Why do my cardinal tetras stink at schooling? (In praise of rummynose.)

[jwcarlson]

I don't think there is anything wrong with them.  After one jumped through a tiny crack in their new tank's lid, I'm down to seven of them.  But they're never hanging out all together as a group.  It's like a 2-4 together at most.  And there's no actual "schooling".

 

Meanwhile my eight rummynose are seemingly tied together.  Part of me wishes I had 16 rummynose instead of split between cardinals and rummys.  Even the sterbai corys join in with the rummynose in their school, which is really funny to watch.  The corys aren't nearly as good as the rummys, but they do give it a good try.

 

Water isn't perfect and the glass is dirty because our nine year old just did a water change, but the fish were sure "having fun".  The corys cannot turn nearly as sharply as the rummys so they are usually only get a good pass in about 10% of the time.  Makes me wish I had a 10 foot tank with rummys and corys. *hmmmmmmmmmm*

Edited February 9, 2022 by jwcarlson

[Fish Folk]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:44 AM, jwcarlson said:

I don't think there is anything wrong with them.  After one jumped through a tiny crack in their new tank's lid, I'm down to seven of them.  But they're never hanging out all together as a group.  It's like a 2-4 together at most.  And there's no actual "schooling".

 

Meanwhile my eight rummynose are seemingly tied together.  Part of me wishes I had 16 rummynose instead of split between cardinals and rummys.  Even the sterbai corys join in with the rummynose in their school, which is really funny to watch.  The corys aren't nearly as good as the rummys, but they do give it a good try.

 

Water isn't perfect and the glass is dirty because our nine year old just did a water change, but the fish were sure "having fun".  The corys cannot turn nearly as sharply as the rummys so they are usually only get a good pass in about 10% of the time.  Makes me wish I had a 10 foot tank with rummys and corys. *hmmmmmmmmmm*

Love this. Rummy’s seem to be preferred by schooling fans. I find that a larger group of Cardinals sometimes helps. Maybe the Rummys are distracting them?? 

[Flumpweesel]

I believe fish school for security so those cardinals must be more confident and feeling pretty happy to have spread themselves out with no threat in the water they school more loosely.

Rummies must be a more nervous fish

[jwcarlson]

On 2/9/2022 at 7:54 AM, Fish Folk said:

Love this. Rummy’s seem to be preferred by schooling fans. I find that a larger group of Cardinals sometimes helps. Maybe the Rummys are distracting them?? 

They probably are distracted, they should be ashamed of themselves. 😄

The cardinals were like this before the rummys were added, they actually might be a bit better now with the rummys.  I think they're just a bit less active fish and they do seem to kind of hang lower in the column and a bit farther towards the back.  Kind of under and behind where the rummys like to zip around.  It's also a new tank (37 gallon, but from a *very crowded* QT 10 together).  

On 2/9/2022 at 8:01 AM, Flumpweesel said:

I believe fish school for security so those cardinals must be more confident and feeling pretty happy to have spread themselves out with no threat in the water they school more loosely.

Rummies must be a more nervous fish

Perhaps, there's probably a lot that goes into schooling.  Breeding activity, predator pressure (as you noted), seasonal changes, age of the fish, etc etc.  

I just chuckled this AM when we flipped the lights on one of the rummys had drifted farther away than most of the others while they were sleeping and he certainly seemed panicked when he realized it.  So maybe you're on to something, Flumpweesel.

[Guppysnail]

My local LFS’s will do exchanges or credit towards fish exchange. You may be able to do that and have all rummy. 

[jwcarlson]

On 2/9/2022 at 9:31 AM, Guppysnail said:

My local LFS’s will do exchanges or credit towards fish exchange. You may be able to do that and have all rummy. 

I have (and do) struggle with doing that type of thing.  I'm also a beekeeper and I raise/sell queens during the summer and it has been eight years (about six selling queens) and I still have a little mini-emotional melt down when I sell a queen to someone.  And I flat-out refuse to sell to some people when I talk with them (if I think she's going to certain doom or if I think they're wasting their money because their colony is already beyond saving).

Now three of these cardinals kind of have my sympathy because the rummys brought some plague with them and passed it to the cardinals who took it significantly worse than the rummys.  This AM is the first day without they didn't have infection spots and if that holds they're going to get a break before I worm them because a few of the cardinals aren't thriving or packing on the size like the others.

Edited February 9, 2022 by jwcarlson

[Odd Duck]

Rummies are pretty known for being some of the best “schooling” fish for a typical tropical, freshwater tank.  It just seems to be in their nature.  Most of our aquarium fish are better termed as “shoaling” vs true “schooling” species.  Meaning, they hang out in loose groups, will separate out and do their own thing sometimes, will tend to hang out near each other, but don’t necessarily hang out in a tight group that moves as a unit unless they feel some predator pressure or threat of some kind.

Think of videos you see of anchovies for a good example of schooling.  Very tight group, everybody moves together, they immediately rush back together after being separated, etc.

Whether rummies are truly a “schooling” species is debatable, but they do appear to “shoal” much tighter than most species. Most shoaling fish will “school” well when first introduced into a tank.  As they get comfortable, the “school” gets looser and looser and it becomes clear they aren’t truly a schooling species.  Rummies tend to stay much tighter, much longer, and some groups will stay quite tight always.  But some don’t.

[Chad]

I strongly believe rummy's are the best schooling fish. And as mentioned earlier, it's because they are more nervous fish. My neons dispersed after they got comfy in the tank. They still school sometimes, but not nearly as often as the rummy's. But a little observation shows how the rummy's are jumpy. Little things get them twitching and running/schooling fast. 

[jwcarlson]

There's been a couple nights when I shut the lights off on the rummys that without a lid they might have all been schooling on the floor.  Programmable light goes on tonight that auto dims over a half hour or something.  So we should be good to go there.  I agree, observationally they're absolutely more "jumpy".

[Chad]

I am crazy for rummys. Here's a fish that loves to school quickly from side-to-side, with a red face and striped tail. It's perfectly designed for this and utterly beautiful to watch in motion. That said, I really like the neons. I was slow to try them since they're supposedly weak and unhealthy. And everyone has them (so snobby of me). But they've been amazing, beautiful and healthy. Healthier than the black neons I tried initially.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Chad