I've heard chromis can get aggressive at times

[crt81]

I have read from a a few people that chromis can get aggressive at times. Is this true?


Also do they get aggressive when new fish are added?

Should these fish be added last?

Or are these fish just aggressive towards other chromis?



Also this question is geared towards chromis going into a reef tank!

[Yunachin]

Chromis are a type of damselfish, which are notorious for being aggressive. The chromis are actually the less aggressive of the family. I wouldn't add them first but last and with fish that can hold there own against them. With lots of room to hide if needed aggression can be curbed dramatically and everyone will get along.

[crt81]

The fish I was considering was a pair of occ clowns, 1 midas, 1 fairy or flasher wrasse and maybe a royal gramma.

[cl2ysta1]

i have two chromis in my 220, and they only are agressive SOMETIMES with eachother. and even than its a 1 sec chase than they seem to forget what it was about and are best friends together

[Jmason95]

I had 5 in my 90 for over a year. They were the least aggressive fish in my system and they were the first fish I added...never a problem, my Cherub angel would pick on them.

[canesfan]

I have four rather large in my 180 and they have been model citizens.

[Genetics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11970814#post11970814 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crt81
The fish I was considering was a pair of occ clowns, 1 midas, 1 fairy or flasher wrasse and maybe a royal gramma.

The royal gramma may be more of a pain than the chromis. :D The midas is a nice additon as they swim in the water column and change colors. Wrasses are pretty cool, but you might want to look into a pair.

[DarthSimon]

I have 4 in my 120 and they get along with everyone in the tank... I have Anthias, smaller fish, bigger fish, tangs... No problems... They like to swim with the anthias.... I do see them lock lips sometimes... But never hurt each other...

[cy88]

I've been reading that the green chromis do kill each other over times. I am planning to add around 3 - 4 to my new 75G tank (probably the last ones), should i anticipate any problems?

I will have 2 clowns, blue tang, watchman goby and possibly one or two other small fishes.

[natan]

Yap, being their. Chromis CAN be aggressive to the point of killing fish. They do kill each other (untill 1 is left), and mine did kill a black molly 1.5 time their syze (used to cycle a tank long before they were added and far too adjile ank klever to remove). This said, they should be no problem at all with most species. Gramma, mandarin, clowns and gobies (and othere bottom dwellers) are at no risk at all. Small docile disler fish may be at some risk, especially if they are cilly enough to attempt making advances twards the chromis without the backup of real means of defence. In this case chromis can turn in to a nasty damsel for a few seconds, which can be enough 4 u to loose the fish. This is how my molly ended its career, 5 seconds at most was all it took.

[tom3201]

What is a midas?

[IPT]

My guess is a Midas Blenny. I just treid a Bi Color Blenny in my reef and watch him nip at 4 SPS in a matter of 5 mins. He's out now (I don't know of any SPS warnings with the Midas though so it should be fine).

I was looking for some blue. As much as I like them, I don't think a Chromis would be very kind to my 2 resident Firefish (even though they were there first). Chromis are beautiful fish though.

[cl2ysta1]

i have a firefish with two chromis. they honestly never bother anyone. I sometimes forget they are there.

[IPT]

really...maybe I should give it a try. If I can find a real small Chromis. I previously had two Chromis that were long term residents and tried to add a firefish. After several days of it cowering in the corner I took him back to the LFS. Though this time the Chromis would be the last added.

[Jmason95]

I really doubt that you'll have a problem with Chromis, I'm surprised to hear that anyone has ever had a problem with them or that they kill off each other over time? Now other members of the damsel family can definitely cause problems. Like I said before, I had 5 in my 90, they never fought with one another and they were the first fish I added to my tank. I had a Powder Blue Tang, a Tomato Clown, a Leopard and Sixline Wrasse(s) and a Cherub angel with them and the Chromis would occasionally get harassed by the tang and angel. My Chromis got big too. IMO I think it's good to put in either 2 or an odd number. They're cool, they'll school around the tank. I plan to add 7 in my 300 once it's cycled and once again they will be the first fish in. Also, firefish are one of the most timid fish out there, so there's a chance that just about any other fish could pick on them.

[Lightsluvr]

I have seven Chromis in my 95G Wave tank for their schooling effect. They were all very small specimens when placed in the tank at the same time.

They have grown larger together and show little aggression within the school and no aggression to the ocellaris clowns, Royal Gramma, Bangaii Cardinal or green mandarinfish.

Just my experience.

LL

[IPT]

Yeah, the Firefish are real timid. I had three Chromis. They killed one off, and the remaining larger one bullied the smaller one fairly regularly. I had a hard time adding new fish because they would be all over them. That was just my experience though. They both perished when my PH hit 10+ during an auto topoff failure, but I did enjoy them and the constant activity they displayed.

