Blue/Green Chromis Fish Behavior

By Taylor Morris and Caroline Montgomery

Taxonomy

• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Chordata• Class: Actinopterygii• Order: Perciformes• Family: Pomacentridae• Species: Chromis viridis • Popular Name: Green Chromis - Blue-Green

Chromis - Black-axil Chromis - Blue-Green puller - Blackfin Chromis

Background

• Found in the Indo Pacific in coral reefs• Found above corals not below, rarely hide• Peaceful in small groups• Female is larger than male• Feed on plankton and other small organisms

Why The Reef Chromis?

Hypothesis

If we change the conditions of the tank, the Green Chromis fish will adapt to the changes, responding in a positive way, and will continue to thrive in their new surroundings.

Proposal

• The goal of this lab is to discover the behaviors between the Chromis, the other organisms and changes in the tank.

• We observed there behaviors each day, and later used an Ethogram to collect data.

Questions

• Do changes in the tank effect the Behavior of the Chromis?– Moving power heads back– Moving or taking out corals– Not cleaning tank– Feeding timesThese questions lead to others:– What is the fish’s dynamic in the tank?– Did moving the power heads cause the second males

death?

General Observations

• Ethogram• General observations during November and

December

1st Change

• Changed the placement of the powerheads in the tank.

• We moved them both forward from the back of the tank.

Placement in Tank

Interaction

Swim Patterns

Videos:

Video• General Behavior• Swim both together and apart• Social• Like to feed in the current• Video:

The Case of the Missing Fish

• Disappeared in November• Concluded dead after two months of

searching• Either was killed off by other Chromis or

simply died• During power head observations• http://bluegreenchromisbehavior.wiki.lovett.o

rg/February

Second Change

• Coral Growth• Was not an original change, but cause a behavioral

change• Chromis moved areas of the tank because of coral

growth

Third Change• Created a high stress environment• Allowed red algae to build up throughout the tank• Stressed, more tense• Ate red algae

Conclusion• Many of our observations supported our hypothesis • Some behavioral patterns were found, but no major behavioral

changes were seen• Very simple fish, with simple behaviors• First time they had been studied in this class• Most important interactions were with each other• Video:

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• Beletsky, Les. Australia: the East. Northampton, MA: Interlink, 2007. Print.

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• "Chromis Viridis - Green Chromis." Tropical Fish, Aquarium Fish, Care for Saltwater and Freshwater Fish, Aquarium Setup. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. <http://www.fishlore.com/profile-bluegreenchromis.htm>.

• "GREEN CHROMIS." FISH SPECIES. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. <http://www.fish-species.org.uk/saltwater-fish/08-green-chromis.htm>.

• Myrberg, Arthur, and Ronald Thresher. "Interspecific Aggression and Its Relevance to the Concept of Territoriality in Reef Fishes." American Zoologist 14.I (1974). JSTOR. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

• Smith, Mark, and Kevin Warburton. "Predator Shoaling Moderates the Confusion Effect in Blue-Green Chromis, Chromis Viridis." Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 30.2 (1992). JSTOR. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

• Skomal, Gregory. "Feeding." Saltwater Aquarium. Hoboken, NJ: Howell Book House/Wiley Pub., 2006. 91. Print.