Gang of blue reef chromis?

[Moe_K]

I like the look of the blue reef chromis.
I was thinking a gang of 6 of them might look great in my 125.

Then I remembered chromis will often start in a pack, but like the Kurgan, there can be only one.

Looking for direct experience with this fish. Anyone have a pack that didn't eventually dwindle down to one or two fish? Or are we talking a waste of money here?

 

[Turbosnail]

In my 90 I had 5 of them for over a year. Then I had a crash and lost them all. I just started a 125g and I have 6 in there now so I will let you know how it goes. I like the way they hang out together all the time.

 

[reefkeeper2]

I have six that have been with me for about 5 years. There is definitely a pecking order, so a good sized tank where the one at the bottom can retreat to a safe place helps. Introduce them all at once. Later additions, though possibly successful have a rougher time of it. I also found through experience that your better off paying a little more for a larger specimen. None of the little guys I bought made it.

 

[Ruge13]

I have had a school of 5 about a year. I would get more if I had the room. They stick together.

 

[stingythingy45]

It's been a long time since I started with 3 and ended up with one.
But from surfing all the reefer sites through the years, I've heard the key to success is frequent feedings.
Small amounts with a fish feeder.

 

[Moe_K]

Just so we're clear, not talking normal chromis here. Talkin' about these fellas:

 

[SteveDola]

i think the key is to keep them well fed. if they dont get fed regularly then a dominate will bully the others and out compete for food. I personally dont feed enough so they dwindle from 6 to 1 over a few months time. Ive made the mistake twice so I wont be attempting a pack of chromis any time in the near future. Chromis do look nice but for the money Id have a small school of cardinals.

 

[bossreef]

I had 8 green chromis a long time ago. 8 turned into 7. 7 turned into 5. 5 turned into 3, etc... until there were none. Probably had them for 3 months until they all disappeared. In hindsight, a cover on my overflow would have prevented all of the chromis suicides.

The chromis picked on each other all the time. They also swam around as a school which was quite cool.

 

[Turbosnail]

Just so we're clear, not talking normal chromis here. Talkin' about these fellas:

Not the ones I have they are cool looking though.

 

[JohnK]

Funny this just came up, earlier today I was asking B about the typical chromis attrition factor.

I don't want to try to speak for him, but I thought his thinking made a lot of sense. Basically that if the chromis are continually feeling slightly threatened by other fish they will school for safety. With nothing prompting them to school for safety, they go into reproduction mode and it's survival of the fittest. ie, keep them with some other busy fish and they will be too distracted to start killing each other off.

 

[sixspeed]

Funny this just came up, earlier today I was asking B about the typical chromis attrition factor.

I don't want to try to speak for him, but I thought his thinking made a lot of sense. Basically that if the chromis are continually feeling slightly threatened by other fish they will school for safety. With nothing prompting them to school for safety, they go into reproduction mode and it's survival of the fittest. ie, keep them with some other busy fish and they will be too distracted to start killing each other off.

+one

 

[afboundguy]

I've tried keeping 2-3 in my 55 before with them eventually dwindling down to 1...

I don't want to try to speak for him, but I thought his thinking made a lot of sense. Basically that if the chromis are continually feeling slightly threatened by other fish they will school for safety. With nothing prompting them to school for safety, they go into reproduction mode and it's survival of the fittest. ie, keep them with some other busy fish and they will be too distracted to start killing each other off.

I've heard this before several times and agree with that line of thinking...

Just so we're clear, not talking normal chromis here. Talkin' about these fellas:

I've looked at these fish before and I really like them as they're different from the normal chromis... I say do it

 

[frank180reef]

great info, I started with 7 and have 1 left for what it is worth
I had the normal Chromis' though

 

[Aquaman_68]

Just so we're clear, not talking normal chromis here. Talkin' about these fellas:

man IME (close to 20 years ago)
Those r a pretty fish but they r also the meanest damsels I ever encountered...three times as aggresive as the green ones....& twice as aggressive as the straight blue ones

I never called them a chromis!!!
I called them the blue devils!!!