attack of the damsels

[weekendplayer]

Hey everyone. I just got some pulsating xenia from my LFS a couple of days ago. My question is has anyone ever had a yellow tail damsel attack there xenia. One of my does. I came home and found the xenia flipped over. Though it got knocked over by a snail so a flipped it back. Went back a couple of hours later and found it flipped again so I fixed it back and made sure it could not be flipped. As I was watching my tank I saw the coulpret nip at the xenia. I've been meaning to catch the damsels and take them out but wasn't ready for the agravation of trying to catch those little SOB's. So now I moved the Xenia to my sump for protection until I can catch the damsels. Would the xenia be ok in the sump for a day or two? I have a 18 watt cf on 24/7. I think they would be but just woundering.

Thanks
Paul

 

[T Man]

I have three yellow tailed in my 125g. One of the fish was the "bully' as you described. He would even pick at my algae magnet while I was scraping the glass. I decided to try and catch the fish but had no luck, they caught on- slick little fellas!
I added a purple Psuedochromis about three months ago, and don't have anymore problems with any "bullies". Maybe if you add another more aggresive fish to your tank, you will get the same results as me, and get to keep the Damsel in your display. Good Luck. TinMan

 

[ek9vboi]

I think it will be fine for a little. Mine is still sitting in the refuge from when I made frags of my xenia and it decided it was time to move onto my LR i had in the refugium. the stalk is now long... i know it isnt not getting enough lighitng but oh well what can i do now.

 

[ACBlinky]

Damsels move things around to suit their taste, they're funny fish. Yous probably just don't like having something new in their territory. I'd try placing a piece of rubble in a spot where you'd like the Xenia, see if they object. If they don't react, try something that looks more like a waving coral -- a piece of filter floss attached to the rubble might work. If there's no reaction, you could try the Xenia in that spot. OTOH if you're planning to remove the damsels anyway, it might be best to just leave the coral be until you're done moving rockwork around.

I had a pair of saddleback clowns that would relocate hermits -- the female didn't like seeing crabs on 'her' rock and would pull them off, carry them across the tank and drop them in a corner. When she was really grouchy she'd shake them like a terrier with a rat.

My little Talbot's damsel cracks me up. I keep a few large shells in my 65g (3"+) so that the huge electric blue hermit can switch if he wants to, and one night I heard a shell clicking against the glass over and over. When I went over to investigate, I found the damsel headbutting a shell twice her size, rolling it over and over. She moved that shell three feet, from one side of the tank to the other, and then shoved it into the rockwork. I tried moving it back to a spot where the crab would be able to get to it, and she went straight back to work. Once that shell was safely tucked away, she resumed her normal activities, but kept her eye on it. I was absolutely doubled over laughing, who says fish aren't fun?

 

[jkreefer]

my maroon clown picks at my xenia too...luckily it grows fast

 

[Shekki]

I'm not sure how big your tank is, but you can try getting a bigger fish. I started with a Blue Velvet Damsel and a Diadem Dottyback. The damsel was trying to bully the dottyback until I got a Scribbled Rabbit. The Rabbit isn't aggressive, but I think the presence of a larger fish in the tank chilled the damsel out.

Robb

 

[Shekki]

Oh, I forgot. I have some Xenia in the tank and the damsel could care less. Now about the rabbit and the spaghetti leather......

Robb