so are all rummy nose tetras boring???

[Magnum Man]

or is it likely the dynamic of all my tetras???

so I have platinum Rummy's, same scientific name as the standard ones, so 1st... I'm assuming they are a line bred variety, with more sparkles in their middle... I have 6-7 different varieties of South American tetras in this tank, and all to an extent shoal together... once the palmeri mature, they spread out, or have formed a familiar shoal... the rummy's are colorful, and appear to be thriving, but spend almost all their time in a 6 inch space, near the bottom of the tank... of coarse since the tetras are all shoaling together, that's where everyone is near, and it seems like everyone else wants to be around the rummy's, so for the most part, I have a big cloud of tetras, that all stay in the same place all day... not really anything to fear in this tank, and plenty of cover... the palmeri chase around, but seem to ignore all the other tetras... this is a 4 foot long 55 gallon tank, so lots of space to explore...

thoughts???

 

[Colin_T]

Yeah, all rummynose are boring. Platinum rummynose are a man made colour form.

Tetras move from place to place in big schools. If there are no predators they settle down and don't do much else.

 

[Magnum Man]

so, it's not just the platinum ones are more lethargic???

 

[GaryE]

You could change the set up and flow, and you'd get more dynamic behaviour. I have a mixed tetra 6 footer and the fish move all over it. The only fish in there larger than them are some Corydoras group fish, and I tried to plant to create different zones as they'd find in nature - brightly lit, shaded, low planting, overhanging leaves, etc.

Platinums, like the angels with the same marketing name, have a minor deformity in their scales many people like.

So what can you like about tetras? The diversity is interesting. Many species show fairly complex behaviour, but the 3 rummy nose species aren't among them. They like sparkling, sunlight water and shoals of dozens of their own. They aren't going to give you the complexity properly kept Cichlids can. But on the flip side, many cichlids are simple to breed, and tetras can really tax your skills.

I like seeing their diversity, and I like figuring out how to breed them so I can watch larger shoals. Other than that, they are pretty fish, and perfect for the ornamental fish trade. For actual fish watching, they can be beat.