is everyone embaresed they cant keep chromis

[reefinmike]

i dont know why but i always read how hardy chromis are this and that. with the exception of chromis, in the saltwater hobby i have Never killed a fish or coral. yet whenever i get chromis 1/2 of them die. kinda wierd....

[Sk8r]

That's because they turn on each other and eliminate those they consider superfluous. They're damsels. Wh'd'ya expect? :)

[yoboyjdizz]

I've bought three 2 years ago and still have all three... Though one always looks like it might not make it through the harrasment here and there but latly its looking better!

[Cody Ray]

They always kill one another till there is one left, then that one dies....

[scarter]

I bought four about a year ago still have all four and have never seen an aggression

[reefinmike]

i never see aggression, just dead ones in the morning. i still have three that have been doing fine for 4 months...

[Bebo77]

i started out with 10 and now i have 4.. they will usuallly kill eachother off to a school of less than 5.

[Jeffrey Porter]

got the first 5 in may o5 and the second 5 in dec 05. all in a 75 biggest is 2 1/2 inches smallest 1 3/4 inches.http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/98417IMG_0257_smaller.jpg :rollface:

[Galilean]

Maybe you are not feeding enough. I did an experiment a few years ago on overcrowding. I kept 3 blue yellow-tail damsels, 1 four-stripe damsel, 1 domino damsel, 12 green chromis, 1 kole tang, 1 yellow tang, 1 convict tang, 1 falco hawk, 2 chalk basslets, 1 royal gramma, 1 six-line wrasse and a host of shrimps, crabs, snails, and other invertebrates in a 20 gal for over a year. The tank was full of live rock for hiding places, but with so many animals nothing could really hide for more than a minute or so with out defending its hole. I fitered it with a 10 gallon refugium full of caulerpa.

All 12 of the chromis lived and grew from about 2 cm when I got them to 6 cm or so by the end of the year. They were fed frozen mysis until full twice a day and would eat from my fingers. All of the other fish lived also, but I lost some peppermint shrimp to the hawkfish and a hermit crab or two to the wrasse.

[FishyLover]

I wouldn't be embarrased:) I don't know anyone who has lost more fish than me and my bf! I think we started out with 2 chromis's. We had a cow fish get stressed out and let out his toxin killing almost our whole tank!

But my best friend has 2 and they were her 3rd and 4th fish! I don't understand haha

[Triggerfish]

i've tried keeping a school on 3 different times and all 3 have failed due to predation, the latest pack of 8 were eaten by a bluethroat trig.

3 things i have read concering these fish.
1. the group needs to be large
2. frequent feedings
3. helps to have a tank mate that will make them want to stay together=(school for protection)