Large damsel or chromis dominate reef tanks?

[sonofgaladriel]

Hello all.
I'm looking for images, or videos, of large reef tanks that are blue damsel or chromis dominate or specific. Meaning, a large reef tank that only has huge numbers of blue damsels or huge schools of chromis as fish livestock swimming amongst the corals.
I'm considering the idea for my next display but would like to see how others may have done it.
Could something like this be sustainable in a closed reef system?
I was wondering if something like this could be sustained in a closed system?
http://www.barryandjodiekiwi.org/photogallery/IMG_1850--Blue Chromis and coral.jpg
Thoughts?
Thanks
Sean

 

[HarrsCars]

Howdy Sean,


Thats a cool look. But I only got 10 in my 300 they look lonely when you show us that pic.

Good luck
Mike

 

[Oldude]

I have 18 chromis in my reef and they are very cool. They school and flit in around amongst the acro's whenever they feel threatened or fight with each other. I think with the amount of them living together in a 400 gal reef full of sps they seem to act very close to the way they do in nature & similar to your picture.However that said, they are just part of the 70 fish in the tank but are obviously a big part of the reef's dynamic.
How big is the tank you are planning?

 

[sonofgaladriel]

I have two options right now in regards to tanks.
1: Keep my existing 240 cube style tank and re-convert it back to saltwater.
2: I've been seriously looking for a good used 500 to 700 gallon rectangular tank to replace the cube. My wife would like for me to have a tank that will sit closer to the wall and build cabinetry around it. She doesn't like the way the cube sticks out into my game room.
To be honest, even I have be considering moving back to a more standard rectangular tank, but going 10 foot long and at least 42 inches tall for a different approach and a more 'display' like tank.
However, not having found one in almost 6 months, I've been giving some thought recently into just keeping the current tank and seeing how it would look with this damsel dominate set up.
Keeping the exiting tank would be far less expensive and far less work, but I am itching for something new.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.....
Here's a video of my 240 back when it was SPS several years ago:
http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y90/sonofgaladriel/?action=view&current=Reefunder20Ks.flv

 

[quincy2008]

I have 7 large Chromis in my 220. I am in the process of upgrading to a 300 and would like to double the amount of Blue-green Chromis. They have become my favorite fish in the reef. I do not know what the magic number would be for a large school in a large reef tank.

 

[Leonardo_]

Hello Sean, really liked you reef cube and I remember it very well. It was one of the first tanks I followed here on RC when I joined
Why don't you consider Apogon? They will form a tight packed school and are 100% friendly to each other. I will have 50+ in my next Formosa Forest.

This Japanese "Rainbow Lagoon 2" also have a large school of damsels

Leonardo

 

[Bax]

I allwasy admired your cube .

I really like the way the damsels a chromis duck in and out of the coral branches as well, it a great concept for a large display. Even if they are mean litte basteeerds!

I've kept the yellow tails, both c. parasema & c. hemicyanea and the parasema is by far more peaceful and could be kept in great numbers in a big tank with out too much blood shed.

And although they are absolute bullys, since they are sooooo small , I like the three stripes damsels, d. aranus, for some contrast.

A bunch of these with a large group of chromis ... and maybe a pink tail triger to spark shoaling would be cool!

Add a few janitorial tangs and you've got a pretty natural looking reef tank!

I'd have to toss in a dozen or so Orchid dottyvbacks as well as I am just hooked on these rock dwellers.

Anyway, nice idea, I'd like to watch you redo your tank, what ever you do.

 

[huig]

Hi,

What would be nice in a similar tank is keeping the rockwork low and get one very large colony (or pseudo colony) of a (fast growing) branching coral. Sometimes less is more. So the fish swim above the coral as in nature and dart in as they suspect danger.

Be sure to 'overdo' it on the numbers otherwise they kill each other.
I had 7 in a 100 g tank, fed them 5-8 times daily, but after a while only 3 remained.

Check this vid of them in the wild
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c81w0B8L6Lw
http://video.tiscali.it/canali/truveo/3939015181.html

 

[Leonardo_]

Hi,

What would be nice in a similar tank is keeping the rockwork low and get one very large colony (or pseudo colony) of a (fast growing) branching coral. Sometimes less is more. So the fish swim above the coral as in nature and dart in as they suspect danger.

Be sure to 'overdo' it on the numbers otherwise they kill each other.
I had 7 in a 100 g tank, fed them 5-8 times daily, but after a while only 3 remained.

