Blue-green Chromis
Blue-green Chromis
Chromis viridis
CommonPomacentridaeHarmless
ID points
- Bright blue-green all over, almost transparent against the light
- Gathers in hundreds or thousands above thickets of staghorn coral
- The whole school drops into the coral branches in an instant when alarmed
Basics
- Family
- Pomacentridae
- Length
- 5–9 cm
- Depth
- 1-20 m
- Regions
- Indo-Pacific reefs
- Distribution
- Tropical coral reefs from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific
- Habitat
- Branching corals on shallow reefs
- Diet
- Zooplankton
Easily confused with
DamselfishSmall, flattened, oval body
Clark's AnemonefishBody black to dark brown with three broad white bands
ClownfishOrange body with three broad white bands, each edged in blackFun fact
The Blue-green Chromis is one of the commonest small fishes on the coral reef. They gather in large clouds above branching corals, and the moment they sense a threat they dive straight back down into the branches to hide.