green chromis

[johnl69]

anyone know anything about the breeding cycle of these fish i have a one at the moment laying eggs on the silicoln of my tank she is really aggressive towards all the other fish who go near her corner even chases off the regal tang thats 3 times bigger than her!
Any help would be much appreciated

thanks john

[Luis A M]

The male is the brooder!
Can you make pics?.
Never done them,but eggs are said to be very small,might take some 4 days to hatch.Check them with a flash light every day,for eye reflections.

[johnl69]

the eggs are absolutly tiny there must have been a couple of hundred of them before my cleaner wrasse ate all but 30-40 of them!
was thinking i could make some sort of net that would protect that corner from the other tank mates. Are the parents protective and caring to their eggs or do they just leave them to fend for themselves?


the glass on the right side is 10mm thick to give a reference to size of eggs

[Luis A M]

Probably they were over 1,000.
The male is usually fierce enough to keep egg predators at bay.
They hatch at night and disperse in the water column.If you shut off your filters you could see tiny larvae with a flashlight 1hr after dark.
See if you can see eye reflections in the eggs.Also,thas the male depicted any change in colours during courting/brooding?

[FMarini]

they also feed on really really small first foods. I believe a few people have tried "s" strain rots w/ no success, I would fathom a guess that 'pod nauplii might be more useful

[Luis A M]

Right,they must be very small,like Dascyllus larvae which hatch in a prolarval state,without pigmented eyes.That is why I asked John if he can see eye reflections in the mature eggs

[johnl69]

havn't noticed any colour changes but i rearly see these two fish thier always hiding behind the rocks. I'll have a look for eyes when the lights go out.

[Peter Schmiedel]

Luis,

while I still had this aggressive incredible Chromis I could never see any pigments like in Amphiprion fry.

[Luis A M]

John-No,I mean checking the eggs with a flashlight (with tank´s lights on),looking for tiny shiny eyes inside the eggs( on last day).
After dark,the flashlight from above will show swimming larvae.

Peter-No pigments as no eyes,or as clear eggs?.

Not considering Acantochromis,damsels show four levels of egg size-embryo development which correlates with ease of raising,where #1 has the smallest eggs and less developed larvae at hatching :

1-Dascyllus
2-Chromis
3-Pomacentrus
4-Chrysiptera

[Galilean]

All the stories of damsel eggs I have seen so far have them laying on the tank wall/corner often near the surface. Is this always true? How much room do pairs of Dascyllus, Chromis, Pomacentrus, or Chrysiptera typically need? Can you breed Chromis in tank with a whole school of them or must they be separated?

[Luis A M]

Not at all.Except for Dascyllus and Chromis,they choose dark secluded places.
Most small damsels are OK in a 10gal.with good cover and lots of hiding places.Big D.trimaculatus need 120x40x40cm at least.
PS.A school of Chromis should be fine,no experience though.

[johnl69]

That would be why i couldn't see anything last night.
Im going to build a mesh barrier that covers the corner to protect them abit from other tank mates and from going through the pumps when they hatch. got some fine mesh netting from a dress my mother is making.
Would the eggs be harmed by the restricted flow going over them?

[Luis A M]

Originally posted by johnl69
That would be why i couldn't see anything last night.
Im going to build a mesh barrier that covers the corner to protect them abit from other tank mates and from going through the pumps when they hatch. got some fine mesh netting from a dress my mother is making.
Would the eggs be harmed by the restricted flow going over them?

You mean leaving the male inside or out?I wouldn´t do that,what you expect to achieve?

[johnl69]

leaving him out my cleaner wrasse is devouroring them the male's not spending much time near them no more. alhogh he has just attacked a snail thats close to them