Dead BG Chromis this morning... What killed it?

[MrTuskfish]

Exactly. I don't know if feeding a lot will prevent it, however.

I agree. IMO fish are aggressive because in their genetic make-up; hunger has nothing to do with it.

It sounds like you're looking for a schooling fish; this is very hard to see in the confines of a home tank. A small school of chromis, or almost any other fish, will take up a much bigger area on the reef than we can offer at home. Two fish, from the same 'school" can be at opposite corners of a 300 gal tank, but that's still staying close to each other for them. This question comes up a lot, and I've never really seen any SW fish that school (like FW tetras, for instance). Maybe juvi coral catfish are an exception, but don't go that way.

 

[BBraker]

You might think about a different track as well: when I hear of a green chromis with a "red injury" I immediately suspect Uronema. It is also called "red band disease". Try typing "chromis" + "Uronema" in Google images - look at those pictures - just to make sure that is not what you saw.

Bill

 

[treesprite]

buying chromis, expect death. they will usually dwindle down to 1 or 2.

i bought groups of 4-5 2 times and this was my experience each time.

Same here, tried it 3 times. The one I have left this time is going bye bye soon, to be replaced with the cardinals I already ordered.

If you are simply looking for a group to swim together, I suggest cardinals over chromis.

 

[Khemul]

I agree. IMO fish are aggressive because in their genetic make-up; hunger has nothing to do with it.

The concept isn't so much hunger as perceived competition. The idea isn't so much that they are hungry. It is that they feel there is not enough food available and they need to thin out the school to cut back on competition. Whether that is true or not is probably impossible to prove without teaching the fish to talk. It sort of also goes counter to the common suggestion of "feed more often" (which is often listed as proof of the concept) since it isn't about the fish wanting more food.

It probably also doesn't help that not all BG Chromis's sold are actually BG Chromis's. I've seen various species of Amblyglyphidodon damsels basically labeled Blue/Green/Yellow Chromis depending on the species.


Personally I think it is difficult to fight nature. In the wild dozens if not hundreds of Chromis's would be fighting for position in the school. People may think putting 5 or 6 fish in a tank makes a school, but in the wild that is probably much less then the standard death-toll due to simple competition.

I doubt even or odd numbers matters either to the fish. There is no proof they are capable of counting, or that they have a form of OCD that forces them to go homicidal if placed in even numbers.

 

[snorvich]

The concept isn't so much hunger as perceived competition. The idea isn't so much that they are hungry. It is that they feel there is not enough food available and they need to thin out the school to cut back on competition. Whether that is true or not is probably impossible to prove without teaching the fish to talk. It sort of also goes counter to the common suggestion of "feed more often" (which is often listed as proof of the concept) since it isn't about the fish wanting more food.

It probably also doesn't help that not all BG Chromis's sold are actually BG Chromis's. I've seen various species of Amblyglyphidodon damsels basically labeled Blue/Green/Yellow Chromis depending on the species.


Personally I think it is difficult to fight nature. In the wild dozens if not hundreds of Chromis's would be fighting for position in the school. People may think putting 5 or 6 fish in a tank makes a school, but in the wild that is probably much less then the standard death-toll due to simple competition.

I doubt even or odd numbers matters either to the fish. There is no proof they are capable of counting, or that they have a form of OCD that forces them to go homicidal if placed in even numbers.

Well stated. Even/odd is irrelevant except in roulette.