# Timid Rummynoses



## Egmel (10 Sep 2008)

My rummynoses keep hiding behind a bunch of stems, they've been in just over a week and they dart for cover the moment anyone enters the room.  Is this normal or will they come out into the open more when they've had a chance to settle in?


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## a1Matt (10 Sep 2008)

I reckon they will probably be OK once settled in


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## Thomas McMillan (10 Sep 2008)

how many do you have?


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## Egmel (10 Sep 2008)

I've bought 10 but haven't been able to count them in the last couple of days, no floaters so I'm guessing still 10!


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## Thomas McMillan (10 Sep 2008)

Hmm... That's okay then, I thought maybe you bought a stupid number like three but you obviously know your stuff.

They'll probably be okay in a week or so. They could just be timid because of tankmates (or lack of), flow, bright lighting, the tank is in a busy room, loud noises, carbon. It could be anything but I'm sure they'll be fine. Most fish take a week or so to properly settle in anyway.


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## Mr Bee (10 Sep 2008)

My neons took a week or 2 to be brave enough in their new surroundings to come out when I first got them.  You could peer into room, but as soon as you went in and they saw movement they'd swim off and hide.  

After a couple of weeks though they'd start coming up to me when I was next to the tank.  Now, all the neons and all the glowlights just swim about right in front of wherever I am when I look in the tank


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## Luketendo (10 Sep 2008)

When my 8 Green Neons know there is people around they also hide behind my big bogwood centrepiece. But when they don't know I'm there (like now) they come out and chase each other around and generally act more like they should.

Don't know why personally :/.


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## Egmel (10 Sep 2008)

Sounds like I should give them a little while longer then.  It's the first group of fish I've put in a heavily planted tank and I wasn't sure if it was normal for them to hide for so long.  The 6 ottos I put in at the same time are much more out going.

The lights are fairly bright, 60w over a 4ft 30g, the room is busy when I'm at home but that is usually only in the evenings.  There might be noise from next door during the day though as they're on the intersecting wall.  I'll keep an eye on them, but I don't think they're going to like me tonight as I need to prune, probably going to undo the last week of settling in!


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## jay (11 Sep 2008)

Sure they just need to settle in, but are you sure your water parameters are ok?
Rummynose do need a very mature tank to show their best and a nice amount of flow.

If all is well then just wait. I've found them to be very smart too, for a tetra anyway. Mine recognize me like a cichlid would and come up to the front of the tank now for food!!! While my cardinals shoot off into the back.

10 is a good number but... sure you could get a few more in a 4footer. You won't regret it


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## Egmel (11 Sep 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> Sure they just need to settle in, but are you sure your water parameters are ok?
> Rummynose do need a very mature tank to show their best and a nice amount of flow.


New tank old filter/plants/decorations, did a straight swap over.  It's got an eheim 2213 and the original juwel internal going so there's quite a turnover.  Parmeters were fine last time I checked.



> If all is well then just wait. I've found them to be very smart too, for a tetra anyway. Mine recognize me like a cichlid would and come up to the front of the tank now for food!!! While my cardinals shoot off into the back.
> 
> 10 is a good number but... sure you could get a few more in a 4footer. You won't regret it


I was thinking about getting some more, but I've been a little low on fish of late (waiting for the guppies my ex chose to die off so I could get some fish I wanted!) so when I went and bought these guys I decided to let the filter bacteria have a chance to catch up.  I added 6 ottos at the same time and I already had a gold spot dwarf plec, some snails and some shrimp in there.  I was thinking of adding another 6, but then I don't know, if I did that there isn't really room for a shoal of anything else and I'm not sure I'm ready to make that decision yet.


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## Mr Bee (11 Sep 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> ....Mine recognize me like a cichlid would and come up to the front of the tank now for food!!! While my cardinals shoot off into the back.




Yeah, all my tetra's do this too   

When anyone goes up to the tank, not just me..... they must think "Human = Food. Mmmmmm!"


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## Egmel (12 Sep 2008)

Mr Bee said:
			
		

> "Human = Food. Mmmmmm!"


I'm trying to train mine to realise this, it may take some time.


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## Egmel (29 Sep 2008)

Right well according to my bank balance these have been in the tank over 4 weeks and still spend all day hiding behind a large thicket of stems.  As soon as the lights go out they come out in search of food but otherwise I hardly see them 

I wonder if my tank lights are too bright but for most of the time I'm running only 2 15w lamps over a 125l with an extra burst to 60w around lunch.  If I drop much lower then my plants wont get the light they need.

I do have a sand substrate which may be brighter than they're used to...

Can anyone recommend a plan that may help them explore a little more during the day?  Maybe adding some less timid fish or something?


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## Dan Crawford (29 Sep 2008)

I'm having the same issue at the mo, i was thinking of adding some more "boisterous" fish, dunno?


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## Egmel (30 Sep 2008)

Dan Crawford said:
			
		

> I'm having the same issue at the mo, i was thinking of adding some more "boisterous" fish, dunno?


Well I'm glad it's not just mine!  Do yours come out more after lights out?


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## a1Matt (30 Sep 2008)

When I have had rummies they have always been alongside neon tetras.  They always swam with the tetras, but I assumed they would do that whatever fish they were with.

HTH


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## Egmel (30 Sep 2008)

Mine are in with just ottos and a parotocinclus so maybe that's the problem.


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## jay (30 Sep 2008)

a1Matt said:
			
		

> When I have had rummies they have always been alongside neon tetras.  They always swam with the tetras, but I assumed they would do that whatever fish they were with.
> 
> HTH



Theres a natural affinity between rummies and cardinals, so neons I'm sure to rummies make a fine compromise to a cardinal.   In the Rio Negro they are always seen together.


