How many Chromis

[ParkerK]

How many chromis can I fit into a 42 gallon tank?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

3 or 5. I like odd numbers but have no supporting evidence. Lol
D

 

[ScottR]

How many chromis can I fit into a 42 gallon tank?

How many other fish do you have in there and what types? You can try 6 or so. Usually not all 6 will survive though.

 

[ParkerK]

How many other fish do you have in there and what types? You can try 6 or so. Usually not all 6 will survive though.

I have a melanarus wrasse, 1 clown, 1 gramma

 

[ParkerK]

How many other fish do you have in there and what types? You can try 6 or so. Usually not all 6 will survive though.

You think I could ever fit a copperband in a 42 gal?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Sadly, buy more than you want. I just put 6 Lemon-type Damsels in 150-gallon; down to 5; now down to 4; they are still picking on each other, so I predict the final number will be 3.

 

[ScottR]

You think I could ever fit a copperband in a 42 gal?

Copperbands aren’t easy but it’s of those fish I’d recommend for 60g or bigger.

As for chromis, my survival rate is 50%. I had 8 in my old 40 gallon and 4 survived. I put 8 in my 130g and 4 lived. I added 4 from the 40 to the 130 and they’re all doing fine together. 8 in total. I’ve had 4 of them for over 2 years now. Once they settle in, they are usually pretty tough and can hold themselves quite well with other aggressive fish. I guess their shoaling together helps with this.

 

[ParkerK]

Copperbands aren’t easy but it’s of those fish I’d recommend for 60g or bigger.

As for chromis, my survival rate is 50%. I had 8 in my old 40 gallon and 4 survived. I put 8 in my 130g and 4 lived. I added 4 from the 40 to the 130 and they’re all doing fine together. 8 in total. I’ve had 4 of them for over 2 years now. Once they settle in, they are usually pretty tough and can hold themselves quite well with other aggressive fish. I guess their shoaling together helps with this.

Do yours always stay out towards the top of the tank?

 

[ScottR]

Do yours always stay out towards the top of the tank?

Yeah. They’re probably the most prominent fish in my tank. They keep a “busy” look in the tank. Not a great pic and a little old but you can see they’re out there.

 

[Zionas]

Why not get some Chrysiptera damsels instead? Chromis need larger tanks to be kept in groups and as Scott said not all will make it especially in a tank your size. Consider Azures, Yellowtails, Starcki, Talbot’s, Rolland’s instead. Not sure about the Yellowtails or Starcki’s but the rest of the species you might be able to pull off a pair in your tank.

Or why not consider a pygmy angel? A Flameback, Cherub, Fisher’s, or Multicolor would look nice.

If you want to keep a fish in groups IMO the way to go would be perhaps some Zebra Dartfish, but you can’t have aggressive fish with them.

 

[Zionas]

I’m personally not a big fan of Chromis as I prefer individual fish with colors or behaviors that stand out more, but I’m glad you’re able to get a group to do well. Your tank overall looks really nice.

 

[Haydn]

There are some 80 species of Chromis including possibly 5 commonly on sale as 'Green Chromis'. They all have different sizes, behaviors and tolerances which is why you will get a range of conflicting answers.

 

[ParkerK]

Dont those guys get big and aggressive though?

 

[ParkerK]

Dont those guys get big and aggressive though?

 

[ParkerK]

Why not get some Chrysiptera damsels instead? Chromis need larger tanks to be kept in groups and as Scott said not all will make it especially in a tank your size. Consider Azures, Yellowtails, Starcki, Talbot’s, Rolland’s instead. Not sure about the Yellowtails or Starcki’s but the rest of the species you might be able to pull off a pair in your tank.

Or why not consider a pygmy angel? A Flameback, Cherub, Fisher’s, or Multicolor would look nice.

If you want to keep a fish in groups IMO the way to go would be perhaps some Zebra Dartfish, but you can’t have aggressive fish with them.

I was heavily considering a little angel as well

 

[Ben Pedersen]

2 Blue Green Chromis in a 40 gal..... You may be able to get away with 3 if you feed a lot.. If you do more.. they will slowly be killed off until there are 2 - 3 left.. You need a bigger tank if you want more..

Have been keeping these fish for around 20 years.. That s my experience..

 

[Rmckoy]

3 or 5. I like odd numbers but have no supporting evidence. Lol
D

And then there was 1 .....

I’ve tried them Many times , even tried the odd number theory and they always reduce to only 1 left .

 

[ParkerK]

2 Blue Green Chromis in a 40 gal..... You may be able to get away with 3 if you feed a lot.. If you do more.. they will slowly be killed off until there are 2 - 3 left.. You need a bigger tank if you want more..

Have been keeping these fish for around 20 years.. That s my experience..

Well I think I’m gonna trust you since you have 20 years of experience. Thank you for the tips.

 

[Ben Pedersen]

Good luck... I have always wanted 20 of them. . Have started with 15 small in a 80+ gallon multiple times.. Over the course of 2 years, they dwindle to 4.. Current batch are 8 years old.. They even spawn..

Setting up a 300 gal this summer, Lord willing. Will see how many I can keep happy in that...

 

[Ef4life]

I have 6 in my 40b - all doing very well and been in now for almost 2 years.

they need lots of hiding places to each call home. Not enough hiding spot, they will fight and kill each other.

There are multiple species of chromis - some species Probably adapt to groups better than others in our tanks.

they need multiple feedings. I feed pellets 2-3x a day with an auto feeder and a large meal of frozen every day. Hungry fish are going to compete for food, and in turn bring iut