Chromis disappearing in tank

[mako0321]

I am on my 3rd Chromis already, I think my Emerald crab is eating them. The Emerald i have is about the size of a half dollar or so, I observed it with a larger Chromis the other day eating it. Has anyone else experience this? All other fish are fine.

Mako0321

 

[rachell321]

I had an emerald crab that got huge and was eating my hermits, snails, small fish you name it.. needless to say I turned him in for credit with a quickness lol.

 

[cr500_af]

Possible, but also very possible that the chromis are dying and you just saw the crab finishing off the remains.

 

[mako0321]

All of the Chromis are small ones, not very big, the other fish are fine though. Fish appeared healthy with no apparent signs of distress, ate like pigs ect.

 

[miami dolfan]

Look in your tank at night for the crab. I had one who would go fishing at night when the fish would sleep and he would chop off the fins so they couldn't swim away and then feast on it.

 

[crewdawg1981]

Chromis are famous for this.

How many times are you feeding? Similar to Anthias these guys need more than one feeding per day if you realistically expect to keep them. Obviously there are exceptions, but you'll find that most who have been in the hobby long enough have tried em and moved on.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

mako0321;631320 wrote: All of the Chromis are small ones, not very big, the other fish are fine though. Fish appeared healthy with no apparent signs of distress, ate like pigs ect.

Small chromis have horrific survival rates. They are likely just dying and the crab is doing what crabs do.

 

[darcurr]

jmaneyapanda;631341 wrote: Small chromis have horrific survival rates. They are likely just dying and the crab is doing what crabs do.

+1

Very unlikely that a emerald can catch a healthy fish.

 

[jj ocean]

I used to try to keep a nice school of small chromis, but they had an unhealthy attraction to the overflow. One would go MIA every couple of days. Found quite a few in the filter socks.

 

[toeside]

I like the Chromis myself, but I agree they just seem to disappear. One day, they'll be super healthy and bouncing around, and the next... gone. They do seem hungry all the time. Didn't realize they needed feeding so often.

At $5 each, they're about as affordable as it gets in this hobby... and they are much more of a community fish than, say, Damsels...

 

[jmaneyapanda]

toeside;631360 wrote: I like the Chromis myself, but I agree they just seem to disappear. One day, they'll be super healthy and bouncing around, and the next... gone. They do seem hungry all the time. Didn't realize they needed feeding so often.

At $5 each, they're about as affordable as it gets in this hobby... and they are much more of a community fish than, say, Damsels...

I understand what youre saying, but I dont agree with the context. I know Im splitting hairs here, but...

1) They dont disappear. They die. We should take some ownership for that.

2) Despite of how cheap they are, they should be attempted to be kept long term. I know you likely didnt mean it this way, but theyre not expendable because theyre cheap.

3) Honestly, they are no more a community fish than a damsel. The horrible success due to intraspecies aggression is a good clue.

There are large fiji or Red Sea green chromis that seem to do well, and Caribbean reef chromis too. But the small green ones just die in massive numbers. Aquarists seem to forget that because theyre "cheap". If they were tangs or angels dying in these numbers, Im sure that there'd be a massive outcry.

 

[toeside]

If you think I'm being cavalier about my fish, or any livestock, you are sadly mistaken. Yes, I know they die. Every loss is a failure and it pains me when it happens.

 

[phil47952]

I'm one that thinks crabs of any kind get the blame for a lot deaths because they are found feeding on the dead animal....