[sean48183]

IMO chromis are great fish. I have had 4 for about a year now and they are tough enough to handle some rough customers in my tank(lunar wrasse, big tomato clown, 4 stripe damsel, snowflake eel) and yet don't bother anybody either(except the eel who they gang bang when he tries to get near their hiding spot). They will scrap with each other once in awhile like darthsimon says but nothing to bad. Hey darthsimon what is up with the locking lips. Mine have done that forever but I can't figure out what the hell that means.

[redox]

I have had as many as 200 in a 220gal. Yes they are agressive when you dont feed them. Its not the small ones that get killed off,its the bigest ones that I seem to find on the ground. I guess the rest will run off the big ones when they get mean:D

[tom3201]

Locking lips is a dominance thing,like the rest of the animal world. It sets up the pecking order within the group.

[chwcdw]

I had 5 in my 90 and they have never been aggressive with any of the other fish including the 2 clowns that I put in when they were small. Like some of the others have said, they will occasionally squabble amongst themselves but thats it. Actually the smallest of the 5 just recently went carpet surfing and I didnt find him in time. So now there are only 4!

[HBtank]

Well, first, what species of chromis? There are many and all are different.

"Chromis" often get the peacefull label, and schooling label, and just like this thread they get all lumped together.....

The green are not bad with other fish but can be bad with eachother IME. I I had a blue reef that was as aggressive as any damsel out there... "My blue reef picked on every fish in my tank and killed 3 other chromis within 2 days.


Not bad with other fish, but can be with itself IMO
http://www.reefcorner.com/images/GreenChromisCloseup4.jpg


Can be a real problem with any fish, especially smaller than it IME

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/hcs3/images/dmsl9SM.jpg

So it depends. There are even more varieties, and all need to be treated seperately

[xanthurum]

I have 8 green chromis in my tank. They get in little chases with each other every now and again but they never bother any other tank inhabitants. I have had these 8 chromis for about 2 years now and only lost one about a day after I put them in the tank. They deffinately have a pecking order and as long as nobody gets out of line they usually get along great. There are 3 big ones 3 inches or so and the rest are small.

[DarthSimon]

I'm thinking that's them getting the wild thing on?? Who knows... :)

[2dawghouse]

I've never had a problem with them, but at feeding time, they ensure that they get their share.

[Jmason95]

Yeah they definitely don't skip on meals...

[kevin2000]

Chomis don't tend to be aggressive to other fish .... however chromis are notorious for killing each other. Many an aquarist (including myself) have tried to keep a shoal of chromis only to find the leader killing off one chromis at a time until your left with only one or two.

[paulamrein]

I can second that, I started with 6 and just flushed the 5th yesterday, the last one, found it's way back to the lfs. The are very docile to everyone, they can even be the brunt of aggression in most cases. But they seem to only school when they feel threatened which, most tanks pose no threat. My thought is, that if they don't need the numbers to feel safe, they eliminate the competition.

[sean48183]

I don't know why everyone says they kill each other off? Maybe the size tank I have them in but mine do a little chasing but never to the death. I think alot of people's chromis succumb to malnutrition. These fish need to be fed 2 times a day. They are open water feeders who eat continously all day the things drifting by. People who feed there tanks every 3 days should not keep these fish IMO. I feed small meals 2-3 times daily and mine are healthy as can be.

[paulamrein]

I feed the same as you, I think it's also the different types of Chromis. I had blue-green. Also, everything is individual based. All the stats on various fish seem to be the average. I've seen a Morish Idol live in the same system for years being the most aggressive eater in the tank. Seen a yellow tang getting picked on by a blenny. Everything in this hobby has variables, don't get me wrong, most fish live up to their name. But, there are always exceptions.

[fishwood]

I've personally never had a chromis problem...they definitely belong on a different branch of the damsel family tree.

[sean48183]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12062079#post12062079 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by paulamrein
I feed the same as you, I think it's also the different types of Chromis. I had blue-green. Also, everything is individual based. All the stats on various fish seem to be the average. I've seen a Morish Idol live in the same system for years being the most aggressive eater in the tank. Seen a yellow tang getting picked on by a blenny. Everything in this hobby has variables, don't get me wrong, most fish live up to their name. But, there are always exceptions.

Very true!

[IPT]

There was a big thread on here not too long ago about the shoal (school?) thing with Chromis. If I remember correctly, the majority (maybe not by a lot, but still the majority) had the fish picked off one by one until there were few left if not only one. My memory may be incorrect, but for sure there were plenty who could not keep many in one tank with great long term success (and of course there were a few who got away with it).

[SDguy]

I have a pair of chromis in my tank. They have recently begun doing funny dances (courting?) and have since become a bit scrappy with a few of my fish (anthias, midas blenny, etc.).