Check this vid of them in the wild
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c81w0B8L6Lw
http://video.tiscali.it/canali/truveo/3939015181.html

A bit like my old tank, but then in a larger tank with more open space That's what I'm going to do

Leonardo

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I do appreciate the input and personal experiences.
Leonard- That's the tank that has inspired me to this line of thought. Thank you for posting it here. I wish there was a video of that particular tank online somewhere.
I'd really like to see how all those damsels really interact with each other and the environment. Thank you also for posting the pic of your tank above. Truly magnificent! I am quite jealous. I'd love to have a large mature staghorn like your centerpiece.
Bax- You've got the idea, a large school plus a single 'predatory' or 'intimidating' specimen to keep the chromis/damsels in motion!
Huig-I've watched all the chromis/damsel videos I can find on youtube.com and some of them are truly inspiring. My wife thinks I have a disorder as I watch the same 20 second video over and over and over

 

[huig]

Leonardo very nice tank!

My goal is trying to fill my 300 g with a huge pseudo colony of heliopora caurulea and have a large school of chromis (means expanding the 10 I have right now)
Just ad a few other simple corals for some color.
like here in this pic

 

[kentrob11]

I am meeting with my concrete subcontractor tomorrow to finalize design plans for a large concrete tank that will be poured with the basement of our new home. It will be 11x7x5 internal dimensions and I have the exact same idea in my head! I was thinking of doing about 50 yellow tails, 50 large green chromis, 50 small striped cardinals and a smaller number of 3-4 different varieties. I have always been inspired by the large damsel/chromis schools and their behavior in nature and wanted a system big enough to replicate it, hence the 2800 gallon monstrousity I've got in the works

 

[sonofgaladriel]

I am meeting with my concrete subcontractor tomorrow to finalize design plans for a large concrete tank that will be poured with the basement of our new home. It will be 11x7x5 internal dimensions and I have the exact same idea in my head! I was thinking of doing about 50 yellow tails, 50 large green chromis, 50 small striped cardinals and a smaller number of 3-4 different varieties. I have always been inspired by the large damsel/chromis schools and their behavior in nature and wanted a system big enough to replicate it, hence the 2800 gallon monstrousity I've got in the works

Great minds think alike!
Seriously very jealous based on your plan. You should be able to create a stunning reef with those dimensions. I would think you could double your livestock figures though and still have room for more.
IAre you planning on creating a huge surge device to make it even more realistic? If I can find my 600 to 700 gallon, I'll definately be utilizing a surge of some kind, air injected and everything to make it look like a real wave moving through.

 

[huig]

@Kentrob: Damn I wanted to upgrade to a 800 g and now you make me feel like I' m going to set up a nano.

@sonofgaladriel: Thanks to you it's going to be a youtube night for me ;-)

 

[huig]

check out RSCD if you' re looking for a wave/surge

 

[kentrob11]

Surge it is There will be a single 2x2x8 vertically mounted acrylic tank on the main floor above the basement tank that will be divided into two sections lengthwise. Each section will have it's own 4" bottom mounted outlet and 4000GPH feed pumps and will be set to alternte, each feeding the opposite end of the tank through (3) 3" outlets into the tank. My goal is to have a 20-25 second surge come from each end of the tank in an alternating fashion to simulate tide/waves. You won't have to inject any air into it if to do it right...I wanted ZERO bubles in mine, just the natural mild surface agitation that the surge will cause. Have you thought about doing a concrete tank? I can tell you the prolonged large surges will stress your glass/acrylic walls and there would be the risk of joint failure. Concrete could be a cheaper build and give you a lot more peace of mind structurally.

 

[kentrob11]

I forgot to mention...The surge releases will be conrolled by 3" pneumatically actuated butterfly valves that will be controlled via responses from two float switches in the surge tanks, one for high water level and one for low.

As far as fish are concerned, there will be a lot more than just the damsels/chromis...I just wanted to make sure that element was obvious in the finished system

 

[Leonardo_]

Kentrob, great plans Do you have a build tread yet?

Leonardo

 

[sonofgaladriel]

You've definately got this all figured out, excellent! Your surge devices sound very nice!
I can't wait for you to start a 'build' thread!
I hadn't thought about the extra pressure a surge would put on the 'tank', thanks for pointing that out to me.
I have given some thought about building my own tank; some thought to plywood and a bit of thought towards a large concrete tank, as I do have a spot in my basement that would work, but I'm a bit worried about the affect it would have on resale of the home. Not too many people are as excited about this hobby as we obviously are and the thought of jack hammering the thing apart if/when a move is in order, is not appealing.
Do you have any links or plans you could share with me on how to fabricate a concrete tank? Did you simply hire 'concrete' contractures?

 

[kentrob11]

Thanks There's no build thread yet. I think I would put a lot of people to sleep with the slow progress They are supposed to break ground on the house in a few weeks with an anticipated finish date of mid July. The first 6 months in the house will be getting the rest of the house set up and letting the concrete cure. I'll start a build thread when they start the form for the tank and go from there. I'm really excited about the project and finally getting to do this mass damsel thing! I'm glad you guys brought this up