Chromis School/Shoal Questions

[rockerboi09]

I’m thinking about adding Chromis to my tank. From what I’ve read through here there only seems to be a handful of people to have success with keeping multiple in one tank. Based on what I’ve read, it seems that they seem to not pick on each other if they are kept in ideal situations. The most successful Chromis keeping I’ve seen seem to have lots of strong flow in the tank, keep them in large schools (some success with 5-7, but more luck with 10+), and if they are fed similarly to how you would plan to do the average Anthia (3+ times per day).

I would like to hear from those of you that have had success to see if these things were part of your reef. I would also like to hear from the people who haven’t had success to see if they were doing these things and still didn’t have success. Finally, I’d like to hear from anyone successful if they have any tips or theories on why they were able to keep a school or shoal. Thanks!

 

[e048]

I have 7 in my tank
They get fed twice a day flow is moderate they do quarrel sometimes but nothing serious they are the smallest fish in the tank

 

[rockerboi09]

I have 7 in my tank
They get fed twice a day flow is moderate they do quarrel sometimes but nothing serious they are the smallest fish in the tank

How long have you had them?

 

[Robert M]

I have 4 green chromis and I have never noticed any issues at all. They eat well and are probably the most timid fish I have, aside from my goby. I've had them for a year or so.

 

[kaxt]

I have three in a 93 gallon cube with moderate flow. I've had them for a little over a year, and while they do charge each other every once in a while I've never seen any real aggression between them. They each have their own small cave in my rock work but when they are out in the open they generally are together.

I feed frozen foods once a day.

 

[ca1ore]

May work as a group while they are small, but in the longer term you are more likely than not to end up with just one or two. Anthias like feeding schedule is really helpful. They tend to carry uronema, so QT is absolutely critical. They do t really schoal, unless you count fighting.

 

[Dmorty217]

May work as a group while they are small, but in the longer term you are more likely than not to end up with just one or two. Anthias like feeding schedule is really helpful. They tend to carry uronema, so QT is absolutely critical. They do t really schoal, unless you count fighting.

+1 I had a group of 25 chromis in my 220g and 8 months later I took 11 back to the LFS. In between that 8 months I had bought a total of 35 chromis and ended up with 11, so not great success by any stretch of the imagination. They don't add much to your tank IMO

 

[Sapelo]

I have 3 in my 300 gallon, they've been together for two years now. The squabble and two are clearly more dominant than the third, but there's plenty of room for everyone to get out of the way. Having said that, I would hardly say that they school or shoal, ever. It's more like every fish for himself.
I think a lot of the ability to keep multiples is related to tank space and rock work. They all want their own territory and will defend that space to the end.
So 1. if you want to keep multiples it's about space and 2. if you're hoping they will hang out together that's really unlikely, especially over time.

 

[64Ivy]

I've got about a dozen Black Axils in my 500g. They don't really shoal unless they're feeling threatened then they will bunch up for a few minutes before going back to their normal more independent behavior. After having them for a few months now, I haven't noticed much in the way of quarreling though it does seem that the runt of the bunch usually gets relegated to hanging out on it's own.

 

[Starrhmsp]

I inherited two big ones, one is obviously a lot bigger and I'm noticing since I got the tank (120g) the bigger one chases the other right back to his cave every time. Doing some rearranging of rock this week but if it doesn't stop I'll probably get rid of one or both. Not sure yet, they're super fast.

 

[rockerboi09]

Thanks for the advice everyone. It wasn't as big of a deal if they school or shoal to me, just stay alive. I may look into getting something else.

 

[FortyFour]

I didn't have success with them and wish I didn't try for a number of reasons.

 

[jayball]

I have three in my tank going on 16 months now (they were the first fish). They usually hang out with each other at the front glass. Got them as .5 inch long and they are now fully grown (one is a runt but only the clowns pick on him) They each sleep in a separate rock structure at night from tallest to smallest rock goes biggest to smallest fish so they have a distinct hierarchy. May help that there are three distinct territories in my tank (each a large rock structure separated by open water and sand). Standard 90 gallon fed a mix of frozen once a day with moderate to high flow with a gyre 130 and a 1500 gph korilla cycling on/off every minute.