Chromis - Green Chromis viridis

[mike31154]

Purchased three of these of slightly different sizes. Shoaled nicely in the upper water column for a few months then started to go their separate ways. After a couple of months the largest & second largest started bullying the smallest who was unable to get sufficient food. The smallest finally disappeared and I never found the carcass. I presume he may have become a meal for my BTA.

The largest then started hanging out all day opposite my BTA and Maroon Clown pair. I was surprised that the clowns tolerated the proximity of the Chromis while vigorously defending the area from a Blue Devil Damsel. Anyhow, the large Chromis made this his home and #2 was left on his own banished to the surface area lest he be attacked by the Blue Devil. I figured he would be the next to go since he was beginning to show signs of starvation as well. Surprisingly it ended up being the largest one who met his demise next. Not sure how, but maybe Mama Clown finally took a run at him. All I know is I found the carcass partially eaten in the morning.

That left the second largest who seemed to have vision problems since he'd run at a piece of food and miss. Almost starved to death so I tried isolating him in a container to get some food into him. When I went on holidays, I had to release him back into the tank and figured he'd be gone when I got back. Again, surprisingly, he made it and was getting healthier. Just when I figured he was out of the woods, I found his partially devoured carcass in the clutches of a large white spotted hermit I have in the tank. Pretty sure 'herminator' didn't actually kill the guy but he's an opportunist and benefitted from the occasion. I suspect that he too may have fallen victim to Mama Maroon. As his health improved, I noticed him getting bolder and roaming around the tank more, down from the surface. So getting healthy may have cost him if he got too close to Maroon territory.