Schooling fish are awesome!

[bluemarlin]

Recently I lost a Pearlscale so I'm focusing on the better side of things in my tank right now.
I have 16 Green Chromis and 9 Blue Chromis in my 180 gallon tank. The Green school together and swin almost as one. Escpecially if one of the larger fish come too close. Thats cool!
My Blue Chromis don't really school but they do hang out together. They are hilarious! They play hide and seek all day in and around the LR. You'll see two peek out here and another there and then they are gone! Quickly a couple will appear over there somewhere and then duck back into the rocks. Its crazy! I swear they are playing hide and seek with each other because when one finds another, they swim around the tank like crazy and then start the game over again.
I just love schooling fish. If you have never had any chromis I highly recommend them. They are harty, reef safe and easy to care for.

 

[lotr_clown]

Are the chromis aggressieve? I know they area a type of damsel and those guys get real territorial. You must have a lot of little ones, don't they get to 3" each? This could be a problem when they get older especially in my new 105.

 

[bang guy]

They lead male and dominant females (2) are agressive, but only to the rest of the shoal. I've never witnessed any chromis acting agressively to anything except another chromis.

 

[pontiac]

Amazing ... I really like your algae, do you have any tang? I like algae en the aquarium, but i like tangs too Any of you have both in the same aquarium?

 

[bang guy]

I have a Yellow Tang. It doesn't eat the Halimeda and I replace the caulerpa every week with a fresh handful from the refugium.

 

[catera]

COULD I HAVE A SMALL school of chromis in my 55g?

 

[karlas]

we have 3 chromis and they get along great and never bother any of the other fish. they chase each other some times but never get nasty. just like BlueMarlin said its more of a play thing. you could put some in a 55 a small school maby 4 of them. the chromises do not get nasty like the damsels. they are very active fish and add nice color to the tank

 

[bang guy]

If you decide on a few Chromis get either 3 or more than 4. getting 2 or 4 rarely works out.

 

[kris walker]

I have chromis, and I love them. They are the first successful saltwater fish I've been able to keep for longer than 2 months. They are not nearly as aggressive as the notoroius blue or yellow-striped damsels. And as mentioned, they basically chase each other around a little here and there, but nothing serious.
I have 4, and one is about 60% the size of the others. Still no problems though.
If I were you, I would get more than 5 for a 55 gallon. To get behavior characteristic of schooling fish as I understand it, you need roughly more than 5 (the more the better).
Question: what is the difference between a "green chromis" and a "blue chromis"? Scientific names would be helpful here. I have what I thought were green chromis, but they look rather blue most of the time in the tank VHO lights I keep them under.
Cheers,
kris

 

[charvel]

The blackaxil chromis is the green one(Chromis atripectoralis)and the blue -green chromis is (chromis viridis) I believe blackaxil is more green and also gets a little bigger. You can tell by the pectoral fins, theres a little black there.

 

[danfishman2]

i have 4 black axil chromis, they r so cool they follow each other around all the time!

 

[danfishman2]

Bang Guy y not have 4 chromis i have 4 and have had no problems?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by danfishman2:
<strong>Bang Guy y not have 4 chromis i have 4 and have had no problems?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Chromis are a social fish. Their heirarchy consists of one dominant male, two breeding females, and the rest are immature females (regardless of age). The dominant fish in the group will need to fight to achieve and keep the top spot on the hierarchy. If you have two Chromis the dominant fish will constantly harass the other fish and it may slowly starve as the dominant consumes all the food. If you have three then the harassment is split in half and everyone is able to thrive regardless of the harassment. The two breeding females also have to fight for their spot in the hierarchy. If you have four chromis the breeding females will harass the fish at the bottom. It will not be able to thrive and may hide a lot, be easily spooked and be malnourished. Probably to point of near starvation and they will seldom grow at the same rate as the other fish which compounds the problem.
If you get five or more then the harassment is tolerable and everyone knows their place in the hierarchy.

 

[bluemarlin]

Bang guy said it pretty well.
You can have some chromis in your 55 gallon tank. It depends on what else you have in there too. Biolode is key.
My Green and Blue Chromis have never been aggressive towards any other creature. The Green swim within their school and rarely break formation. The blue are too busy playing hide and seek to worry about other fish.
Overall I think they are peaceful and loving fish.

 

[brianf01]

What schooling fish could I add to my tank:
I have 45 Gal. about 50lbs live rock, 40lbs live sand, CPR skimmer. 1 Clown, 1 yellow tang, 2 shrimp, about 4 hermit crabs, low lighting right now.
I wanted to get a Manderin fish, but I need more live rock to sustain it, so I was thinking of getting some blue damsels to brighten up the tank. I get complaints about not seeing any fish, and I dont want to put money into lights and coral right now.
Would 4 blue damels be worse than 4 Chromis? Do you think the bio load will be too high? Tank is about 2 years old, but I moved it 2 months ago so its not as stable as it should be.

 

[bluemarlin]

Blue damsels won't school. They are meaner fish too as they mature. The Green Chromis are the opposite. They school together for security and they almost move as one across the tank. I'd say a school of 5 is perfect. (You'd have to maintain your water qualities and good practices of course)
Good luck.

 

[almarktool]

in a 200 gal tank would a clown or huma huma trigger go after the green chromies?

 

[bluemarlin]

A clown trigger would be more interested in crustations wouldn't it? I never housed my clown trigger with chromis but it ate Krill almost exclusively. I would think something like a grouper may go after the small chromis.

 

[bigkglen]

Good morning,
I love the different colors and personalities of the Chromis. I've been looking to add 6-8 of the Black Axil Chromis to my 260, but I can't find them!!
Any direction you could offer?!?!?