Green chromis murder mystery

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012.

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  1. fuelcell

    fuelcell Astrea Snail

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    Hattiesburg, MS
    I picked up 5 green chromis from my LFS a week ago. They all seemed to acclimate well and were eating. I noticed one seemed a little aggressive to some of the others and they seemed to stay away from the bully. After a couple days one turned up dead, and another was dead this morning. The fish I found this morning looked like it had a chunk taken out of it near the tail and a couple near the head.
    [​IMG]
    The only thing in my tank are the chromis, some corals, and a CUC. My guess is one of the chromis is doing this but I haven't actually seen them nipping at each other and it seems to happen at night when they're all hiding in the rock. I was hoping someone with more experience might have an idea of what's going on and let me know if I'm missing something.
     
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    #1

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  2. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    What does your CuC consist of? Do you have any Emerald Crabs?
     
    Camkha1234, Jul 17, 2012
    Camkha1234, Jul 17, 2012
    #2
  3. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    Those injuries may very well have occurred after it died. What are your parameters?
     
    Kevin_E, Jul 17, 2012
    Kevin_E, Jul 17, 2012
    #3
  4. fuelcell

    fuelcell Astrea Snail

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    Nope. Just scarlet hermits and turbos
     
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    #4
  5. grinder37

    grinder37 Whip-Lash Squid

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    Absolutely,when upset they'll also toss stuff around the tank like they own it and will hold shrimp for ransom.fuelcell,you must have made them angry.lol

    Seriously,your fellow chromis are most likely to blame,and the cuc got ahold of the body(s).
     
    grinder37, Jul 17, 2012
    grinder37, Jul 17, 2012
    #5
  6. fuelcell

    fuelcell Astrea Snail

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    Sorry guys. They are astrea, not turbos. I still get my snails mixed up. I have no turbos
     
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    #6

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  7. Toallhisdoom

    Toallhisdoom Dragon Wrasse

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    snails had nothing to do with it. Chromis killed chromis, or they died from stress or who knows, then hermits started to eat the bodies. SCAVENGERS!
     
    Toallhisdoom, Jul 17, 2012
    Toallhisdoom, Jul 17, 2012
    #7
  8. grinder37

    grinder37 Whip-Lash Squid

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    We're just kiddin about the snails,both turbos and astreas are algae eaters,but it's very common for chromis to kill off one another in a quest for dominance,providing water quality is not the issue.The damage you see is most likely from the hermits after the death of the fish.

    edit-yeah,what toal said
     
    grinder37, Jul 17, 2012
    grinder37, Jul 17, 2012
    #8
  9. fuelcell

    fuelcell Astrea Snail

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    Location:
    Hattiesburg, MS
    My parameters are all good so I suspected things went down the way toal described it. Thanks for the info. I'm kinda bummed though because I got 5 specifically to try to keep any one fish from getting picked on too much. Hopefully the 3 I have left can make a truce.
     
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    fuelcell, Jul 17, 2012
    #9
  10. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    His main concern is what is killing his fish. Poor water quality could very well could be a reason for the loss of the Chromis' to begin with. By providing water parameters, we can either rule out poor water quality or factor it into the discussion.

    I already established that the "injuries" were likely caused by the clean up crew.
     
    Kevin_E, Jul 17, 2012
    Kevin_E, Jul 17, 2012
    #10
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