Quick Chromide Question

[chris_1127]

do/can green chromides show the same spot halfway down their flank as orange chromides? A lfs has some fish labelled up as green chromides in their brackish section, but they look more like the pictures of wild variant orange chromides that i've seen/can find. theyre barely an inch at present, and are predominantly greyish with a hint of colour around the edges of fins, and a distinct dark spot halfway down their flanks. No noteable green or orange colouration though.
Are the two species easily confused as juveniles? I would like to add a pair of orange chromides to my tank but due to the size of greens want to make sure i am getting the right fish before i buy.

 

[nmonks]

Wild-type orange chromides are indeed green. But the orange chromides have a dark spot (or patch) on the flanks, as well as a darker region above the anal fin. Green chromides, in contrast, have more a pattern of slanted, vertical stripes with silvery spots. Green chromides always remind me of severums.

Green chromides are usually sold at a relatively large size, typically around the 8 cm mark. Few orange chromides ever get this big! Green chromides are also comparatively expensive and rarely traded. Unlike orange chromides (which usually do fine in unsalted, hard, alkaline water) green chromides probably do need brackish conditions.

If in doubt, check Fishbase (see links below). They usually have some useful, correctly identified pictures.

Cheers,

Neale

Orange chromides

http/filaman.uni-kiel.de/Summary/species...ary.php?ID=8703

Green chromides

http/filaman.uni-kiel.de/Summary/species...ary.php?ID=4681

 

[chris_1127]

Thanks for that Neale, 99% certain theyre wild variant oranges in that case. i was fairly sure they had mislabeled them but wanted to double check first - other misnomers they had in the shop included figure 8's labelled up as spotted puffers, and purple spotted gudgeons as "red fin gobies" so i dont take their labels too seriously.

what sort of salinity will orange chromides tolerate? i'm at 1.006 at the moment, but am thinking of splitting my tank into 2 and taking the larger new tank up to about 1.010 - would they tolerate the higher level or be better off in the lighter sg tank?

 

[nmonks]

Hi Chris,

I agree with your about being cautious about labels on tanks in fish stores. Bread and butter stuff seems to be usually fine, but brackish and oddballs are often inaccurate. Not always the retailer's fault, mind; more often than not it's the exporter who tells the retailers what's in a bag of fish.

Orange chromides will do fine at relatively low salinities. An SG of 1.003 is ideal, and even 1.005 is about the upper limit for long-term health. Half-strength sea water, SG 1.010, will probably kill them. So I'd put them in your original tank.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[chris_1127]

thanks again Neale. Heres a pic anyway, the colour looks a lot more orangey in the picture than it did in the tank, but it does look a bit like there are feint black stripes on the fish, what do you reckon?

 

[nmonks]

Well, it's an orange chromide all right. Not sure you can tell males from females reliably outside breeding times. Nice fish though; the wild type chromides are getting kinda rare in the trade.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[chris_1127]

cheers for the id on that one Neale, wanted to make sure it wasnt gonna turn into a tankbuster.