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## Carphunter57 (30 Sep 2008)

Hmmmm. We have 9 Rummies and from day one they have always been on show, back and forth across the tank non stop, super active fish, we also have 5 neons and 8 x-ray tetras and they have joined the Rummy shoal so it's always a blur of fishy activity. 

Feeding time is easy as we tap the side of the tank (three little taps with the end of your finger nail) lt took a few days for them to realise the taps meant grubs up.

Fish come from all directions making a B line for the feeding spot, even the RTB and Striatas come up and feed on the surface.

I guess we must be doing something right.


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## jay (30 Sep 2008)

First  post and he's already rubbing it in how great his fish are...

Mine are too.


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## Carphunter57 (30 Sep 2008)

jay said:
			
		

> First  post and he's already rubbing it in how great his fish are...
> 
> Mine are too.



Lol. sorry didn't mean to rub it in about my fish.   

Just amazed at how different our Rummies are to those described in this thread. We do have a black back ground and black substrate with loads of bogwood, roots and plants, so plenty of structure for them to feel safe amongst and sublte lighting plus a good amount of water movement. So possibly a more Rummy friendly set up.


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## jay (30 Sep 2008)

Only joking fella  
Suppose fish are products of environment. But I've noticed that they can be trained pretty easily... maybenot roll over or anything, but sure with time and practice, we can all get to see our fish more.


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## PM (9 Nov 2008)

My rummies hide a lot too, though I've noticed that when I do less maintinence they gain confidence and swin aound more, but as soon as I do a WC, they'll hide for days


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## Egmel (9 Nov 2008)

Mine have become much better after 2 things.  The first was to re-arrange the tank, there's now less to hide behind but a nice are which has surface cover.  The second was to add a shoal of harlequin rasboras.  Now the rummy noses are out and about much more.  I'll agree that they still get more skittish after water changes and the like though.


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## aaronnorth (8 Jan 2009)

I am having the same problem with my 15 x Black neons at the moment  
They have been constantly hiding in the back corner since i bought them (my 60l tank). 

8 of them have been in since November 1st and they were out constantly. A week later I added another 7 and ever since they have been hiding? It is as though the extra numbers have made them feel more scared!

The tank has had a slight re-shuffle, and i am not prepared to add more species because it is only 60l and it would ruin it 

Thanks


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## PM (8 Jan 2009)

My black neons and rummies are happy as larry now in my 54L.

They are always swimming around and 'exploring'!   

I think that the key is to allow them time to fell comfortable, and have enough plants in there (I'm really not a fan of iwagumi for this reason).

Also it only takes one scared fish and the others will pick up on their behaviour. (So adding more scare ones won't help). I'm going to do some maintainence tomorrow and I know that the fish will be a bit timid for the rest of the day afterwards, but will be active the next day.

The more severe the disturbance the longer it takes for them to settle in, but when they do they are a joy!


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## Thomas McMillan (8 Jan 2009)

I agree you should give them time to settle in, they'll come out when they're ready.

I know this sounds really weird, but I find when it comes to being timid it's a bit of a balancing act with fish. Sometimes if you add a few fish, take some away, add another species (even to take out again) fish may become permanently un-timid or just for an amount of time. Kinda weird.


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## Ejack (17 Mar 2009)

Hey guys, I've a few rummynose tera's (6 of them), had them for over half a year now. But for some strange reason, and I'm not sure why, they seeme to hide all the time and hardly ever come out. Occasionally I see the odd one now and again. They're in the same tanks as my Neons tetra's who seem to be out all the time especially just before I feed them. But the rummynose I hardly ever see even during feeding time. For the first few months, they were fine and I saw them quite often, but lately they just seem to stay hidden all the time.
Any ideas what could be causing this?


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## Ed Seeley (18 Mar 2009)

6 is a rather small shoal really.  Try adding another 6, or more.


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## Ejack (19 Mar 2009)

Thanks for the reply Ed, appreciate it

I imagined as much  do you think adding another 6 Rummynose to my tank (see below) will result in me overstocking it?


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## Thomas McMillan (19 Mar 2009)

Ejack said:
			
		

> Thanks for the reply Ed, appreciate it
> 
> I imagined as much  do you think adding another 6 Rummynose to my tank (see below) will result in me overstocking it?



Not at all.


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## Ejack (19 Mar 2009)

Wow Really   I kinda sided with caution originally didn't want too many fish in the tank as not to overstock.

Looks like I know where I'm going fter work today


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## Thomas McMillan (19 Mar 2009)

The way I work it out, is if you're dealing with fish such as Tetras, Rasbras etc then 1cm of fish per 1l of water.

So... (approx)

1 Platy = 5cm
1 Silvertip Tetra = 5cm
6 Rummynose Tetra = 5cm each = 30cm
6 Neon Blue Tetras = 5cm each = 30cm

= around 70cm = 70l so you've got a bit of room left yet because shrimp and snails don't make that much difference to the bioload unless in great numbers.


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## Ejack (19 Mar 2009)

Thanks Thomas

What would you consider a "great number" of shrimp? |Reason I ask are my shrimp are breeding like rabbits and obviously I don't want to have too big a population to threaten there survival.


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## Thomas McMillan (19 Mar 2009)

In the hundreds, you don't have anything to worry about unless you get too overpopulated.


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## zed (23 Mar 2009)

I got 10 rummy noses on Saturday for my 350litre corner tank. Within an hour they were shoaling beautifully around the tank. They looked so good I got another 20 today. I just hope I haven't upset the balance and stop the shoaling behaviour.


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