Kessil

Vanderbuilt Chromis (Chromis vanderbuilti)

Anyone have experience with this fish? would they get aggro against a green/blue chromis, would they work with occellaris clowns?
 
I had a small school several years ago. They were quite difficult to get but after seeing them in the wild they looked like really neat little peaceful fish. I think I originally got 5 or 6 and put them in a 180 mixed reef. For a couple weeks they were OK but then they started dropping off one by one. After losing the first one I watched the school closer and observed that there was quite a bit of harrassment of the lower rung fish by those higher in the pecking order. Despite increased feeding and a few other fish in the tank (angels, tangs, clowns) the #1 fish eventually knocked off all the others, and in pretty short order if I recall (matter of a couple days). They are really pretty little fish but beware of the school heirarchy (at least in my experience).
 
They don't really school like other chromis. It is suspected that the fight with each other which leads to poor health.
 
I noticed that with my green chromis as well, initially schooling, but like most "schooling" fish probably were doing so instinctually for protection from predators, after a few months with no predators then it's fair game smaller ones get picked off, larger one gets larger. However I did see the "top two???" spawn regularly in one corner of the tank :D
 
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