Can 12 Chromis be introduced at the same time into a 190g?
 

Ok guys, as the header says, I just bought 12 lg chromis to go into my 190g. They will go into qt first, then to the main tank. The DT has been up since mid November, had a velvet issue, so was fallow of fish until Mid March. It currently has a Scribbled Angelfish and an Achilles in it. (I took out the sail fin and Pakistani Butterfly to lessen stress on the Achilles). Once the 12 Chromis are ready, can they all go into the DT at the same time, or do you guys think that could add too much stress to the Achilles or the tank's bio load. The Achilles is 3.5 inches and is shy compared to my old one I had years ago in another tank. (I bought this Achilles from a fellow reefer, that had it for 6 months and it eats pellets, so I could not pass on the chance). I run a UV and a Curve 7 skimmer with a fuge and sump.
All opinions are welcome.

I think that would be no problem they are small fish 190 should handle it

On a side note 12 chromis would look cool in there

you may have a different experience in a nice, big tank.

But IME, Chromis are a great schooling fish in the wild, but become territorial and aggressive in a contained environment.

They will be just fine going in there together, but eventually, very likely that one will become dominant and kill off the rest.

Again, my experience has been in sub 100 gallon systems, so you may have a tank that is large enough to negate any issues.

Maybe some others with more experience with larger tanks can offer some first hand experience.

I agree with gobytron. I had 15 in my 300gal and all was fine for about a month and then they turned into territory control freaks. I even took out the dominant one and another became the dominant. It got to the point that they were bothing my other fish and especially at feeding time. Go figure 3" chromis pushing around a tang, trigger and my foxface.... they do look nice and I've definitely heard of success but you couldnt pay me to put those in my tank again. Mine were the blue green chromis.... The bigger they get the more territorial they get imo.

That's the case with just about any fish. I bought a Clown Trigger the other day knowing full well one day he might go postal and I will have to deal with it but I've always wanted one. He's the size of a quarter and was captive bred so I thought at least I will be able to have him for quite awhile and may not have the psycho switch in his head..

Toss the Chromis in and enjoy.

Short Answer: Yes. Bioload should be fine. They also shouldn't bother the existing tank mates....in theory. They look very cool together schooling and shoaling.

Long Answer: Mentally prepare yourself for disappearing chromis. Whether by aggression amongst themselves, injury, or disease. Long term; from your initial 12, you'll lose approx 4-6. It's what they do. The good news is....they are relatively affordable that you can replace mysteriously disappearing ones if necessary.

Thanks guys for all the input. I had put 7 in my old 125g and in the end 5 lived the 4 years that the tank was up. I am hoping for the same (I'm figuring 2-3 to die due to pecking order fighting), and figure it would be nice to see them schooling. I hope the achilles keeps them on their toes, as was mentioned, the 5 I had in the past schooled less and less as time went on. I was thinking a shoal of anthias would be cool, but they are picky, have extra feeding needs if you get them eating, and cost a lot more.

Chalk Bass were always one of my favorite schoolers...

Not as aggressive as Chromis but still became an issue eventually.

+1

tried a school of 5 or 6 in in a 145g. after a awhile down to one remaining though its been with me 5+ years. btw they never did really school

I bought 5 from a reputable LFS and within a week all were gone but one, then 3 days later the last one died. Everything else in the tank was fine... I did buy two other small fish with them and they are doing great.

probably found a reflection and offed himself.

???

meaning one became dominant, then killed the others, and then turned on himself.

So I know that there is a strong chance that one can become dominant and kill off others. But are you joking when saying it can turn on himself because of a reflection? Does this happen to many other species as well?

Yup most fish species if they see an image of itself can attack as they perceive it as a threat to their dominance so will attack their own image

What was it again?

Oh yea.....the fly that won't go away.

What?

I've had dogs and cats that do the same thing.


When you think about it, in the wild, in the ocean, you just don't have the opportunity to see your reflection all that often.

It would probably freak me out too if I had never seen or heard of a mirror before.

To the point of death?
Can you post a link to this info please.

Yea whatever. Maybe your pets are breathing in second hand smoke or they're just retarded. Like a said to the other "I read it on the net hobbyist" post a link.

Have you never put a mirror in front of an aggressive fish?

I don't think this is some rare unheard of phenomena.

Putting a mirror in front of your tank to get an aggressive fish to leave others alone and focus on its reflection is a pretty age old trick.

I think most experienced reefers would be well aware of this.

try it next time you have an issue.

You should maybe try to google something yourself before getting all politically incorrect and rude...maybe you yourself should take a look in a mirror.

Yea thanks for the tip there brainy. I've used that trick several times in my many years of experience in this hobby. It does work but I highly doubt it leads to death. I only go by experience and not crap people dream up on the net. And as for being rude, I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine.

Oh man I see a salt poll coming on lol :p

Yes, I have seen other animals like kittens do it and birds. I just did not think it would be a fight to the death.

This may pose an issue in my tank. I have a penninsula and can see the fish seeing themselves in the end of the tank when the light conditions at certain times of the day, create a mirror for them...
Who would have thunk...man, learn something new everyday. Only been doing this for a year and something as simple as that, I did not know. I will have to do more research...geesh...

While it is known they can attack their own image I have not heard of any fish fighting to the death with themselves although I have read that they can exhaust themselves to the point where they can become targets themselves leading to possible injury and possible death from said injury

Well sometimes it's just best to share actual experience rather than just what you have read. Lots of that stuff that you read is usually just what some self proclaimed expert which is usually a newbie has posted. I'm by no means an expert at all but I may be what Brad edited our of one of my posts haha

That is very true Bill but I am sort of a nut when it comes to researching and I generally try to confirm from multiple sources about subjects I generally don't take information from one source and spout it off as truth I look it up in several locations from various authors and make an informed choice.

And as we know the internet never ever lies

I am not sure if only posting from experience is the only way for learning and open discussion. I think most folks in here
are capable of forming their own opinions based on whether the info is/was absolute crud or scientific. I, for one have never been interested in controlling the thoughts of others. Yet I do see a lot of blatant misinformation and it makes me wonder how the critters in their tanks are doing etc etc. I certainly believe in research to form an educated opinion before doing something that could do harm.


What I do know, is that I hate seeing members of a small community bashing each other as it probably forms a lousy opinion of otherwise good people. Then again, I have always been one that could care less what one thinks of me, so have at it.

Sorry for going off topic in this thread....How many chromis does it take to break a mirror in half?

Holy crap you're another Tom!! Nice to meet ya.

oh ya, does anyone remember that thread about adding the 12 Chromis in a 190g . . .

Thanks everyone that were able to give me advise and past experiences with Chromis. I will ask the lfs to pick me out well behaved ones :-)

I started with 9 last fall and they picked off the weaker ones within 2 weeks until I was down to 5 and that is where I have been since then. I have them mixed with Anthias so they get multiple feedings/day. I wouldn't say they school a whole lot together, but do mix in with the anthias. I'm not sure if they will last long term or not. When they get scared, they school together.

Whose Tom? Or am I walking into something here...