Should I buy it?
Rummy Nose Tetra
Hemigrammus rhodostomus
Also known as: rummynose, hemigrammus rhodostomus (trade), Rummynose, Hemigrammus rhodostomus (trade)
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
The school-quality benchmark. Red noses mean the water and stress level are right. Pale noses mean something is wrong before the test kit shows it.
Best for
Mature soft-water planted tanks 100L or more, run for a tight synchronised school.
Avoid if
Your tank is brand new, water is very hard, or you want a low-maintenance fish in a small tank.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **8** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Specialist husbandry. Shoaling species. Buy 8 or more of one species together. Smaller schools sulk, lose colour, and redirect their schooling energy at whatever else is in the tank.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Common mistakeAdding a school to a tank under three months old. Pale noses signal water quality problems; only add rummy-nose to a fully cycled established tank.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Buying three or four to start. Rummy Nose Tetra settles in a group of 8 or more. An understocked school sulks at the back of the tank and loses colour within a fortnight.
- 2.Eight or more for the school to settle. Soft acidic water in a tank running three months or more. Rummies do not survive ammonia spikes in a fresh cycle.
About this species
Rummy-nose tetras are soft-water characins with a red head and a black-barred tail. The school packs tighter when startled. A pale nose is the first sign of stress before nitrates show on a strip.
- Black phantom tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Columbian Tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Penguin tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Rosy Tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Splash tetra80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Beckford Pencilfish60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Black Neon Tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Bloodfin tetra60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Adolfoi coryalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bamboo Shrimpalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Black ruby barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bolivian Ramalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Brown / hockey-stick pencilfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Cardinal Tetraalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Borellii tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Apistogramma Macmasteri tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Apistogramma Trifasciata tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Beckford Pencilfish tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Discus tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Marbled Hatchetfish tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Penguin tetra tank mateslists this fish among its safer mates
- Sterba's Corydoras tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease41
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit86
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness49
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safe directions on file include: Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram, Cardinal Tetra.
Prioritise 8+ of Rummy Nose Tetra in 80L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Tank mate intelligence
Pair with corydoras, otocinclus, dwarf cichlids, angelfish, discus. Skip fin-nippers and large predators that will spook the school.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Rummy Nose Tetra + Corydoras Catfish
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Peaceful and tightly shoaling. The school holds formation more visibly than most tetras, which is half the appeal.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **8+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Hanging in high flow or refusing open water — can mean oxygen stress or wrong current.
- Low listed risk — still watch new introductions.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Shoaling species. Buy 8 or more of one species together. Smaller schools sulk, lose colour, and redirect their schooling energy at whatever else is in the tank.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- Hold 24 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 5.5 to 7 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 8 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 80L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 8 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 24–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 80L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 320L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 24–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Rummy Nose Tetra does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 24–28°C and pH 5.5–7:
Profile status: verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Hemigrammus rhodostomus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Hemigrammus rhodostomus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Hemigrammus rhodostomus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.