How I Am Able to Keep a Large Amount of Chromis

I have always believed that chromis are one of the most underrated and abused fish in the hobby. Over the years I have found that many new hobbyists begin a saltwater aquarium by using chromis to jump start the nitrogen cycle. Granted, over the years that practice has become used less and less, though it still occurs. Another tragedy I find with this beautiful schooling fish is they are considered a very “cheap” fish due to their inexpensive cost. Because of this, most people only buy a few to keep together. In the wild these fish swim and live in massive schools of 50 more.

Chromis are constantly eating out of the current, like many other fish. Anthias are one species of fish that does this as well. Most of the advice you hear about anthias is to feed them multiple times of day. The chromis isn’t typically given the same advice. I feed my fish small amounts 4 to 5 times a day (if I can). Those feedings are a different type of food each feeding. Because I don’t have 8ft+ wide colonies of Acropora in my reef, I give my chromis lots of caves, valleys, coral and other hiding spots.

To wrap up, I keep a large number of chromis, 18, I feed a very small amount of food every 2 hours if I can which is about 4-5 times daily. I give them a wide variation of foods. I hope this gives a little insight on how I have been able to keep a school of chromis for about a year as of writing this.