Blue Chromis?

[dirk_brijs]

I currently have a 165gl DT (72" long) with 9 false perculas 2 Blue Tangs and 1 Blenny would me system be large enough to add a small school of blue Chromis?
Was thinking of adding 5 or 6?
Is my system large enough to add those extra fish?

[geaux xman]

keeping them alive is the tough part. i've seen numerous post here about how people would start with 8-10 and it would dwindle down to 2.

i bought 7 and now i'm down to 1.

[dirk_brijs]

as I read on the net they seem pretty hardy fish no?
Anyway question was more if my system is big enough?
Maybe reason for them dying is too many fish in a too small system?

[RBGreef]

They are hardy but will kill each other off in time. I have started with 20+ two different time so over 40 total and I am down to 2. I have a 260 gallon full reef and they just pick off the smaller ones. Hope this helps.

[jhentr]

I bought 8 two months ago seems to be doing fine as of now. No picking on each other as far as I can tell. The biggest about 2" and the smallest at 1".

[dirk_brijs]

again guys the question was more about my system.
Would my165Gl tank be large enough to handle another 5 or 6 fish in it?

[geaux xman]

shouldnt be a problem at all IMO.

you would want to get them small anyways.

[cubsFAN]

There is a good chance that the chromis and your clowns will eventually kill each other off until only a pair remains of each. Full grown chromis are pretty big, but I rarely see any in the hobby. I also hear they are hardy, but that makes me wonder...

[tcmfish]

I think most people in this thread think you are talking about blue-green chromis, when in actuality I think you are refering to the atlantic blue chromis, Chromis cyaneus.

I think the system can handle it. But like others have said you will most likely end up with a single or pair, and those 9 clowns will not live long term, FYI. I know you didn't want to get into that, but I'm warning you. Once they mature a pair will turn on the others.

Oh and are you a pirate "would me system"? I know it was a typo just thought it was funny :lol:

[geaux xman]

i dont mean to hijack,

but since we're on the subject, would the success rate of 2 large(~2.5") blue green chromis do okay together? or would they still attack each other?

my LFS has some very big ones for 18 bucks.

[dirk_brijs]

I think most people in this thread think you are talking about blue-green chromis, when in actuality I think you are refering to the atlantic blue chromis, Chromis cyaneus.

I think the system can handle it. But like others have said you will most likely end up with a single or pair, and those 9 clowns will not live long term, FYI. I know you didn't want to get into that, but I'm warning you. Once they mature a pair will turn on the others.

Oh and are you a pirate "would me system"? I know it was a typo just thought it was funny :lol:

I have my 9 perculas now over 2 year and have 2 established couples with them. Cant say its always piece but they seem to tolerate one another soo far.

[romanr]

you should have no problem. Buy 2 more than you intend to end up with to account for losses. Feed them at regular intervals @ least 3 times per day(more is better). This will keep aggression down some. Make sure they are all about the same size. Provide a nice strong current for them to swim against. Good luck.

[ackee]

I assume that you are referring to the only truly deep blue Blue Chromis, the Caribbean Chromis cyaneus. I have had several of these fish, and have one now, an old resident. He was one of a school of four I caught and brought back from the Keys 6 years ago. They were all small, about an inch TL, and did fine for the first year and a half, loosely schooling at times. As they got larger they became more aggressive to one another, never bothering any other species of fish, but establishing a definite pecking order among themselves. The weaker of the group disappeared after 18 months as they approached about 1.5 inches, and by the time the remaining three were 2 inches long the smallest was harrassed to death by the other two. At about 2.5 inches one of the two survivors pursued the other constantly, until it to eventually vanished. I was left with one fish, now about 4 inches long, which is a hardy and excellent community fish, minding its own business and thriving. These are extremely difficult fish to hand net, in an aquarium or in the sea, so removing the weaker fish is seldom posible in an aquarium with much rockwork.

This pattern happened to me twice before, and I'll never keep more than one in the same aquarium again. As they mature, they become extremely hostile to conspecifics. In the ocean there is enough room for this territoriality to be harmless. In a 180 gal. tank with lots of live rock and hiding places the attitude was always 'this town ain't big enough for the both of us.'

The much more commonly available Pacific blue/green Chromis is a different fish altogether, and seems to school with no conflict. I have no personal experience with them, but this is my impression. Atlantic/Carribean true Blue Chromis are notoriously territorial among themselves as they get bigger, and "ending up with one" seems to be the usual outcome.