Chromis school?

[leopard_babe]

So I am trying to put a list of fish together for when my tank is ready to go. I had green chromis before. How many do you need to have them school?? Got any pictures of schooling fish?? What are some other small schooling fish?

 

[cranberry]

I wouldn't call chromis schooling fish but just fish that will hang out nicely together. A school is a very intricate thing that interacts like a single entity.... when I see multiple chromis' in a tank that don't portray schooling behaviour that I've seen.
It's been said they like to hang out in groups on 6 or more....

 

[srfisher17]

They may not school in the scientific sense; but, if the tank is big enough, the sure look like a school (or shoal) to me. Finding fish that will hang out together in a tank smaller than, say 100gal, isn't easy.

 

[leopard_babe]

I don't believe everything that I read. lol
i have seen on a few websites if kept in groups of 3 or more they will "school". However I have seen multiple chromis in a tank and they don't appear to have that schooling behavior.
I forgot how hard it is to stock a tank. There is just so much out there. Any opinions on stocking FOWLR 46??

 

[cranberry]

There's a buncjh in a 240 at my LFS... if you thump on th eglass they scatter like flies.... they don't do the "clump together schooling thing".
Stocking a tank is the hardest thing ever.... that's why I have nine tanks!

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by Leopard_babe
http:///forum/post/2751424
I don't believe everything that I read. lol
i have seen on a few websites if kept in groups of 3 or more they will "school". However I have seen multiple chromis in a tank and they don't appear to have that schooling behavior.
I forgot how hard it is to stock a tank. There is just so much out there. Any opinions on stocking FOWLR 46??
Picking fish is (almost) as personal as picking your spouse. Why not post what you like and go from there?

 

[leopard_babe]

Picking a fish is like picking a spouse. HAHAHAHA.
Angel fish- dwarf
Green mandarin- after a year or 2
Neon goby
Royal gamma
Hawkfish
Spotted puffer
I have keep many fish in the past. I had an eibli angel before. She was mean. I have never keep any of the other fish before. I am still doing research on them. I had a green mandarin in my other tank. She was fat and cute. I got rid of her when I got rid of the tank. I will say that I like fish with personality, like my old puffers and rays. But I love color. Since I am stick with the smaller fish I would love color as well.

 

[globaldesigns]

I have 6 bicolor chromis and 5 blue/green chromis. Both school, and sometimes they school all together

 

[leopard_babe]

Thats great!! Thank you for sharing!!
I know when I had them before I love the color they add to the tank.

 

[luca brasi]

In my short experience with my seven, about a year, they seem to be kept from fighting by my lyretail anthias chasing them. It would seem that they shoal for safety and also any fights are short because the anthias is the boss of the tank. So it seems to me to be a benefit to have a fish that will bully them a little. HTH

 

[leopard_babe]

Good to know. The 2 I had were dumb, and nonagressive. However I had a damsel from hell. So I am a little concerned about adding them to my tank. I am working on a stock list. I love the idea of schooling fish.
Thank you,
lb

 

[1journeyman]

Chromis in the wild are definitely schooling fish.
The bigger your tank, the more current you have, the more space you have for them to swim in, and the more they are fed all will contribute to their behavior.
I've posted my observations on Chromis many times before. i'm convinced their poor survival rate and aggessive behavior towards each other is directly related to our feeding habits. Chromis are small, very active fish that need frequent feedings. A very productive refugium dumping food into your water columm will go a long way towards keeping a successful school.

 

[gman08016]

I have 5 blue ones in my 150.They do stay together and swim together.I think the are a nice addition to any tank.My lfs did say the do better with at least 3 or more.

 

[99slvr35th]

I've had 6 that schooled in my 140 but eventually was eaten one by one.

 

[kazara]

Originally Posted by Leopard_babe
http:///forum/post/2751424
I don't believe everything that I read. lol
i have seen on a few websites if kept in groups of 3 or more they will "school". However I have seen multiple chromis in a tank and they don't appear to have that schooling behavior.
I forgot how hard it is to stock a tank. There is just so much out there. Any opinions on stocking FOWLR 46??
My Chromis do not get along at all. One will not let the other leave it hiding place.
peace

 

[michael1972]

I think that is the best thing i ever did was add my chromis i added 4 and they school so i had two green and two "look like purple with yellow tal"
they all school so it is 6 green and 2 yellow tal that all school and now all my fish school it is awesome they are no longer darting around the tank it looks so peacefull.

 

[paintballer768]

I just bought like 3 this past week for my 24. They beat the %^&* outta one and it died, but the last 2 get along great. Definitely very pretty fish when schooling. Mine are also so small that they dont eat mysis yet, only cyclopeeze so far.

 

[leopard_babe]

Thank you for all the input. I would love to do a little school. i don't think I will get the results that I want in my 46. It sounds like they need alot of room to have the schooling behavior.
Thanks everybody!!!!

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by Leopard_babe
http:///forum/post/2752134
Thank you for all the input. I would love to do a little school. i don't think I will get the results that I want in my 46. It sounds like they need alot of room to have the schooling behavior.
Thanks everybody!!!!
BUY THEM LOCALLY AFTER A LONG QUARANTINE PERIOD...
Not to knock Online Stores, but after many chromis deaths, I did some research. Chromis are caught by divers that squirt cyanide into a school of them which knocks them out so they can be caught. They recover for often only for a few weeks and then they die from respiratory issues.
One of the stores her in Minneapolis has a guy who is from asia where they catch them told me that they QT Chromis for several weeks because if they survive that, they will usually be OK. Ask your LFS how long they QT them. I have a feeling that the large Online stores probably do not do this and thus the mortality rate is very high. THey might live long enough to get past the two week guarantee, but not much longer.
I learned this the hard way after going through about 40 of them and several hundred dollars before I gave up
Just my 2 Cents.

 

[keri]

I have 3 blue/green chromis in my 65 that definately hang out together, I would call it a loose school in that they dont all turn at once most of the time but are almost always together. They look beautiful in the tank.
There is definately a pecking order but so long as they are fed at least 2 or 3 times a day (plus I have a lot of natural pods) they do well, a lot less bickering. Feed less and the little guy starts to lose some scales.
If you're worried you can invest in a little automatic feeder to drop in some freeze dried stuff to tide them over while you're at work.