All fish / Pomacentridae

Sunshine Chromis

Chromis insolata

Also known as sunshinefish, sunshine damselfish, chromis insolatus, yellow-backed chromis, 阳光光鳃鱼

Juveniles are a bright lime yellow on the back fading to pale or blue-grey below, while adults turn darker brown to olive with a yellow patch on top. It lives on deeper reef slopes and is kept as a hardy, active planktivore that adds colour to the middle of a reef tank.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

10 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

200 litres

Keep as

Singly or in a small group in a large tank

Diet

Omnivore: mysis, brine shrimp, copepods, quality flakes and pellets, fed several times a day

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, south to Brazil

Breeding

Males clean a patch of hard surface and guard the sticky eggs that females lay there. The larvae are tiny and planktonic, so rearing them in home aquariums is rarely managed.

Good to know

Adults become noticeably less colourful and can grow territorial towards other chromis. Because it comes from deeper water it is collected less often and may need careful acclimation.