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Schooling fish


Jan

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So I've got my 75 gallon up and running and it looks really nice but there isn't enough color and movement for me. I'd like to add a few schooling fish. Throw some names of colorful small fish at me. Tanks!

 

:fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:

:bluefish: :bluefish: :bluefish: :bluefish: :bluefish:

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Question here- Chromis species will get too large for a tank that size? There's this one tank at the shop I usually go to that usually has 15-20 or so small (inch or bit less) blue green chromis and I've always thought a large school of them would look very nice in the eventual multiple hundred gallon reef tank I would love to someday have.

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Question here- Chromis species will get too large for a tank that size? There's this one tank at the shop I usually go to that usually has 15-20 or so small (inch or bit less) blue green chromis and I've always thought a large school of them would look very nice in the eventual multiple hundred gallon reef tank I would love to someday have.

 

Chromis would be fine. I used to have 7 that schooled in my old 75g tank. Probably the cheapest school you could get.

 

Some day I would like a school of Disbar Anthias like this:

 

1178_disparanthias2.jpg

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I love the anthias. Even though yellow tail damsels are not really schooling I like 5 of them. They are the not that aggressive, especially when you have a bunch of them, they add nice color are hardy dont get very large and in my opinion have nice personalities.

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I think green chromis and the cardinals school better then my lyretail anthias do. The Longspine or Threadfin cardinalfish (Apogon leptacanthus) is probably the best schooling cardinal, extremely peaceful. But if you want color then go with the Anthias.

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Spend the extra cash and get a school of blue reef chromis, or mix the blue with the blue greens... If you wanna be picky, get the black axil blue green chromis, they look almost the same and are sold as the same, but they have a black spot at the fin/gill area on the side, I have found that they have better highlighted colors... Chromis are going to give you a lot of movement..

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I agree chip, i feed often to keep them happy.. I have a purple queen anthias that schools around with them, which is kinda cool... I believe anthias have to be fed a lot too..

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I find with the chromis, if you don't feed often, you end up with 2

Is it the lack of feeding or is it their aggression towards each other that kills them off?

I always thought it was aggression that slowly kills them off slowly.

I've tried on 3 separate occasions to keep a shoal of them, but within two years, I'm always left with 2 or 3.

I would love to try again now that I have an auto feeder dispensing 4 times a day.

However, my wife would be skeptical. She thinks they're aggressive suicidal maniacs.

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for how long?

and how many times did you feed them per day?

 

I started with 7, and ended with 0 after about 18 months. I'd say every couple months the school would drop by 1. 7 to 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 to 0. Today I have 0 and haven't replaced them. I didn't know why it happened, but read that it had happened to others too. I am not sure if it was aggression amongst themselves or lack of feeding. I'll probably try a school of them again some day. For about $5 each it's not like it's that expensive to "keep their numbers up" I suppose.

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I had them for a year and fed them 3 times a day on avg... They were the first fish in the tank, started with 5 and added 4 more a couple months later..

The problem is there doesn't seem to be much data relating to how long groups can be maintained without losses.

You say you had them for a year then added 4 more. Are the 9 still with you today?

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No, I had 5 and a two months later added the other 4, I had to give them away dues to a broken tank (lots of fun).. I only have 2 in my current tank and they do fine, Ive had them for about 6 months, I am going to add some blue reef chromis and see how it goes...

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So perhaps this is the reason for the mysterious chromis disappearances I had when I had chromis. I didn't know they needed that much feeding, I have always read that they like to be fed at night; I don;t feed the tank everyday even, but the chromis didn't "look" like they were starving.

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the only problem with the feeding theory is that what I've noticed is that the smaller weaker ones will get bullied by the larger ones and are the first to disappear or die off. The biggest one will usually survive till the end unless it carpet surfs.

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They are extremely active fish and need the food and good flow, mine go back and forth all day long in the tank.. Never heard of feeding them at night, mine hide in the rocks at night... If you dont feed at least 2-3 times a day, dont get chromis or any other highly active fish..

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So perhaps this is the reason for the mysterious chromis disappearances I had when I had chromis. I didn't know they needed that much feeding, I have always read that they like to be fed at night; I don;t feed the tank everyday even, but the chromis didn't "look" like they were starving.

Are you sure you're not referring to Cardinals liking to be fed at night?

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I find with the chromis, if you don't feed often, you end up with 2

 

i ended up with one....had this one for like 5 years.

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my school of chromis jumped out :rollface: i think one of them was the mastermind behind the suicide lol.

It was like the jonestown suicide... I know thats not funny, but eh, whatever..

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