Ok, I like the one on the right better.
So here’s my plan, when I get the funds, I will get 6 Cory’s (haven’t figured out which type yet) and another schooling fish.
I have recently been researching rummynose tetras. Do you have any experience on these fish and would you be willing to shed some Light on this species?
To be clear on the cories...in total you should have more than just six in this tank, aim for 12-15. If you want to acquire them a species at a time, fine, just make sure you get all you want of the species together. Meaning, if you decide say on 6 pandas, 5 bronze, 5 "julii" or whatever, get all 6 panda together, all five bronze together, etc. Shoaling fish will always settle in faster with less chance of disease the more there are together of the species.
Rummynose. There are three distinct species,
Hemigrammus rhodostomus,
Hemigrammus bleheri and
Petitella georgiae, under the common name "Rummy Nose Tetra" and
H. bleheri is certainly the most colourful and is now the most commonly available of the three. This species is easily distinguished from the other two; only in this species does the red colour extend beyond the head onto and past the gill covers. Also, the central caudal fin band extending laterally onto the body of the fish that is quite evident in the two similar species is almost non-existent in
H. bleheri. The chart included below illustrates the three species.The red colouration is brightest in this species, though this can be misleading as it pales if the fish is under stress and it usually would be in dealer's bare tanks. The "original" Rummynose,
H. rhodostomus, is unlikely to be encountered today;
P. georgiae is sometimes available (though it needs a larger tank) and when combined with the subject species, they will all remain together.
While most of the characins are shoaling fish, this tetra is the one that almost always remains within a group. It swims in the lower third of the aquarium, normally surfacing only to feed. Swimming space is essential, as the species likes to regularly venture out from among the plants as a group to swim the full length of the aquarium. This species was the last of the three "Rummynose" tetras to be discovered, and this occurred in 1965 by Heiko Bleher; the species was described and named in honour of its discoverer by Gery and Mahnert in 1986. It is native to the basins of the Rio Meta and Rio Negro in Columbia and Brazil, and the Atabapo in Venezuela. It occurs in quiet blackwater streams and flooded forest; often sympatric with
Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal tetra).
The rummys all need larger groups, no less than 8-9 but more will be much better. Here I would suggest 12. I have had this species for many years, and
P. georgiae once.
