4 Green Reef Chromis

[john0087]

Hey all,

So on Saturday I added 5 very small (1/2" - 1") green reef chromis. I drip aclimated them for 2 hours then added them to my 60g tank. Lights were off for the acclimation and for the first hour the fish were in the tank. I turned on the actinics for 1 hour and then the daylights for an hour. The lights were only on for 3 hours on saturday to give the new fish some time to get used to the new surroundings.

This morning, one was dead. This is the first time I had ever lost a fish during acclimation. So now I have 4,

Water params this monring at 8am were:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 8.0

Ph rose to 8.4 by mid day once the lights turned on.

There are other 2 fish in the tank ,1 percula and 1 blue yellowtail damsel.

My question is, should I add another Chromis to make the number odd again, or will they be ok with 4. Today, 3 of them already started to display behaviors that looked like they were sorting out their hierachy, while the 4th hid a little bit more, but they all shoaled at various times. All are also eating quite well.

Thanks

John

 

[roka64]

To be honest, I had three and they all ended up jumping, one at a time. Your one death could have been any number of things, but from a 2 hour acclimation, if the other's made it, it may have already been weak or stressed. I would invest in some egg crate to cover the top of your tank to avoid carpet surfing.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

If I was you, I'd probably just stick with four. As Roka commented, chromis can be jumpers and you might end up with three eventually anyway. I know my three would've become two if I hadn't of been standing right at my tank when one of them decided to sample air.

 

[john0087]

If I was you, I'd probably just stick with four. As Roka commented, chromis can be jumpers and you might end up with three eventually anyway. I know my three would've become two if I hadn't of been standing right at my tank when one of them decided to sample air.

Ha, I woke up this morning and think that I have 3 now. My "shy: fourth one was missing this morning and the three that were shoaling well were already out and about looking for food. I dropped a littel flake into the tank and the 3 eat well, but the 4th was no where to be found. I looked all over the place in the tank with a flashlight and could not find the missing fish.

I didn't think about jumping - I hope I don't come home to a surprise.

I am going to leave it as it is, which for now I think is 3 green reef chromis.

Thanks
John