day. I brought them home at nite so they had a nice dark ride home, which I have read is good for them.

The next morning those 6 rummies were as bright and vibrant as the two in my 20g and now I have an awesome shoal of 8! They have fed well from day 1 and seem to be right at home in the 20g.

Yes, they are EXTREMELY e to transit shock -- something I found out the hard way while moving a collection of fish (including 3 Rummy-Noses) from one aquarium to another in a very large glass jar. The trip took no more than 10 minutes; every other fish survived fine, but all 3 Rummy-Noses were in shock upon arrival and died just a few minutes later. It turns out that they exude much more than usual of the "alarm pheromone" that a lot of small tetras release to warn the school that a member is under attack -- and so, in the confined water volume of that jar and surrounded by harmless but bigger fish, the poor little guys had literally frightened each other to death.

Trsnsporting them by themselves in a moderate-sized plastic bag, however -- particularly if it's wrapped to conceal the changing outside view -- seems to work just fine. And, once you actually get them into the tank, they seem to have a fair amount of staying power (quite apart from the fact that they obligingly TELL you when they aren't feeling well).