Chromis xanthura

(Bleeker, 1854)

Paletail Chromis

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Christmas Island and northwestern Australia.

Size: 7 inches (17 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits steep outer reef slopes and shallow coastal reef flates at depths between 10 to about 130 feet (3 – 40 m) and often found in large shoals where it feeds mainly on planktonic crustaceans (copepods, mysis, and shrimp larvae), fish eggs, and algae.

General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade with the juveniles having a blackish, sometimes dark green body with a yellow deeply forked tail, and the adults black with a white caudal peduncle and clear tail.

As with most Chromis species, quite hardy, peaceful, and better maintained in small groups of at least five to seven members. Should be given wide-open swimming areas, as they are open water swimmers almost always in the upper aquarium areas, and non-aggressive tankmates.

As to diet, will eat most regular aquarium foods, e.g., live fortified brine shrimp and/or finely chopped various frozen or fresh meaty foods such as mysis, squid, fish flesh, shrimp, clam, etc., and plant material, e.g., flake foods, especially those containing Spirulina and should be offered several times daily.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Labroidei

Family: Pomacentridae

Subfamily: Chrominae

Genus: Chromis

FYI: Even though quite passive and will ignore other fish in the aquarium, larger aquariums, e.g., 75 gallons and above for this species provide far more openness for small shoals to ‘peacefully’ coexist.

If maintained in groups of less than mentioned above, they tend to be over dominate of each other and may force some members into hiding. The bigger the group, the less intergroup picking on each other exists.

Juveniles are aggressive with each other in small aquariums, i.e., <30 gallons.

Experience Level: Beginner

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Zooplanktivore/Omnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: Yes

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful

Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallons

Temperature Range: 74 - 84°F (23 – 28°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5