Green Chromis

[leclaire]

Hello,

I'd like to add a group of 5-9 green chromis to my 110g reef. However, I'd like to hear from some green chromis veterans out there on their schooling behavior.

I'm concerned that they will school for the first few weeks and then eventually scatter throughout the tank. What are your experiences?

The tank is 18"x18"x72" 110g with lots of LPS, softies, SPS frags.

Fish inlcude:
3" yellow tang
3" coral beauty
1" yellow-tailed blue damsel
BIG pair (5" & 3")of old True Percs in a group of 5 homegrown 100% tank-raised bubble-tipped anemones (for you anemone people out there)

Thanks,
Lawrence

 

[spectral_ranger]

I find that as long as there is some larger fish that swims around a lot, they'll school. Your tang and angel should take care of that. When I had nothing but the chromis in one of my tanks, they did tend to split up after a while.

Chris

 

[leclaire]

I was thinking the same thing. I have a blue damsel in the tank that would take on a Moray eel if one was in there.

Lawrence

 

[Nathan1]

Green Chromis are really neat, but they have a TERRIBLE initial survival rate of about 33%! If your fish makes it past one month, the chances are it will live for several years, but making to that one month point is a challange...

Like Spectral_Ranger says, green chromis school for protection, so if there is nothing threatening, they won't school.

-Nathan

[ July 31, 2001: Message edited by: Nathan ]

 

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by Nathan:
Green Chromis are really neat, but they have a initial survival rate of about 33%! If your fish makes it past one month, the chances are it will live for several years, but making to that one month point is a challange...

Like Spectral_Ranger says, green chromis school for protection, so if there is nothing threatening, they won't school.

Actually because of the common name problem there are 3 species of Chromis that are called Green Chromis and their survival rates do vary from species to species, their size varies from species to species and their schooling habits vary from species to species. Chromis viridis is the smallest at 3.5" and their survival rate is good, Chromis atripectoralis is about 4" and it's survival rate is the poorest, Chromis cinerascens ( though not commonly available ) is about 5" and it's survival rates are excellent and they will school even with no other fish in the tank.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[leclaire]

Well, thanks for the great information so far.

So David, how do I tell the three species apart? Any field marks that are obvious? I don't plan to add them all at one time so I need to make sure I get the same ones each time.

Lawrence

 

[reefer madness1]

And why is the survival rate so bad?? Twice Ive got 5 at a time. The first time six months ago, one made it,just a week ago none survived more than three days. I got a Vlamangi tang at the same time last week and hes doing great,so Im acclimating them well and have had no problems with any other fish

 

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by skeet:


So David, how do I tell the three species apart? Any field marks that are obvious? I don't plan to add them all at one time so I need to make sure I get the same ones each time.

Size for one is a great indicatur, colors on all of them are highly variable so that's not the best way, so the difference between C. viridis, C. atripectoralis and C cinerascens is that C. antripectoralis has a black area on the inner part of the pectoral fin ( easy way to remember "pectoral in the name" ) and the other two do not.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[pete]

I have 6 chromis viridis. Had for about 3 months now, only other fish in tank is a pseudochromis. My chromis still hang together even when not schooling-swimming back and forth.

 

[Sue Truett]

I have a school of 8 green chromis {chromis caerulea}that I have had for 3 1/2 yrs. They do not actively school anymore. They did at first now they just hang out in the water column. Very beautiful fish and very healthy. In the last 3 weeks we tore down my 120 sps tank and totally reaquascaped it and after that they actively schooled for the first 2 days getting used to their new digs. In my 180 ecosystem tank I have just found and added 8 blue reef chromis {chromis cyanea} within the last 2-3 weeks. All came out of the bag eating and are very healthy too. These do not school as I thought they would, but they are none the less beautiful fish. These do not hang out in the water together like the green chromis. These fish are all in tanks with larger tangs and clowns and neither the green or blue care less if larger fish are in there. So I have found with mine that having a larger fish doesn't make them do anything. In fact my green are so big they boss around the other fish. The blues have a bit to grow and become so bossy. HTH..

check out my 120 sps tank: http://suetruett.homestead.com/home.html www.marshreef.org/members

[ July 31, 2001: Message edited by: Sue Truett ]