11/24/2025
Most people know Rummy Nose Tetras for their bright red face, but what almost nobody talks about is that “Rummy Nose Tetra” isn’t one fish at all it’s actually three different species that look nearly identical:
Hemigrammus bleheri, Hemigrammus rhodostomus, and Petitella georgiae.
And here’s the wild part…
Even in the aquarium trade, shipments are often mixed or mislabeled, and the differences are subtle enough that even experienced hobbyists argue about which species they’re really keeping. Some have a longer tail stripe, some have a deeper red head, some come from blackwater, others from clearer habitats but unless you study them carefully, you’d never know you might be keeping an entirely different species than the person next to you.
It explains why people sometimes compare their behavior and colours and get completely different results they may not even have the same species