Reef Chromis help, massive info needed please!

[sikpupy]

Hello all, first post here. I have a saltwater reef tank and I need some help. I have ordered 3 sets of 3 Chromis cyanea AKA reef chromis and they just die:

They all die within weeks. Now, I know some of you are going to say I am a bad fishy dad, but, I also have a fat powder blue and Atlantic tang doing just fine, along with many others. I have heard that these chromis are very hardy so I do not know what kills them. Some fish are collected by cyanide poisoning but I have heard from some higher ups that this is not needed for this fish and so, thus, not used. The only thing I can think of is that there must be something with the temp of my tank.

I need some help from the divers that go there and are there. I need to know at what depths you see the majority of them, where they are hanging out and most important, what is the temperature of the water you see most of them in?

Thanks in advance.

 

[deborahdelamar]

This is the blue chromis, as you said Chromis cyanea, in the Damselfish family. It's a very abundant species in the Caribbean and is active year round -- throughout the ocean's range of temperature, mid 70's to mid 80's F. Your problem may be that they are "plankton pickers" -- they swim above the reef and feed on various small critters and plants floating in the water column -- so they'd have to get food particles suspended in the water before the product sinks to the bottom. Generally these fish live below 25-30 feet, so that may be a factor. Another idea that I've heard is that the Caribbean has more mineral content (is saltier) than the Atlantic or Pacific so, while I don't know if it's true, that may be something worth looking into -- you may need to know where your fish were harvested or more about the water in which they were raised. In other words, I have no idea!!! Good luck.

 

[sikpupy]

In other words, I have no idea!!! Good luck.

Thats quite alright. You gave me a little more info than I had before. I did notice that they would eat from the surface and items floating down but had "no" intrest in anything at the bottom.

Thanks for the added input, much appreciated.

 

[sharky60]

You've probably covered this, but, are you sure one of the other fish aren't killing them?

Other than that, even though the other fish are doing well, it sounds like some sort of imbalance in your water.

Blue Chromis are EVERYWHERE on the reefs of Cozumel. I've been chasing the little buggers around the reef for years trying to get a decent shot of one of them, they just refuse to hold still! One thing I've noticed is they seem to be more abundant since Wilma.

You will find juvies, in mass, on small reef heads on shore dives in as little water as 20', water temps are most likely warmer there and can get over 80 degrees in the summer.

Adults seem to hang out mostly near the top of the reef wall formations, say 40-60', but can be found deeper. They don't seem to "school" like the grunts do, moving about as one unit, but they do hang out in large groups over areas where other small fish congregate.

I went thru my photos and they seem to confirm this, reef shots with lots of BC's in them have the fish over the top of the reef rather than down against the wall and where there's one...there's many. The ones I looked at were on Palacar Gardens, Francesa, Tormentos, Cedral Pass & Santa Rosa wall. All shots had blue water backgrounds rather than coral wall back drops so I know the fish were at the top of the reef.

Water temps on Coz generally range throughout the year in the 78-84 degree range, (info from my trusty "Cozumel Dive guide & log book"). Although I have clocked 76 degrees on deeper dives in the spring. Quite a swing for an aquarium I know.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

It looks like you may have made it over to wetwebmedia.com based on the photo. If not read around there as they have a huge amount of reputable information. I'm not familiar with this specific species, but I do find that my chromis are less hardy than other damsels I keep. If you haven't checked already you should see if these chromis are best kept alone or in groups. Most Damsels are best alone, but some (like green chromis) are best in groups 6 or more. out of curiocity:

What size tank?

What quarantine procedure do you use?

What foods do you feed?

Have you seen any aggression from the tangs or other fish?

 

[Chocoholic]

Try Reefcentral dot com they have loads of info about tanks and fish and fish health issues.

 

[sikpupy]

sharky60 – The chromis may, from time to time, get charged by my tang once in a while, but, it a long charge. The chromis, which is at the top of the tank, see’s the tang coming, from the bottom of the tank, and moves an inch away when the tang gets close, then the tang goes back to the bottom. Its actually quite hilarious because the chromis barley moves and it’s a complete miss, lol. Also, where the chromis is, at the top of the tank, there are plenty of places to dart into if the chromis really felt threatened and needed a safe place to be. I am keeping aggression in mind, but I don’t think that is it at this point.

