Rummy nose behavior (tetra not those fake rasboras) OBSERVATION

[anewbie]

In my 500 i have a fair size group - maybe 30 or 40 not sure of the exact number. One thing i've noticed is their behavior during the day they stay in the open on the left side which has almost no plants but when the lights go off they move to the left side which is heavily planted and settle down in the plants. This behavior is not unique to them as i have several other fishes in that aquarium that do the same thing.

As for the large(r) fishes in the aquarium - are a group of near if not full adult mix of geo albios/dicrozoster. These are not small fishes and in general i do not recommend them even for a larger aquarium like 600 or 500; they really need something like 5000 gallon aquarium (not height but simply more floor space).

 

[GaryE]

Which rummy nose do you have? I found they all acted like yours, and it's interesting to watch. I've set up a 4 foot tank and heavily planted one third of it, so I can see how African Neolebias 'tetras', Chromaphyosemion killies and lampeyes handle this, and I'm getting the same behaviour. They like the open water by day, but when the predators would come out, they move into cover.

I'm guessing the open water is dangerous for larger fish in the day because of birds, while silvery fish can hide in plain sight, in the ripples and reflections. But when the water darkens, the bigger fish can move freely. When I was a kid and still fished with rod and reel, I caught my largest fish early in the morning or in the evening,

Yesterday, I was watching an eagle hunting over a still, shallow ocean bay and considering where I would not want to be swimming if I were a fish (I was on high ground looking down into very clear water). Your post links that to our relatively tiny little tanks.

 

[anewbie]

I have p. bleheri formerly h. bleheri.

 

[Magnum Man]

my shoal after a year or two, are down to 6 or 8, in with a mixed tetra tank, always "hang with the pack" there is an adult angel, silver dollar pair for bigger fish in the tank, that live among them, and don't chase... the angel continually hunts, and would eat smaller fish, and maybe the hunting keeps the tetras shoaled up... the "emperor tetra types" are getting mature, and starting to spread out in the tank, and with that, some of the larger tetras, like the sail fins, are also starting to move around more, but the smaller 3-4 species are slower to feel comfortable enough to swim around outside of the mixed shoal

 

[GaryE]

If I were the King of the World, I'd rename the Asian rummy nose (Sawbwa resplendens) as the Rudolph the reindeer fish and become rich selling them. They missed a marketing opportunity there.