Fighting Chromis

[MadSkillzMan]

Hi guys. i have a 20gal with 2 blue chromis, 1 fire goby, some snails, and a decent amount of LR.

Ive had the 2 chromis for sometime, but only recently, one decided to start picking on the other, and now the little guy spends most his time hiding behind the powerhead.

Usually the 2 dont bother each other AT ALL until later in the day. (which i find weird) so.. i dont know, ive read a few things saying i need more, could thtat be why?

Or that i just have to remove one of them.

Now if i get more to fix the problem, does it have to be BLUE chromis? or can i throw some green ones in there?

NObody bothers the goby. If i get something else peaceful, like a clownfish, would the chromis attack em or no?

thanks in advance guys!

 

[AngeloM3]

yah.. its not good to have just two

and you could put... blue, blue-green or green in there

add 3 more, minimum

 

[bertoni]

Chromis seem to do that sort of picking. There's isn't much you can do. Adding more won't solve the problem, and the tank is pretty small for more fish, anyway.

 

[conchead]

I've heard it's best to keep an odd number of them, not an even number, I have 3 and they seem ok.

 

[AngeloM3]

they do pick...... but its only to establish the dominate fish in the group

only having two they will pick on each other...... having more... for some reason... the dominate one will be established and they wont really pick on each other once that happens

 

[MadSkillzMan]

yea sounds like keeping tiger barbs..i just rearranged all my rockwork...the dust is settling, but they both seem better...ill grab 1-3 more in the next couple days, thanks guys.

 

[gabegmonkey]

For your size tank (and the fish you already have...) you should try just one more Chromis... it'll get you an odd number (Which definately works) and keep you from totally overstocking the tank... The dominant fish will still pick on your fish but he won't be able to concentrate on one fish and he'll be all over the place guarding his turf... the other two will be fine... I have 3 in a 20 Hi and they're doing great...

 

[Fiddler]

i have 3 myself, each a little bigger than the other, they all do a little picking on eachother, even the little one tries to be the boss once in a while, but as far as i can tell they all get enough food and swim around the tank free of fear

 

[tgunn]

I had 6; 1 got picked on to death and was lost in the tank never to be seen again. 3 stronger ones picked on two others until they were horribly beaten up. I finally managed to catch the two and put them in the sump. One of these two recently died and the other looks to be on death's door..

The 3 remaining ones are fine.. I'm not planning on getting any more.

Tyler

 

[LivinThaLyfe33]

adding a fish wont do anything...if they have been in the tank for a while they most likely wont get along and will see the other as an outcast and gang upon him...IMO...take them to your LFS for store credit and geta goby or clown pair..much more peaceful and more personality...chromis can get rather large for the 20 gal and having three in there wouldnt be great since they're basically to start your bioload anyway...unless you like them

 

[MadSkillzMan]

wow tyler that really isnt cool...i hope i have better luck than that

 

[SethSPST]

I had a pair that never piked on each other. Then one died mysteriously and the other hasn't been the same since. He just stays in the rockwork. Maybe one was male and one female?

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7739931#post7739931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MadSkillzMan
wow tyler that really isnt cool...i hope i have better luck than that

When I originally posted about my problems with them picking on one another, I got an interesting theory posted... According to another reefer, most Chromis are actually cyianide caught. In that case it's apparently not surprising that some just won't make it. The guy who posted that reply had went through a good number of them to get a livving set for his tank. Whether they all come caught this way I don't know, but interesting none the less.

I definitely wasn't too happy that they died off; they do make an interesting group of little fish in the tank. I'm glad that 3 seem to be doing just fine..

Tyler