Reef safe small schooling fish

[SoloChromis]

Blue green chromis (IMO) do well together IF and only IF you feed 3-5 times a day. real small amounts often. When you do that they are always constantly eating and being fat and it seems (IMO) to curb their aggression.

I completely agree. I think a major issue with chromis is that people treat them more like damsels, than other open water, planktonic feeders like anthias or fairy wrasses. Typical damsels can do fine longterm getting fed once a day, or even every other day, but this wouldn't fly for an anthias for very long at all. I hypothesize that if chromis were given the same treatment as more expensive planktonic feeding dither fish, they'd be more apt to live together peacefully. That being said, I've never personally tried blue/green chromis in my own tanks (too afraid of uronema )

 

[WLachnit]

IME I get the same result when feeding Chromis multiple times per day. That is, they eventually dwindle down to 1 fish. This is in a 300g. I have tried this 4 different times over the past 8 years. Same result....

 

[fearyaks]

* Margarita or "Red" Stripe Cardinals (Ostorhinchus margaritophorus)
* Longspine/Ghost Cardinals (Zoramia leptacantha)
* Red Spot Glass Cardinals (Apogon parvulus)
* Resplendent Anthias (Pseudanthias pulcherrimus)
* Lori's Anthias (Pseudanthias lori)
* Allen's Damsels (Pomacentrus alleni)
* Azure Damsels (Chrysiptera hemicyanea)... Neither of these damsels school, but I've seen them kept as multiples successfully longterm
* Zebra Dartfish (Ptereleotris zebra)
* Scissortail Dartfish (Ptereleotris evides)
* Any of the sexually dimorphic fairy/flasher wrasses can typically be kept as harems quite easily
* Chalk Basses (Serranus tortugarum)
* Any of the assessors

... Theres loads of good, small grouping fish available, you don't necessarily have to settle for blue/green chromis and lyretail anthias :thumbsup:

In my limited experience, Chalk Bass don't really 'school' together. They usually try to find an area (like a cave / overhang) and that's their area. They are happy tolerating one another but I never see them together unless they randomly bump into each other.

Also some of the assessors I've had pick on one another. I had to separate my two yellows. Perhaps just bad luck?

 

[fishfreak2009]

Blue green chromis (IMO) do well together IF and only IF you feed 3-5 times a day. real small amounts often. When you do that they are always constantly eating and being fat and it seems (IMO) to curb their aggression.

This is definitely the case with my Chromis. I've had 13 greens in my tank for almost a year with 3-5 feedings per day and they have no issues at all. I recently added 5 Vanderbilt's Chromis as well and they settled in quite nicely with the greens.

 

[velvetelvis]

Coryphopterus personatus, or masked gobies, also school together. ORA breeds them.
Masked Goby

I love mine, but they are bad to end up in overflows and sumps. Very peaceful little fish though, and lovely with their peach-pink bodies and blue eyes.

 

[Rilelen]

I was going to ask about azure damselfish, but I see fearyaks already brought them up. Any experience on how many can be kept together? My understanding is that they don't school but it's okay to have multiple in a tank if they all have their own space.

 

[fearyaks]

Solochromis did. I don't have any experience with Azures.. I do have some experience with the digging guys.. um Allen's I think? He was pretty feisty for a fish but not a complete terror.