Green chromide

Care at a glance

Overview

The green chromide is a large but peaceful cichlid that lives in groups in the middle of a big brackish tank. It is best left to experienced keepers.

Caring for the green chromide

Green chromides are big, deep-bodied fish that need at least 145 gal (550 L). Give them a sandy floor, sturdy rockwork and driftwood, with wide open lanes to cruise. Strong filtration keeps the water clean.

They do best in brackish water rather than pure fresh water. Add marine salt to a specific gravity of around 1.005 to 1.015. Keep the temperature at 68 to 86°F (20 to 30°C) and the pH at 7.0 to 8.0, in moderately hard, alkaline water. Careful attention to salinity and water quality makes them a project for an experienced keeper.

Feed a mostly vegetable diet with algae wafers and greens, rounded out with occasional frozen foods. In the wild they graze algae and plant matter along with small invertebrates.

Keep a shoal of six or more rather than a single pair. Despite their size they are mild mannered and peaceful. Keep them with other calm, brackish-tolerant fish such as monos, scats or mollies.

They are biparental substrate spawners. A bonded pair cleans a firm surface such as a rock or root and lays several hundred sticky eggs. Both parents guard the eggs and later shepherd the fry. Their size, their need for correct brackish conditions and the space a pair needs to settle make them hard to breed.

Good to know

The green chromide is a member of the cichlid family, Cichlidae, and is the largest of the chromides. It is also known as karimeen or pearl spot.

In the wild

Etroplus suratensis lives in the estuaries, coastal lagoons and tidal streams of Sri Lanka and southern India. It moves between fresh and brackish water. Wild fish spawn seasonally with the monsoon rains.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Orange chromide

  Etroplus maculatus

  3.9 in (10 cm) · 55 gal (210 L)

  3.9 in (10 cm)55 gal (210 L)68–82°F (20–28°C)

• 

  Canara pearlspot

  Etroplus canarensis

  4.3 in (11 cm) · 55 gal (210 L)

  4.3 in (11 cm)55 gal (210 L)72–90°F (22–32°C)

• 

  Chocolate cichlid

  Hypselecara temporalis

  11.8 in (30 cm) · 65 gal (245 L)

  11.8 in (30 cm)65 gal (245 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)

• 

  Uaru cichlid

  Uaru amphiacanthoides

  11.8 in (30 cm) · 65 gal (245 L)

  11.8 in (30 cm)65 gal (245 L)81–86°F (27–30°C)

• 

  Blue dolphin cichlid

  Cyrtocara moorii

  9.8 in (25 cm) · 66 gal (250 L)

  9.8 in (25 cm)66 gal (250 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Eartheater cichlid

  Geophagus altifrons

  9.8 in (25 cm) · 172 gal (650 L)

  9.8 in (25 cm)172 gal (650 L)79–90°F (26–32°C)