Rummynose Tetra Question

[George Farmer]

I have a shoal of eight Rummynoses in my heavily planted 125 litre tank kept with other peaceful fish. Water; Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate <10 mg/l, pH 6.6, GH 6, KH 3, temp. 25 - 26C.

My question is how does the deepening of the red change? Is it according to mood, water condition, age, sex, temp. or a combination. I have 4 fish who are always bright, another 4 which seem more skittish and with a duller colouration but will sometimes show equal colour to the others and become less skittish (this transistion appears to be completely random and not associated with anything that I can determine). I have noticed a marked difference since I have (gradually over months) softened my water from GH 13 to GH 6, (KH 7 to 3, pH 7.6 to 6.6) using RO. I would like to soften furthur but don't really want to reduce my KH to less than 3.

Does anyone have much experience with these lovely fish?

 

[millym]

hi there,
i dont know an awful lot about rummy nose tetras but ive heard their colour does change - when stressed their face is paler & when happy the bright pink. we bought 5 a few weeks ago & they were vv pale when in the bag from the lfs & for the first 5 mins or so in our tank then they coloured up & theyve stayed bright pink ever since. i know as well they do prefer softer water but our water is always around pH7.8 (london tap water) & ours & those in the lfs all look quite happy, i dont think the ph is critical, its more critical to avoid rapid swings in ph.
as far as i know the only difference between males & females is that the females have wider bodies around the belly area - a bit like the differences between m & f neons.
i agree with you about them being gorgeous little fish , the colours are amazing arent they....fluro pink faces, silver bodies & the cute black & white tails - we love ours & would love to get more but dont really have space in our tank.
hopefully someone with a lot more experience with them than me will answer your post soon

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks Millym

 

[Bangin]

There are three, I believe, different varieties of Rummynose tetras. Some of them have brighter red noses than others. I have noticed that mine get dull when I have disturbed their habitat...ie. water change, re-arranging plants. They always color back up rapidly.