chromis in groups?

[rica5tully]

I have one Chromis in a tank by itself? Is that O.K? Or do they need to be in groups to be happy?

Mine is acting pretty skittish since I've put him in. He's very nervous and isn't eating much yet.

[OrionGirl]

It can work in a big tank, but in tanks less than about 100 gallons, I've only ever seen it result in WWIII (or IV, or V!). They tend to be pretty aggressive, IME. A pair might work out, but I'd watch it, and be ready to step in.

[racerX]

I have had six in my 55gal for about four months now, they are the only surviving members of a bad ich outbreak. now that the tank had been treated and repopulated they all seem to stay close to a large cave i have made in the live rock. But i did get one individual that was larger then the others to try to keep the peace. I read somewhere, maybe on here? that it would help and so far i don't see them fighting about much, maybe the first few pieces of food that gets put in but after it is all in they seem to calm down. I also plan on putting them in the larger tank as soon as i can afford to buy the things needed to start it up.

[rica5tully]

So are you saying that one should be fine by itself? It acts like it's scared to death and I wondered if they don't fare well alone.

But you think one all by itself will be o.k? I don't want to buy more, but I thought maybe I needed to.

[OrionGirl]

It can take a couple days for a fish to be comfortable in a tank. As long as there are some hiding places, give it a few days to settle in.

[rica5tully]

I have another, unrelated question:

How common is it for hermit crabs to kill snails? I had a margarita snail crawling around the sides last night. This morning, it's upside down on the sand...and empty.

I'm always suspicious of my sand because it's very fine-grained. But I've also heard that hermits will kill snails.

[racerX]

yep, Im down five snails now and i have three hermits with black turbo snail shells. and i have put extra shells in from the begining but i think the crabs just like the meal that comes with the snail shell. but it sucks but i keep buying more snails. I mean they are only like a buck fifty.