Is someone killing my Rummy Nose Tetras?

danajs · Jan 5, 2022

Hi all

My partner has a 600l planted tank and had a lovely school of 30 Rummy Nose Tetras.

Each morning we’re coming down to find one or two dead (stuck in the filter intake, but we do not believe they are being sucked in by it) and without any eyes (I know that once dead the other fish will start to pick at them).

He’s now down to maybe 15-20 remaining.

I checked the water parameters on Monday;
- pH was 6.0
- Ammonia was 0
- Nitrite was 0
- Nitrate was 0
- KH was 3
- GH was 5

Tank temperature is 26C.

I’m suspecting someone is going for them, though we don’t see any aggression or anything when we’re sat watching the tank throughout the day.

Other tank mates are;
- 5x Plecos
- 6x Angel Fish (juveniles, no bigger than 50p pieces)
- 1x Rainbow Shark
- 10x Corydoras
- 1x Cuckoo Catfish
- 2x Vampire Shrimp
- Amano Shrimp

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

connorlindeman · Jan 5, 2022

sorry that was me

Byron · Jan 5, 2022

I see nothing wrong with water parameters or water conditions. I do however see other fish species that could be behind this, namely the Rainbow Shark and the angelfish. Rummynose tetras remain in the lower half of the water, right in the territory of the "shark." The angelfish may be too small to cause much of a problem now, but linear fish like rummynose should not be housed with angelfish.

The unknown is the "cuckoo catfish." If this is the species Synodontis multipunctatus, it is not suited to the water parameters and needs to be re-housed. I know nothing of the behaviour of this species, but it grows too large (over 27cm/10 inches) for the other fish in this tank, and given the non-compatible parameters these can affect how fish behave.

danajs · Jan 5, 2022

Byron said:
I see nothing wrong with water parameters or water conditions. I do however see other fish species that could be behind this, namely the Rainbow Shark and the angelfish. Rummynose tetras remain in the lower half of the water, right in the territory of the "shark." The angelfish may be too small to cause much of a problem now, but linear fish like rummynose should not be housed with angelfish.

The unknown is the "cuckoo catfish." If this is the species Synodontis multipunctatus, it is not suited to the water parameters and needs to be re-housed. I know nothing of the behaviour of this species, but it grows too large (over 27cm/10 inches) for the other fish in this tank, and given the non-compatible parameters these can affect how fish behave.

It’s the Synodontis Petricola, he’ll only grow to about 11cm. The pH is slightly low for him because it has dropped from 7.0 (14 days ago). We do have another tropical tank which he could move into, but catching him without uprooting everything is proving easier said than done

FishNturt808 · Jan 5, 2022

How long have the rummynose been in the tank? From what I’ve seen they are very susceptible to parameter changes. Say from store to your tank.

danajs · Jan 5, 2022

FishNturt808 said:
How long have the rummynose been in the tank? From what I’ve seen they are very susceptible to parameter changes. Say from store to your tank.

We’ve had them for about 6 weeks

Byron · Jan 5, 2022

danajs said:
It’s the Synodontis Petricola, he’ll only grow to about 11cm. The pH is slightly low for him because it has dropped from 7.0 (14 days ago). We do have another tropical tank which he could move into, but catching him without uprooting everything is proving easier said than done

Synodontis Petricola must be removed, this also is a species that requires hard water, it is native to Lake Tanganyika and will not do well in soft water. The GH is more important than the pH. The pH is probably lowering because of a low GH and KH, which is normal and not a problem for soft water fish, but this catfish is not suited.

Synodontis petricola (Dwarf Lake Synodontis, False Cuckoo Synodontis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Catching fish is easier if you use one hand to hold a large net against the front glass and use your other hand to gently nudge the fish around the side of the tank into the net.

itiwhetu · Jan 5, 2022

The rainbow shark is most probably the problem.

Naughts · Jan 5, 2022

Can you post a photo of the remaining rummies?

Oblio · Jan 5, 2022

Had a similar problem with Neons, had about a dozen that like Little Indians would end up one by one against the intake. I suspect it was the Zebra Danios (did not have a large enough school) or maybe NTD. I would like to get Neons again, so following this ...

Colin_T · Jan 5, 2022

Pictures and video of the fish so we can check them for diseases?

Have you added anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is in/ on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

danajs · Jan 6, 2022

Colin_T said:
Pictures and video of the fish so we can check them for diseases?

Have you added anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is in/ on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

danajs · Jan 6, 2022

Colin_T said:
Pictures and video of the fish so we can check them for diseases?

Have you added anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is in/ on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

I don’t appear to be able to post videos, but I’ve post the best pictures I can get of them.

Nothing new added to the tank (other than a couple more Angels).

Water changes are once a fortnight and about 25-30%. He adds the water and then the dechlorinator due to the size and position of the tank.

Two Oase external canisters on it. I don’t know the exact spec, but they’re the ones with the heater in and the largest ones they do. I’m not sure how often these are checked.

Beastije · Jan 6, 2022

Byron said:
Synodontis Petricola must be removed, this also is a species that requires hard water, it is native to Lake Tanganyika and will not do well in soft water. The GH is more important than the pH. The pH is probably lowering because of a low GH and KH, which is normal and not a problem for soft water fish, but this catfish is not suited.

Synodontis petricola (Dwarf Lake Synodontis, False Cuckoo Synodontis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Catching fish is easier if you use one hand to hold a large net against the front glass and use your other hand to gently nudge the fish around the side of the tank into the net.

Or a good option is to use the bottle trap, if you place it close to this fish hideout and maybe at the time of day it is more active, you will catch it. But keep the bottle in the net, so it is easier to take out later on. And if you catch other fish with it, it can be fixed. helps to not feed for a day or two beforehand and put food in the trap. It helped me and it was way less stressful (for me,fish most likely too) than catching with net

Essjay · Jan 6, 2022

To post videos, they need to be uploaded to YouTube or a similar site and the link posted on here.

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Is someone killing my Rummy Nose Tetras?

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