Which are best small schooling fish? Success?

[Linda92677]

Have u see them breeding? I saw a few vids last night where they breed in the tank.

Yes- regularly. Very entertaining to watch. Mama Chromis lays her eggs on the wall side of our reef tank and does the mating dance. The larger male usually wins and does his thing. Never had hatchlings tho- too many things eat those eggs! Let me know if you want a video and I'll post next round of egg laying

 

[VR28man]

Yes, the biggest thing with chromis (and most haremic and schooling fish) is quantity. There will always be a dominant that will pick on the others. The trick is to have enough to spread the aggression out enough that no particular one gets bullied to death. I see a lot of people try to school with 3 to 5 and that's (especially with chromis) going to lead to aggression. A school should typically be 10 or more to truly get the schooling action and keep them from killing each other.

Sounds like FW Angelfish or Discus....

 

[nanomania]

Yes- regularly. Very entertaining to watch. Mama Chromis lays her eggs on the wall side of our reef tank and does the mating dance. The larger male usually wins and does his thing. Never had hatchlings tho- too many things eat those eggs! Let me know if you want a video and I'll post next round of egg laying

Wow.. plz do.

 

[nanomania]

Sounds like FW Angelfish or Discus....

Oh.. i was considering a pair of discuss for my fw.. however iv not come across a pair that does this.

 

[VR28man]

Oh.. i was considering a pair of discuss for my fw.. however iv not come across a pair that does this.

Browse simplydiscus.com. They also recommend diluting aggression through a large school.

 

[pireefgirl85]

I have a school of blue/green Chromis(6) and they do wonderfully together....i do refer to them as salt water parahna, though. Lol They are relatively tame, beings my tank is in a highly trafficked area of our home, and I'm forever piddling with it, so when I stick my hand inside they think it's dinner time and nibble on my fingers. Lol Also follow me around the room as I move, makes me feel like Evan Almighty. [emoji23]
I also have a paired set of firefish goby...i don't think putting any more than two in a tank would be very successful.
We also tried to school banner cardinals(some people have success), it didn't go so well for us. We have one lone ranger left. [emoji15]
Now, our bar gobies are very hardy fish, fairly big bodied, and all hang out together with no issues what so ever.

 

[nanomania]

I have a school of blue/green Chromis(6) and they do wonderfully together....i do refer to them as salt water parahna, though. Lol They are relatively tame, beings my tank is in a highly trafficked area of our home, and I'm forever piddling with it, so when I stick my hand inside they think it's dinner time and nibble on my fingers. Lol Also follow me around the room as I move, makes me feel like Evan Almighty. [emoji23]
I also have a paired set of firefish goby...i don't think putting any more than two in a tank would be very successful.
We also tried to school banner cardinals(some people have success), it didn't go so well for us. We have one lone ranger left. [emoji15]
Now, our bar gobies are very hardy fish, fairly big bodied, and all hang out together with no issues what so ever.

Wow.. beautiful tank. How did u pair up ur fire fish? Any ways to differentiate females with males?

 

[pireefgirl85]

Wow.. beautiful tank. How did u pair up ur fire fish? Any ways to differentiate females with males?

Thank you!

The male has a definite nick in his dorsal, and the female more of a nub half way (ish) up the dorsal. And, i think the male has more vivid spots on the cheek. Also, females tend to be smaller and thinner.

This isn't always the case with mated pairs (females being smaller of the two), for example...i have a mated/Breeding pair of maroon gold stripped clowns and the female is twice the size, if not more, of the male. Lol

 

[nanomania]

Thank you!

The male has a definite nick in his dorsal, and the female more of a nub half way (ish) up the dorsal. And, i think the male has more vivid spots on the cheek. Also, females tend to be smaller and thinner.

This isn't always the case with mated pairs (females being smaller of the two), for example...i have a mated/Breeding pair of maroon gold stripped clowns and the female is twice the size, if not more, of the male. Lol

Yea, i know about the clowns. Sw fishes are so dam different from each other..[emoji23]

 

[eatbreakfast]

Howmany times do i feed the chromis to reduce the agression just in case.?

Aim for 3x's a day.

I'll also go with the green chromosome. I've done it a several times with all of my tanks over the years. and just started another school with my new 220g tank. They're some of my favorite fish. Inexpensive and beautiful. Mine have always been mild tempered. Now here's what I've learned and come to beleieve...

There's always a dieoff in the beginning. I wanted 7 in my school so i ordered 12 from Liveaquaria. 2 were DOA and 3 more died in QT. Like magic I'm left with 7 that are now I'm my display and schooling.

