ordered 5 Reef Chromis...one dead in shippment..now what?

markush

New member
Everything I've read says odd number of 5 or more introduced at the same time...I have 4 to introduce.

I know it's not the end of the world but I've spent 3 weeks dealing with two different online vendors to get 5 Reef Chromis and I end up with 4! I am so p.o'd right now it's not even funny.

What now!?
 
Well, unless the vendor you ordered from has an "arrive alive" guarantee, there's nothing you can do. Just get them settled in QT and see what happens.
 
Everything I've read says odd number of 5 or more introduced at the same time...I have 4 to introduce.

I know it's not the end of the world but I've spent 3 weeks dealing with two different online vendors to get 5 Reef Chromis and I end up with 4! I am so p.o'd right now it's not even funny.

What now!?

I started with five 2 bar chromis & the head chromis ended up killing one, but since the group went down to 4 members they have been happy and get along well with very little aggression. So I don't think an even # is that bad. It all depends on individual chromis personalities:spin2:

Good luck.
 
The odd number thing is a myth. Not sure where it started. No matter what number you start with, they will often kill each other off until there are one or two.
 
The odd number thing is a myth. Not sure where it started. No matter what number you start with, they will often kill each other off until there are one or two.

Is this true of all Chromis (killing each other) or were you speaking about the Reef Chromis?

Thanks:)
 
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I have order from Live Aquaria and have had really good luck. They have a 14 guarantee on all fish. I had a few hermits show up dead and the replaced them at no cost, they even gave a couple extras
 
The odd number thing is a myth. Not sure where it started. No matter what number you start with, they will often kill each other off until there are one or two.

This has been my experience with all of the damsels and chromis I have kept, you will eventually get a pair.
 
I started with 3 blue-green chromis and the biggest one killed the two smallest ones. I then bought two more chromis and the original chromis sarted harrassing them. As my lifestock grew the original chromis stopped harrassing. now I am up to 7 chromis and they all get along great except for lunch time thats when they turn into piranhas! lol.

my advice is for you to get a fish that is just as agressive as the chromis or just a nother fish that is considerably larger than the chromis so it keeps them in check.
 
Imo not a good thing everytime I order green chromis and have a doa in the bag the others are not to far behind. Were they bagged together? if not then disreguard above statement. You do not need odd numbers
 
Thanks guys. I wasn't worried about losing a single fish money wise. There is a 14 day guarantee (I'm not so sure I'll be ordering again from this place to take advantage of the credit). It's just that I put all this effort into giving them the best shot at making it as a group. So it really irritated me that my effort was shot down with a dead one during shipment.

They were bagged individually but another one isn't looking all that healthy now. Are these fish known to be delicate shippers?
 
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this thread was for naught...one more dead. We'll see if there are any left in the morning.

In any case this will be my last post to this thread. I'll see if I can get ahold of the site sponsor I got them from in the morning. I'll be mentioning the obviously starving mandarin I got today also.
 
Thanks guys. I wasn't worried about losing a single fish money wise. There is a 14 day guarantee (I'm not so sure I'll be ordering again from this place to take advantage of the credit). It's just that I put all this effort into giving them the best shot at making it as a group. So it really irritated me that my effort was shot down with a dead one during shipment.

They were bagged individually but another one isn't looking all that healthy now. Are these fish known to be delicate shippers?

Through my experience, Liveaquaria's normal stock of fish (from California) has the same disease rate as most wholesalers and LFS's, but I HIGHLY recommend using the Divers Den fish as they are given a strict quarantine regimen and although it is not 100% guarantee of disease free healthy specimens, I have noticed very little problems with DD fish. I understand it is not as easy 2 find the species or number of fish on Divers Den, but you can give them suggestions of fish (or a group of fish) you would like 2 c and from my experience the fish I request usually show up in a couple of weeks:)

here is the suggestion link;

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/suggestions.cfm
 
I've had same 6 chromis for 6 years no probs, and then 5 for a year and half no probs, so I don't buy the myth, nor do I agree they always kill each other off either.
My present 150g has the same 5 now(seperate system from previous 2) and going on a year, still there.
 
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