# Rummy nose tetras pale!



## zeek21 (Mar 13, 2009)

Seven days is still not that long,the turning pale is normal and it might take some more time.If they are hiding in a corner still than they are not comfortable in there suroundings yet which means they will remain pale.
I would add more assuming that this is due to discomfort and not illness.For a schooling fish five is a small number and they probably would be more secure with larger numbers.Mine always behave well in large groups.


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## Rod Hay (Feb 11, 2006)

Agreed, many fish loose their coloration when plunked into a bag. This is very stressful.

And, yes, a few more can often help a lot. Even if you can bump the number up to seven or eight.

Two other points, I've always had problems when trying to put rummies into a tank that is not well running for several months first. They really do need a well established tank.
Then, there should be a fair amount of plants for them to swim in and out of. IOW, not an Iwagumi type set with only one tall clump of plants (hidey-spot) in one end of the tank. If there are several areas they can quickly hide in, they are braver about moving around the tank.


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## Bees (Jan 6, 2010)

I agree with Rod - the tank should be well established. I've lost Rummys before in a new tank that I thought had cycled fine. All of the other fish did well except them. Tried again a few months later and didn't lose one.


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## youlovespoons (Dec 16, 2006)

I've thought of adding more but I wanted to make sure that the ones I had already were safe first. Thanks for all the insight. I'll add a few more and give it more patience.


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## pinkertd (Jun 17, 2007)

They may still feel uncomfortable. Are there much larger fish in the tank to make them feel afraid? Just want to be sure you liquid test your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate....rummies are the canaries of the aquarium. If the waters not right, they'll be the first to let you know by losing their red noses.


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## youlovespoons (Dec 16, 2006)

Nope, they're the biggest fish in the tank. I did get nervous from researching that they were really sensitive. Maybe the test strips weren't able to measure minimal changes.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

were these fish QTed? if they were not by the store, ask them to check with the wholesale source... 
also, what about nitrites and ammonia?
other tankmates?
structure in the tank?
are they eating?

rummy nose are beautiful fish, but they are a pain in a new system, I wouldn't add them to a tank less than 8 months old... they are worse than cardinals in that aspect... 

post up some more info so we can look more into the issue..


F


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## pinkertd (Jun 17, 2007)

While they do feel more secure in a larger group, I have 3 remaining old rummies in my discus tank that still show red noses. They stay mostly in the corner plant thicket, come out to eat, but would really rather stay out of sight of my discus. Paper test strips are considered to not be very reliable. The only accurate reading you can get is by using liquids like the API test packs. Also you don't say how big the tank is and what else is in the tank. I'm wondering if it's a small tank that 5 new fish may cause a small ammonia spike. Even a spike of .25ppm would stress them.


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## youlovespoons (Dec 16, 2006)

Probably not qt'ed cause the store doesn't have any extra tanks. nitrate, nitrite, ammonia are 0. It's a 15 gallon tank with 4 otos.


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## JennaH (Sep 28, 2009)

rummies are very sensitive. i only have 4, but i have 8 neons and they always school with them. some days they are nice and pink, some days they are more pale. if they are eating and all your parameters are ok, i would give them some more time to get use to your tank. sometimes mine pink up a day or so after a good size water change


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## youlovespoons (Dec 16, 2006)

Is it normal for fish to be scared of light? I noticed they're a lot more active with the lights off..


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## Rod Hay (Feb 11, 2006)

Fish are not afaid of the light, per se; rather they are afraid that in the bright light they will be more easily spotted by predators. If you are seeing this behavior in your tank, then they do not yet feel secure. Sometimes it just takes more time. And again, as already mentioned - larger numbers for schooling fish help; and more readily reachable hiding spots - denser plant growth.


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## youlovespoons (Dec 16, 2006)

Thanks a lot guys. I think I figured it out.. The fish aren't pale when the lights are off, and once I turn the lights on, they stay red for a few minutes then go back to pale. I'll just give them more time to get used to the environment and I'll add a couple more rummies over time.


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