green chromis

[Yoshi-22]

i was wondering, my maroon died because it had a fungus from fighting before i bought it i guess and he was itching it and made it worse, so i made a hospital tank and used medicine and he eventually died. it was so hard flushing him, but i had to do it, but since the green chromis are damsels, would they get along with percs or are should i consider that they all have personalities? also, i made the biggest mistake of my life that i noticed. When i bought dead rock i was a stupid a** and didnt wash them off so there wasnt any dirt on them, i was so happy to get them i just put them in, so last night i took them out and washed them off, now i have the task of taking the top layer of the gravel and washing it off, hopefully it works, maybe thats why i cant keep a fish too long, the perc is on its last life line prob, because he is just sitting the on the gravel and on his side, but every now and then he gets up. Thanks for letting me vent but back to the green chromis can u help me?

thanks
P.S. sorry so long

[digital_dragon]

The reason you can't keep your fish is because your tank has not cycled yet and you will continue to kill fish unless you listen to the advice of the good people here on this board.

I am not flaming you here but, your tank is too new to be adding fish this fast. Your cycle probably has not completed and your biological elements for filtration have not set in. It wasn't until 3 months until I put my first fish in and I would have waited until 6 if it had not been an emergency rescue. Patience is something that needs to be learned with this hobby. To quote one of our members tag lines..."Nothing good happens fast." You really need to put the brakes on adding anything else except live rock and a sandbed activator kit if you have a fine aragonite sandbed. If you have a crush coral and you are going for a fish only tank then you still need to let the bacteria levels settle in this tank before you add another fish.

If you are going for a reef and since you are still only two weeks into this and your cycle has obviously not completed you need do some more research on keeping a reef tank and get you some pure carribean aragonite to replace your crush coral sand bed.

If you are going to keep a saltwater tank you can't use the freshwater mentality of if it dies I will just go back to the LFS and buy me a new victim and continue to kill fish. It is irresponsible.

If you want to succeed in this hobby you really need to put the time into it that it deserves and listen to people on this board who have been doing this for a very long time and have the collective wisdom and experience to help you be conscientious and responsible in keeping and maintaining saltwater aquaria.

I am sorry for my rant but it had to be said.

Earl

[Yoshi-22]

and about the green chromis?

[digital_dragon]

You shouldn't even think of buying another fish so leave the green chromis at the LFS, find a home for the percs before they die, do a major water change, add some live rock, wait for your cycle to complete in about a month and then think about adding the green chromis.

Earl

[digital_dragon]

Have you tested your water parameters? What are your levels for Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates? Also what is your equipment setup, such as are you using a sump, skimmer, what type of lighting, etc.

Earl

[Yoshi-22]

and about the green chromis?

[Geoff]

i have found green chromis to not be as hardy as the other damsels. do you have the chromis now?

G~

[aquaticsdeptleader]

personaly i think green chromis do better in groups they are the least hostile of the chromis you can keep in my ho, however i would not suggest them with the clowns, not really for hostility reasons, simply you have a fish now that is very simliar (shape size) why waste realestate on simliar fish. you can get diffrent colors and shapes and behavior keeping a more diverse fish population, also i think they tend to get a little dull in that there behavior is not excedeingly interesting. laslty as they get larger they can become more aggressive and you dont want your little chromis to harasse the "crown jewel" of your aquarium.

these are all just my opionons however and if you really like the chromis by all means get a couple when your tank finishes cycleing. I personely like the damsels but dont keep clowns in the same tanks because for me it lacks appeal in diversity.

fwiw jim

[Yoshi-22]

thanks guys, ya i heard they were the least agressive, but i was wondering if they would get along, but u answerd it so thanks guys.

[hamburglar]

Green chromis have been very hardy in my tank and live in peace with a yellow tang, flame hawk, jaw fish, and cardinal.

I have noticed that they can become quite pushy at dinner time though. They eat like they're getting their last meal each and every time. I have also noticed that they seem to do better when fed daily small meals. (for those of you who only feed their tank every 2-3 days)

I agree that they are great in schools of at least 3-5. More than that, and they usually split up into seperate schools.

That is all I know from experience only. This is not professional info.

[Yoshi-22]

and o ya digital dragon, the way you use the filtering is a diffent way, and i do a more natural way, so then i can add one or 2 fish about a week or 2 later, so maybe you use that wet dry system or whatever, but you dont need to tell me what to do, you dont know what system i use and you cant asume that i use a sump or anything like that, all i use a protein skimmer and im happy jusdt with that.

[aquaticsdeptleader]

this is neither a postive or constructive discusion and in no way reflects the atmosphere here at trt understaindabley each has a diffrent view on the subject but lets leave it at that and concentrate on the subject of the chromis

jim

[Big Dave]

ok kids, that's enough bickering...

Yoshi, you need to remember that you are most likely having problems with your fish because of the high nitrates your new rock is producing. You just need to let the cycle of your tank catch up to the amount of nitrates, phosphates, etc that your biological filtering has to breakdown. If you add more fish now, just the waste from the fish will add to the extra junk that doesn't get broke down. Then you will most likely run into more problems with your fish, algae blooms (cyano, hair, diatoms), and will just turn this great hobby into one big headache for you!

Like the Dragon said, 'Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank' - and he is absolutely right about that.

This hobby will be a constant ongoing process. It's like riding a bike. You start off on level ground and slowly work your way up to taking on bigger and better things. If you just hop on that bike and start off on the BIG HILL, you're going to crash and burn. Yes, it's tough to start slow, but is definitely worth the wait. Your filtration should be fine - EVENTUALLY. I use my LS, LR, and a skimmer, That's it. But I waited to add more stuff until my tank matured and was ready to handle it. I have had almost zero problems, and attribute that to listening to the fine folks here on TRT. They know what they are talking about! HTH

-Big Dave

[aquaticsdeptleader]

ditto dave

[digital_dragon]

Thank you Dave.