Green Chromis

[bcfiskins]

Wanting opinions about a fish death. I recently bought a flame angel at a reputable LFS. I only have 4 other fish: 2 Green Chromis, 1 Tomini Tang and a Algae Blenny. Right after I put the angel in, the tang and chromis were aggressive towards it. The angel immediately hid and was particularly harassed by the chromis and never came out to eat or even swam around. Unfortunately, 2 days later, the angel was being scavenged by my hermits. All of my parameters look good, so it must have been the fish. My question, are Chromis prone to aggressive and territorial behavior? I'd rather have "higher end" fish in my tank without the risk of losing them. Should I donate the Chromis back to the LFS?

 

[Hyprviperx]

i guess it would be based on the size of the chromis and the length theyve been in the tank. i would have thought the flame would have killed both of the chromis. also if the angel was really stressed from the move the chromis may have just been the straw that broke the camels back. another thing i was wondering was if you added the fis at night or with all the lights on? i usually try to wait til night if i can or turn off the lights when i intro. a higher end fish just in case.

 

[MableShwartz]

Did you use any type of aclimation technique when you added the angel? I've never had any problem with chromis, but tangs can be territorial, especially when it comes to their swimming space. How big is the tank?

 

[bcfiskins]

Thanks for the advice! Would you keep him in a sump (In or out of the bag) until night?

 

[bcfiskins]

I dripped it for about 45-50 min.

 

[bcfiskins]

75 Gallon...sorry

 

[Hyprviperx]

Thanks for the advice! Would you keep him in a sump (In or out of the bag) until night?

you can temp acclimate in a sump no problem, since you are getting them from LFS and you know how long the fish has been in the bag you can leave it in the bag, if your having them shipped in i might try to use a bucket (with a lid or screen) and some of the acclimation water since theres no way to tell how long its been bagged. you can wait and add them at night or if its no big deal to you and its not too bright in the room you can just shut the tank lights off for the night. another thing i do is i usually feed the tank about 30 min before i add a fish so the others are already fat and happy plus a little lethargic from the meal and the frenzy has died down at that point.

 

[Mike&Terry]

An acclimation box would help. If you don't want to buy one, you can make one out of a glad storage container by cutting slits on the sides to allow water to flow thru and hang it inside the tank. We did this several years ago when we added our Regal Angel to our tank. Your fish will have a chance to meet and greet w/out doing damage and you will have the opportunity to not only target feed the new aquisition, but also observe for any signs of illness/parasites for a few days before releasing.

 

[MableShwartz]

+1 to the advice about feeding & Mike&Terry's homemade acclimation box! Might also try a longer acclimation period. I usually do an hour-hour and a half. Don't forget it's also good to quarantine the fish too!