I've come to believe this high rate of death is a result of how they're captured with cyanide. At least that's what I've heard. Also what makes them so inexpensive to buy. The cyanide has long term effects. I wouldn't be surprised if more of my new school die. Could also be dynamics of the group aka bullying.

Which brings me to my second belief....

For one reason or another I always wind up with an odd number. If I had 8 right now soon enough one would disappear. Again part of the group dynamic I'm guessing.

My vote all the way is to get a bunch of green chromis, maybe double of what you want to keep. In a few months whatever is left will be healthy and fat and should life awhile. I've always seen what school In my 220. And so beautiful!!

Good luck!

The info that chromis are caught using cyanide is erroneous propoganda presented by a group that is trying to get all aquarium fish banned. Chromis are caught by scaring a large group of chromis into a large coral colony, then lifting that coral out of the water, and the chromis fall out of the coral into a net.

Any losses from the beginning can usually be attributed to how they are handled at the wholesaler. Chromis are very susceptible to Uromena, a bacterial infection. When I get chromis direct from the collection locale, they are much hardier than ones I've recieved from wholesalers.

Thank you!

The male has a definite nick in his dorsal, and the female more of a nub half way (ish) up the dorsal. And, i think the male has more vivid spots on the cheek. Also, females tend to be smaller and thinner.

This isn't always the case with mated pairs (females being smaller of the two), for example...i have a mated/Breeding pair of maroon gold stripped clowns and the female is twice the size, if not more, of the male. Lol

The differences noted between these 2 fish are individual differences, they don't hold true for all firefish, as firefish are not sexually dimorphic.

 

[nanomania]

Aim for 3x's a day.

The info that chromis are caught using cyanide is erroneous propoganda presented by a group that is trying to get all aquarium fish banned. Chromis are caught by scaring a large group of chromis into a large coral colony, then lifting that coral out of the water, and the chromis fall out of the coral into a net.

Any losses from the beginning can usually be attributed to how they are handled at the wholesaler. Chromis are very susceptible to Uromena, a bacterial infection. When I get chromis direct from the collection locale, they are much hardier than ones I've recieved from wholesalers.

The differences noted between these 2 fish are individual differences, they don't hold true for all firefish, as firefish are not sexually dimorphic.

I qt all my fishes. I have a 15g qt tank for fishes.

 

[jkobel]

This has been covered thoroughly but I have had good luck with Kaudern's Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) and especially with Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis). 75 Gallon tank 4-5 of each.

Chromis in my experience die off fast. I have never seen them bully each other but it would make a lot of sense if that's what's happening.

 

[nanomania]

This has been covered thoroughly but I have had good luck with Kaudern's Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) and especially with Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis). 75 Gallon tank 4-5 of each.

Chromis in my experience die off fast. I have never seen them bully each other but it would make a lot of sense if that's what's happening.

Lyretail anthias are good? Are they hardy? Do they take pellets?

 

[btrutenk]

We have (6) Silver Mono fish that are doing very good in our tank! We also have (6) clownfish in the same tank that are doing very well together!

Going on a year now, and no bullies!!!

 

[Forestrain]

I love my Ostorhinchus parvulus

 

[nanomania]

We have (6) Silver Mono fish that are doing very good in our tank! We also have (6) clownfish in the same tank that are doing very well together!

Going on a year now, and no bullies!!!

Yes i was plannin on a clownfish harem, but i already have a pair of oc

 

[jkobel]

Lyretail anthias are good? Are they hardy? Do they take pellets?

In my experience yes to all (in fairness I have only had them about 6 months). It took about a week to get them to take pellets reliably. I feed them Formula One pellets and they love it. They eat frozen mysis too and sometimes will nip at the nori I put in for my tangs.

They are very social and colorful. I enjoy having them in my tank.

Good luck!

 

[Big G]

Has anyone tried Yellow Striped Cardinals?

 

[Big G]

I have a school of blue/green Chromis(6) and they do wonderfully together....i do refer to them as salt water parahna, though. Lol They are relatively tame, beings my tank is in a highly trafficked area of our home, and I'm forever piddling with it, so when I stick my hand inside they think it's dinner time and nibble on my fingers. Lol Also follow me around the room as I move, makes me feel like Evan Almighty. [emoji23]
I also have a paired set of firefish goby...i don't think putting any more than two in a tank would be very successful.
We also tried to school banner cardinals(some people have success), it didn't go so well for us. We have one lone ranger left. [emoji15]
Now, our bar gobies are very hardy fish, fairly big bodied, and all hang out together with no issues what so ever.

Really nice tank. What size is it? How long have the Chromis been in there together?

 

[Amboss72]

Orange striped cardinals are great! I have four in a 34 gallon nano they all hangout together without a problem. They're the first saltwater fish that I've had successfully school.