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 times These 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

1 st 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 rg/February 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:

Bibliography Allen, Gerald R. Marine Life of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. [Singapore]: Periplus, Print. Beletsky, Les. Australia: the East. Northampton, MA: Interlink, Print. Blasiola, George C. The Saltwater Aquarium Handbook. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's, Print. "Chromis Viridis - Green Chromis." Tropical Fish, Aquarium Fish, Care for Saltwater and Freshwater Fish, Aquarium Setup. Web. 02 Nov "GREEN CHROMIS." FISH SPECIES. Web. 02 Nov < 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 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 Skomal, Gregory. "Feeding." Saltwater Aquarium. Hoboken, NJ: Howell Book House/Wiley Pub., Print.