blue/green chromis fish behavior by taylor morris and caroline montgomery
TRANSCRIPT
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
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?
1st Change
• Changed the placement of the powerheads in the tank.
• We moved them both forward from the back of the tank.
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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