noobtothereef
New member
im looking for a reef safe fish that schools and is small, i would like to add 4-6 to my 120 and they will be housed with 2 tangs, 2 clowns, blenny, 6 line wrasse, cleaner shrimp and other inverts.
Reef safe small schooling fish
- Thread starter noobtothereef
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noobtothereef
New member
I have hear some negatives on the blue/green chromis, anybody have any negative things to say about chromis?
noobtothereef
New member
chalk bass dont look too bad, id like to have something a little brighter though, what about anthias? Are they schooling fish? They are kind of pricey though
Wolverine
Premium Member
Larger groups often kill each other off until there are only 1 or 2 remaining. I count that as a negative. Remember, they're in the damsel family.
That is the first I've heard about Chromis not playing well together, but I'm also still pretty new to the hobby. I've had three in my 55g for several months with no issues - perhaps if I had more, I might have seen otherwise. I have noticed all of them have become less active over the last month or so, though.
Wolverine
Premium Member
There are literally dozens of threads in this forum about it, and I've personally witnessed in in a few dozen tanks. I wouldn't count yourself safe at a few months.
noobtothereef
New member
if they are small they just dont seem to kill each other until they are a bit larger when they get closer to adulthood and get territorial
jd474
New member
Chromis school to avoid predation, once they realize there is no threat in a closed system, they will continually pick off the smallest/weakest one until only a small number remain.
The only "group" of fish I'd recommend are cardinals. Anthias have a propensity to (over time) all turn male and kill each other as well, even in very large tanks.
The only "group" of fish I'd recommend are cardinals. Anthias have a propensity to (over time) all turn male and kill each other as well, even in very large tanks.
THEDLO
New member
i do, i bought 8 im down to 4....if they arent the same size theyll pick on the smallest one till it kicks the bucket. and.....theyre really boring...IMO soulless eve.
scubasteve06
Jeeper Reefer
I recently bought 4 blue/green chromis. I've had them for over a month now and I still have all 4. I've heard the same thing about them picking each other off. Mine did occasionally swoop on one another but thats it. Last week I added 3 more for a total of 7. The occasional swooping has stopped altogether and they seem even more happy than ever.
scubasteve06
Jeeper Reefer
I will add all of my chromis are the exact same size.
noobtothereef
New member
just got back from an lfs, they have a tank with about 20 chromis in it(500g+ stock tank) and theysay they pick a dead one out about 1 time a week, sometimes more, they say they areonly good in pairs or single
Angel*Fish
cats and large squashes
I had a school of threadfin cardinals. - they didn't stay together all the time, but when they did it was kind of cool. I'd never get them again though, they just hang out in one spot all day and they look like freshwater fish.
Wolverine
Premium Member
That's a sign of a pretty good store. A bad store would sell you the 20.
(My favorite store in that area closed a few years ago.)
