Common name/s: Rummy Nose Tetra, Rednose tetra

Scientific name: Hemigrammus rhodostomus

Family: Characidae

Origin: Amazon basin

Maximum size: 2"

Feeding: They are omnivores and will take differnt types of food. They will eat flakes, as well as frozen and live foods.

Care: These fish are very delicate so the water has to be perfect before adding them to the tank. You should never add them to a cycling tank. They should be kept in shoals, the more the better, since they are very shy and will feel much more secure in greater numbers. They should be kept with non-agressive tank mates. The tank should be at least 10 gallons to give them enough room to swim.

Sexing: Males are slimmer than females

Breeding: These fish are hard to breed. Water has to be soft and acidic acidic. The females will scatter the eggs and fry will hatch in a couple of days

Comments: Very peaceful and beautiful fish. Their noses are good indicators of the quality of the water. Noses will be bright red when the water conditions are good. However, they will lose color if there are nitrites/ammonia in the water or if the fish are stressed.

Rummynoses are notoriously sensitive. A lot depends on the species. There are 3 species which are commonly called "Rummy Nose Tetras". The original, and probably the least colourful of the 3 is Hemigrammus rhodostomus. This is the one you see most often as it is from nearer the mouth of the Amazon where the water conditions vary a bit more - it is therefore the most robust of the 3.

The other 2 are Hemigrammus bleheri and Petitella georgiae. Both are from blackwater environs of the Rio Negro and it's tributaries North West of Manaus. These are more colourful, but more demanding as to water conditions, (like many blackwater fish). These two both go under the common name of "False Rummy Nose Tetra", "FireHead" or "FlameHead", but frequently the oiks in the LFS just call whatever they get "Rummy Noses".

They look alike, but the blackwater species have a much clearer pattern in the caudal fin, the stripes can be almost absent in H. rhosostomus. Also the size of the red patch on the head varies with the species, again H. rhodostomus usually has the smallest red hood, H. bleheri the largest.

LL.