Lost a chromis? Why?

[isomorphic85]

So I added 3 green chromis to QT tank....

they've been in QT for 5 days.... all seemed to be doing very well. No signs of any disease even after careful inspection daily.

However last night one of them was breathing heavily and was up by the overflow .... shortly later he had passed away.

Water parameters :

Salinity 32 ppt
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 2

There were no visible signs of any parasites etc.

Any thoughts on this one?

 

[knutrainer]

Your chromis are killing each other to see who gets to be tippy top dog. There can only be one.

 

[thegrun]

It's hard to get them through quarantine in a small tank, even in larger tanks they will frequently kill each other off. You stand a better chance of survival if you provide numerous PVC fittings so they all have separate hiding places with a few extras. If they don't have enough hiding places at night they will kill each other for them.

 

[GimpyFin]

He could have been bullied, but uronema could be a possibility as well. Fairly common with blue green chromis.

 

[isomorphic85]

it's a 70 gallon QT tank with 2 4" PVC T's and 1 3 inch 90 PVC fitting.

it's a shame bothers me so much losing a fish....

 

[fishchef]

Many have tried a school. We did and they eventually kill each other off. They look so nice and docile.

 

[isomorphic85]

i'm shocked that they kill each other off.... I was told by the LFS that they go well together... hate when I trust the LFS without doing my homework. Am I best to try and give one away ?

 

[fishchef]

When I went to a larger tank with open water...jumping was something that most LFS didn't tell you about either.

 

[Timfish]

From what I can tell only about 1% of Green Chromis make it to their 1st birthday.

 

[Bent]

 

[Jeff4777]

Chromis are funny fish aren't they

 

[Sk8r]

Give them some pvc pipes (equal in number to fish) to hide in at night. Might stop the decimation.

 

[isomorphic85]

There's 3 Giant 4 " PVC T fittings in the tank... they all have plenty of their "own" space.

It's still amazing to me how much I learn on a daily basis in this hobby....

 

[fishchef]

There's 3 Giant 4 " PVC T fittings in the tank... they all have plenty of their "own" space.

It's still amazing to me how much I learn on a daily basis in this hobby....

Usually the hard way. Reef Tank Life. There's usually a more expensive better way.