Experience with Vanderbilt Chromis?

[Brandon McHenry]

Hi guys! I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Vanderbilt Chromis. I have been looking for some mid-water fish for my Nuvo 40 reef tank and I came across these guys on LiveAquaria. Unfortunately I’ve read some mixed opinions on temperament and how attractive/ugly they are. Based on the picture they are a very nice looking fish and I think a group of 3 would look very nice in my tank. As a side note, has anyone ever ordered from LiveAquaria before? With the current situation I’ve been looking into online ordering as opposed to heading out to a LFS. Any experience with these fish or with LiveAquaria would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jda]

I found them to be good tank mates, out in the open and a pretty fun fish. They were short lived and the whole group did not last more than 18 months, or so.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I found them to be good tank mates, out in the open and a pretty fun fish. They were short lived and the whole group did not last more than 18 months, or so.

Great to hear they were a good group of fish! Any idea why they didn’t last that long?

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I found them to be good tank mates, out in the open and a pretty fun fish. They were short lived and the whole group did not last more than 18 months, or so.

Oh and how many did you have?

 

[jda]

Nothing more than a guess, but I find chromis to be a lot like anthias... some just don't live too long in captivity no matter how much you feed them and what kind of diet. The groups will also kill some of their own.

I have a PBT and Chocolate tang that are almost 15 years old. YT Blue Damsels at about 10. Anybody ever heard of even a 10 year old anthias or chomis?

I had 6 or 8 of them. They killed a few right off and the rest did well and just dwindled away.

It could also totally be just me.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Nothing more than a guess, but I find chromis to be a lot like anthias... some just don't live too long in captivity no matter how much you feed them and what kind of diet. The groups will also kill some of their own.

I have a PBT and Chocolate tang that are almost 15 years old. YT Blue Damsels at about 10. Anybody ever heard of even a 10 year old anthias or chomis?

I had 6 or 8 of them. They killed a few right off and the rest did well and just dwindled away.

It could also totally be just me.

I gotcha. So for a tank this size, still think they are a worthwhile mid-water fish despite the longevity issue?

 

[jda]

The longevity issue might just be me. They are peaceful and fun fish that only really seemed to fight with each other.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

The longevity issue might just be me. They are peaceful and fun fish that only really seemed to fight with each other.

Cool thank you! They might just be worth a shot.

 

[Haydn]

I found them fine in a quiet tank, but if you have 'big' active fish like tangs or aggressive fish like clowns they tend to get stressed, hide and don't feed well.

 

[mort]

Completely agree with Haydn. These seem a more timid species in a busy tank but are a stunning fish in a quiet tank. They often don't look much in shops or until they are settled and they won't standout from across the room, but they have a really subtle beauty if you look at them close.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I found them fine in a quiet tank, but if you have 'big' active fish like tangs or aggressive fish like clowns they tend to get stressed, hide and don't feed well.

Completely agree with Haydn. These seem a more timid species in a busy tank but are a stunning fish in a quiet tank. They often don't look much in shops or until they are settled and they won't standout from across the room, but they have a really subtle beauty if you look at them close.

Thanks for the replies! The tank shouldn’t be too busy I hope. I have a banggai cardinal, royal gramma, scooter blenny and a few small gobies. I hope that these Chromis can be a nice active group for the center of my tank!

 

[LgTas]

Any feedback on how the Vanderbilt's did in your tank? I'm considering themand would like some real world feedback.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Any feedback on how the Vanderbilt's did in your tank? I'm considering themand would like some real world feedback.

Unfortunately they didn’t ship well and didn’t make it more than a day. I decided not to reorder because they seemed like a very timid fish that would do well if added first but maybe not to a stocked tank. I would definitely try again in the future because they were very beautiful and probably an underrated fish! Sorry I can’t offer more!

 

[LgTas]

thanks for replying! I'm looking to add them as first fish to my new Waterbox 90.3. I have a young pair of ocellaris that''ll be moving across at some stage so they would need to handle them (though they don't mind the clown goby they're currently housed with).

 

[Brandon McHenry]

thanks for replying! I'm looking to add them as first fish to my new Waterbox 90.3. I have a young pair of ocellaris that''ll be moving across at some stage so they would need to handle them (though they don't mind the clown goby they're currently housed with).

I would think if you got a decent sized group established first they would withstand new additions better. I’d love to hear how they do!

 

[LgTas]

Will update if I pull the trigger on them

 

[Haydn]

I would think if you got a decent sized group established first they would withstand new additions better. I’d love to hear how they do!

Unfortunately I don't think that would work. I found they are very shy and I feel the addition of new (robust) fish will stress them. I think unless you have a species tank or one with maybe small quiet fish these are better avoided.

 

[mort]

Once again I agree with Haydn, the only time I kept vanderbilts was with pipefish and they made perfect tankmates. I had them in a more busy tank and they weren't particularly happy.

 

[Ben Pedersen]

Nothing more than a guess, but I find chromis to be a lot like anthias... some just don't live too long in captivity no matter how much you feed them and what kind of diet. The groups will also kill some of their own.

I have a PBT and Chocolate tang that are almost 15 years old. YT Blue Damsels at about 10. Anybody ever heard of even a 10 year old anthias or chomis?

I had 6 or 8 of them. They killed a few right off and the rest did well and just dwindled away.

It could also totally be just me.

I have 2, 8 year old chromis.. However, I agree, they seem to only last about 5 years.. Maybe that is just how long they live.

 

[Zionas]

I think Chromis aren’t inherently less long-lived than other species of damsels, it’s just that they need the lack of stress from not being in a group to live like any other Damsel. A pair at most if they successfully pair up. I don’t see how a single or a pair of Chromis can’t live for 10+ years assuming it’s healthy.