Success with schools of chromis

[Bryan89]

I have had 3 Blue Reef chromis for about 3 months, all added together. i noticed that the largest and smallest paired off (male&female?) and the middle sized one is chased mercilessly. My tank is a 400 and there is a huge amount of space. I do notice that the picking on the smaller chromis gets worse the less frequent the feedings.

All 3 of the chromis are chased by my 5" male Lyretail Anthias. Therefore, I would say if you really want a school of chromis, put them in their own large tank with a single, large tang to diminish territorial ownership.

I will try and update this thread periodically on how the fish get along as they mature.

HTH

[JahReefster]

I have had 6 blue green reef chromis in a 90 gallon reef for about a year now with no problems. They don't pick on each other at all. Other inhabitants are a large hippo tang, two tomato clowns, and an orange diamond goby.

[chocolates mom]

I started with 5 chromis in Dec, lost 2 right away but I have had the last 3 in there now for 4 months. They swim along with my 2 clown perculas and my six-line

[BigJPDC]

is there any logic to the successes of DaveC and JahR being with even numbers of chromis?

jp

[moonpod]

realistically my count is 8. I started with 10. 1 disappeared real fast. 1 went over the overflows into my sump. The other 8 seem happy

[Ironman]

I started with 6 green fiji chromis in my 90 and I am now down to 3. I've been at 3 for 8 months now.

[tokitay]

They are carnivorous little fish. I started with eight in my 125. Over a peiod of a few months they slowly began isolating and then killing each other until there were two.

The two remaining have been happily thriving in the tank now for about six months.

[BigJPDC]

maybe two is the best number?

[Aquaduck]

Started with 5, one died, two dissapeared, no bodies found.
No signs of aggression with the 5, just a bit of chasing once in a while. The two I have left do the "kissing" thing. I'm not sure if it's aggressive or courtship behaviour. They chase each other occasionally but for the most part they are peacefull towards each other. Sometimes they swim together and other times they are at opposite ends of the tank.

[Wolverine]

Originally posted by BigJPDC
is there any logic to the successes of DaveC and JahR being with even numbers of chromis?

No, not really.

[MG21]

Started with 10 in my 240 and now i'm down to 4. Did well for about the first 10 months and then started to fall off one by one.

[jnarowe]

I have nine blue/green and they school together quite a bit depending on what's going on in the aquarium. They really pack together at lights out. And I mean they hover within an inch of each other and sleep below the rockwork. I never see them at night unless I make a movement or turn on a light. Then one scout will come out to see what's up.

And BTW, they are total food sluts. I cannot approach the tank without them swarming me. When I drop food in they go insane. I like the fact that they eat from the surface and the water column down to about 6" above the substrate.

Also, I NEVER put in 2 of anything. Either one or 3 or more.

[NexDog]

I think Chromis don't live very long - is this right? I'm thinking about adding 10 to my tank and they'll be dully harrassed by other members like a school of Lyretails, tangs, angels, clarkii's etc. Maybe continual threats in an aquarium will stop them from turning on each other?

[jnarowe]

I don't know. I haven't seen any action between the chromis at all. They play together, swarm food together, school together, and sleep together in a very tight group. Haven't seen any agression from them toward each other or tank mates and none of the other fish pay any attention to them. They are VERY aggressive eaters and swarm my fingers at feeding time. I think they provide a service to the tank in that they announce when food is present.

[Acroholic]

Hey Jonathan, How long have you had your Chromis?

[jnarowe]

oh a quiz eh? geez probably about 8-10 weeks. I have a short-term memory problem but I think that is about right.

[Jeremy Blaze]

Let us know in 6 months to a year, how many are left.

[Gary Majchrzak]

No matter how many I start with I always end up with two or three Chromis... and they spawn.
Many of the larger commonly seen reef aquarium fishes are not a threat to Chromis.
A spawning pair of Chromis can be a threat to larger fishes!
I would not consider any of my experiences with Chromis a failure.

[jnarowe]

Originally posted by Jeremy Blaze
Let us know in 6 months to a year, how many are left.

Well six months is a long time in a new reef! They really have behaved well so far. But time will tell. These are the first I have had so I really don't have any long-term experience to call on. I do know with great certainty that if one dies and sinks it will never be found...not even a bone or two.

[VengefulSakhmet]

We started out with 5 Green Chromis when the tank was first established. They were all about the same size and added together. They are rather cute how they stick together and like to swim together against the current. They even all sleep together hiding in close proximity to each other in the fingers of a dead coral. All except for the one chromis who decided one day to become a loner. He then became really thin and died. I'm guessing the reason he left the school was because something was wrong. He just wouldn't eat. My chromis all get along very well. Now going strong for a year. They just stick together avoiding any wrath from my wrasse, juv. imperator, and butterfly. They have enough to worry about than picking fights with one another. Then again that could be because Green Chromis are very peaceful. I've heard a couple horror stories involving some blue damsels.

[Jeremy Blaze]

6 months may be a long time, but anything less than that should not be considered a sucess IMO.

[roni]

i had 9 in my 160 for about 1 year...six in a 75 right now down to 4 (1 mysteriously vanished after 3 months, one after a tank overheating episode while i was away on vacation)

I'm going with 20-25 in my new 240.. tankmates will be the normal reef assortment (lyretail anthias, tangs, etc).

I fed a lot in the 160 (5-6 times per day) and didn't really have any trouble with anthias or chromis. Hoping my luck will continue

[cward]

I've had 6 in my tank for over two years until last month when one died. The one that died never seemed to hang out with the group, but since he died after so long it kind of surprised me.

[KURTIS T]

I didin't see this thread until now....I added 15 greens to my tank last week. As of now the behave the same as JNAROWE's...I guess time will tell.

[DitchPlains2]

I had 12 in a 55g Haddoni ate 8 4 died from feuding and that caused starvation n weakness then became seio food

David