Hmm, 78 to 84? I have my tank on the 78 side. Maybe they are freezing? Hmmm…… Yes, something must be imbalanced somewhere, I just have to figure where and what. That is where some of this info will hopefully come into play. Thanks for all the info, it is being cataloged .


M Bipatitus – Yes, I have even finally emailed them and they responded. Nothing out of the ordinary that any other fish needs, according to them.

I have a 90 gallon display. I get the fish in, put them in their own bucket with their water. I have dripped them, I have added 10:1 ratio of clean Ph/temp and salinity adjusted water every 15 minutes. Room temps are 78 so no heater, and, I let the bags sit for 20 minutes at least unpacking…etc. I figure by them they are up to room temp. I add the fresh salt water, dumping when I get about twice original, then, after an hour or two most, they go into a full clean batch of again, Ph/temp and salinity adjusted water. Dead dead and dead over and over. I even tried just dumping right into the main tank out of last-ditch desperation, they lasted the longest but dead. I feed cyclopeeze, spectrum thera A+ and mysis shrimp. Tangs get Nori too. Again, no serious aggression, like chasing from one end of the tank to another or anything like that.


Chocoholic - I used to be on reefcentral all the time, but I got into a spat with the owner and he kicked me off permanently. Funny thing is, I did not say anything on the site that was bad, just stated my opinion. It was when we emailed each other I got into with him and he felt insulted enough to kick me off permanently for calling him a dictator equivalent to Hitler (I swear, thats all I said). Maybe he is Jewish? I dunno… I guess if thats the way he wants to be about it, I could use Google for a search like we used to do when the RC search button was down.

Again, thanks for all your helps.. If any one can think of anything else, let me know.\

P.S. I have been using Instant Ocean reef crystals and wonder if there is something wrong with it?????

 

[mstevens]

he felt insulted enough to kick me off permanently for calling him a dictator equivalent to Hitler (I swear, thats all I said).

Wow, really? That's all you said? I can't imagine anyone taking umbrage at that...

 

[M_Bipartitus]

It's unfortunate, but I've experienced a few aquarium sites that overzealous and easily upset mods/owners. Part of the reason I spend time here rather than those forums.

Have you tried a separate quarantine tank? I try, whenever possible, to give new acquisitions a month in a separate (cycled) tank before adding them to the main system. This way they can recover from the stress of transport and acclimate to foods, salt... all without other fish. (not to mention protecting the main tank from parasites) After I know the fish is healthy and eating, I put it in the main tank.


I haven't heard too much bad about reef crystals other than the relatively poor showing in this study:

Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: The Toxicity of Synthetic Sea Salts and Natural Seawater to the Development of White Sea Urchin (Lytichinus pictus) Larvae

It is possible that there is too much of the various additives in reef crystals to use as a primary salt. That said, I'd be surprised if this is your problem as your other fish are doing fine.

Here are other resources on salts

Pros Salt Study

For what it's worth, standard instant ocean is the standard artifical salt at most public aquariums. Though I was told by staff at one the main reason is they are the only manufacturer who can make sufficient quantities for public aquarium use.

 

[sikpupy]

Wow, really? That's all you said? I can't imagine anyone taking umbrage at that...

It was a discussion about how some Russians let a bunch of saltwater fish die in customs. After a few insults to the Russian people, I was explaining how thier mentality's work. Not so much defending them but, how we can understand them and it was not thier fault, if the sender, who I am sure knows Russians, was prepared before hand. The mod didnt like the way the thread was going, not that there was anything wrong with it, and "locked" it. It did get a little side tracked, but there was no reason to lock it. I see threads going off tangent all the time on that site.

I started a new thread asking why it was locked. I was like, how are we going to learn from this so it does not happen again? This is important for people to know how other countries work. I was also like, what, freedom of speech is represed here? Was this a cominist run site? I did not understand!? Then he banned me. In a letter he said to come back in a month. I said, whatever Hitler. Poor guy, burns me but cant take a little back. I wonder if he got kicked around when he was a kid? Thats what useually happens to people like that, aka Columbine.

Anyways..........

M_Bipartitus - thanks for the links, I will check them out.