RussellHill
Member
I am planning the stocking list for my 125g. As part of my list I had planned to get 3-5 Zebra Dartfish. I have started looking at Chromis as an alternative. I have never had them before.
Questions
1) are they hardy? A LFS manager once told me that they just up and die for no reason.
2) Do the Black Axil Chromis pick each other off like the Blue/green Chromis?
Thank you
Questions
1) are they hardy? A LFS manager once told me that they just up and die for no reason.
2) Do the Black Axil Chromis pick each other off like the Blue/green Chromis?
Thank you
. Uronema marinum is another major concern, it's sometimes even referred to as "Chromis Disease", as it's so common in chromis and often proves fatal, contributing to their poor track record in captivity. I may be way off base, but this seems to be a relatively new phenomenon, as up until fairly recently chromis were almost universally recommended as beginner fish, or "bullet proof" fish, like pajama cardinals or damsels. Nowadays it seems you can't go into a LFS without noticing that a good portion of the chromis have what looks like open wounds on them (the uronema). As far as whether or not the black axils are more likely to be sociable with one another long term, I highly doubt it. Black & white chromis, blue/green chromis, blackbar chromis and pretty much every other chromis IME doesn't seem to truly "school" with each other once they hit maturity, and I have a feeling this rumor that the black axils (considerably more expensive than the typical blue/green) *work* as a group of multiple individuals, more reliably so than the blue/green, was sprung up by salesmen trying to convince people it's worth the extra $$$. I will say this though, they *do* seem to fare better, especially during that crucial acclimation period, but I attribute this to the more humane, sustainable collection methods in Fiji (where they're typically caught), than differences in biology. If you truly like the color and behavior exhibited by chromis, than I'd say it's worth investing in 1 or 2 black axils, for the reasons I just pointed out, but if you're getting them for the schooling factor, I'd say keep looking (zebra dartfish, resplendent anthias, Lori's anthias, longspine cardinals etc.). Good luck with whatever you end up doing :beer:
