Rummy-nose tetra

Identity and search names

Single-species profile for Petitella bleheri. Preserve the permanent AquaNexus ID and route; retain former scientific combinations and trade names only as searchable aliases. Search names include Rummy-nose tetra, Petitella bleheri, Firehead tetra, Hemigrammus bleheri.

Environment and housing

Mature planted or blackwater-style aquarium with open lanes and stable warm water

Feeding and nutrition

Feeding ecology: Omnivorous micropredator; varied fine dry, frozen and live foods

Feeding routine: Offer fine varied foods once or twice daily and keep portions small enough to protect warm, soft water quality.

Breeding and reproduction

Egg scatterer

Breeding plan: Egg scatterer Parental care: No parental care; adults eat eggs.

Compatibility plan

Peaceful warm-water community species

Filtration and aeration

Filtration: Use mature biological filtration sized for the adult group and feeding load, with protected intakes and a flow pattern suited to the species.

Aeration: Maintain dependable gas exchange and dissolved oxygen with surface agitation or supplementary aeration while preserving sheltered resting areas.

Maintenance

Test water routinely, remove waste and uneaten food, service filtration without destroying biofilm and review stocking as animals mature.

Adult projected load

Adult projected load includes mature body mass, social-group size, territorial space, oxygen demand, feeding waste and breeding output.

Welfare and risk

Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. A pale head is a stress signal, not a diagnostic test or a reason to add chemicals. Check water, oxygen, disease and social pressure first.

Main risk: A pale head is a stress signal, not a diagnostic test or a reason to add chemicals. Check water, oxygen, disease and social pressure first.

Biosecurity and release

Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.

Overridable warnings

Warnings may be overridden only after adult size, group structure, filtration, aeration, compatibility and maintenance capacity are recorded.

Sources

• Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Petitella bleheri — Taxonomy — accepted name, original combination, synonyms and distribution cross-check
• Phylogenetic relationships of the rummy-nose tetras — Taxonomy — peer-reviewed transfer of Hemigrammus bleheri to Petitella
• IUCN Red List search — Petitella bleheri — Conservation — current assessment and wild-provenance cross-check
• PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list — Australian biosecurity — current South Australian possession and trade restriction cross-check
• DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia — Australian biosecurity — current national live-fish import pathway and permitted-species warning
• Catalog of Fishes — current nomenclature — Current fish taxonomy and synonymy
• AquaNexus editorial policy — Independent synthesis, scope and source-policy control