Damsel Dominant Tank Owners Thread

[tsav]

Looking to see if there are any other reefers out there who actually like damselfish. They get a bad rep for being bullies but I don't think that's fair. Put a goldfish in an Oscar tank and see what happens. These guys seem to need their own biotope like cichlids.

Anyone successful in keeping a damsel dominant tank?

 

[water is wet]

7 damsels and 11 chromis as well as 8 anthias 5 dartfish 6 royal grammas 3 neon gobies and a jawfish. I've had most of them for nearly a year and have never seen them harass anyone. I think more often than not it's that the tank owner didn't choose wisely when choosing tank size or tank mates.

 

[tsav]

I just ordered these today and these are the only fish that will be put into my 45g. Wanted to get them all in at one time and they are all chrysiptera.

 

[IdahoCindy]

I really appreciate our Talbot's. They are a sweet little fish.

 

[tsav]

7 damsels and 11 chromis as well as 8 anthias 5 dartfish 6 royal grammas 3 neon gobies and a jawfish. I've had most of them for nearly a year and have never seen them harass anyone. I think more often than not it's that the tank owner didn't choose wisely when choosing tank size or tank mates.

Which types of damsels and chromises are they?

 

[water is wet]

The damsels are Azure Yellowtail Pink Smith and Starcki and the chromis are Lemon and Black and White.

 

[water is wet]

By the way I think with that many damsels in a 45 your going to see aggression and probably deaths. They all like to have their own place and in a tank that size im thinking there might not be enough space for them to claim.

 

[tsav]

By the way I think with that many damsels in a 45 your going to see aggression and probably deaths. They all like to have their own place and in a tank that size im thinking there might not be enough space for them to claim.

Yeh hoping that adding them small and all at the same time will keep it from coming to that. Chrysiptera are supposed to be peaceful. As far as damsels go anyways.

 

[joshbrookkate]

The damsels are Azure Yellowtail Pink Smith and Starcki and the chromis are Lemon and Black and White.

My Starcki is my favourite fish. A model citizen in my 75g, with a small yellow tang, flame angel, 2 percs, a chromis and a diamond watchman goby as well as lots of LPS, nems, softies and shrimp.
Michelle

 

[jenjen]

I have 6 damsels in a 180 gal for close to a year now. I love them! Such character fishes but certainly need their space.

 

[Sounds Fishy]

I am sad to say I recently had to remove my damsel from my DT.He is my oldest fish I adopted 6 years ago.He is about 10 now.He became more aggressive as years went by.I called (actually I still call him),the"Mayor".He is a good community fish,as long as he is the boss,and as time went on,he just seems to get more territorial to the point where 220 gallons wasn't enough space between him and any other fish.He is about 5 " now, and I had to remove him because he always chasing the other inhabitants.The atmosphere is a lot more peaceful in the DT now.

 

[jenjen]

I am sad to say I recently had to remove my damsel from my DT.He is my oldest fish I adopted 6 years ago.He is about 10 now.He became more aggressive as years went by.I called (actually I still call him),the"Mayor".He is a good community fish,as long as he is the boss,and as time went on,he just seems to get more territorial to the point where 220 gallons wasn't enough space between him and any other fish.He is about 5 " now, and I had to remove him because he always chasing the other inhabitants.The atmosphere is a lot more peaceful in the DT now.

What type of damsel, and what fish was it harassing?

Thanks

 

[tsav]

Yeh maybe in this thread we don't need to blanket the term damsel let's stick to labeling them by genus and species. That way maybe it will help others choose the right damsel for their tank.

 

[Maritimer]

I've got a mixed community with plans to add two or three azure damsels. The folks I've talked to say that azures are peaceful enough to get along - but the folks I've talked to sell damselfish for a living!

What do you folks say?

Can they behave with flasher wrasses, dartfish and other smaller active fish?

~Bruce

 

[Sounds Fishy]

What type of damsel, and what fish was it harassing?

Thanks

It is a Neon Velvet Damsel(Neoglyphidon Oxyodon).He was a pretty well behaved community member for many years,unfortunately it was some of the new inhabitants he chose to harass.I assumed his attacks would subside once the new fish were settled and not infringing on his territory,but they didn't.In particular,he kept going after my Moorish Idol and Copperband butterfly,and could not get him to settle.I tried lowering the lights and giving everyone regular healthy meals,and some minor rearrangements of LR ,however nothing worked.Three weeks went by,and then I made the decision that he was no longer suitable for the reef.He always gave new fish a hard time,until he felt they understood the pecking order.The Moorish Idol is such a dominant fish,I suppose,and that may have been threatening to the damsel.

 

[anbosu]

Yeh hoping that adding them small and all at the same time will keep it from coming to that. Chrysiptera are supposed to be peaceful. As far as damsels go anyways.

I have probably 25 assorted Chrysiptera in my 360. I have other fish as well, but the damsels are definitely among my favorites.

 

[jenjen]

I have 6 damsels in a 180 gal for close to a year now. I love them! Such character fishes but certainly need their space.

Mine are:
Black Domino (Dascyllus trimaculatus)
3 Stripe (Dascyllus aruanus)
Blue (Chrysiptera cyanea)
Azure (Chrysiptera hemicyanea)
Andaman (Pomacentrus alleni)
Talbot (Chrysiptera talboti)

The Domino is by far the dominant of the group, and much larger than the rest. The 3 Stripe is second, and the only other 'assertive' one - these two joust with each other a little. The remaining 4 are very mild mannered so far. The Talbot stays to a small territory under an overhang and doesn't seem to be noticed by anyone, and the Andaman has a burrow in the sand under the rockwork which it stays very close to.

In my experience, Damsels seem to hate Chromis. When I've done anything to upset them (new fish or coral etc.) the Damsels (Domino & 3 Stripe) chase the Chromis. I've never seen any aggression toward any of the other fish, but I've only had them in there a year and I know they're still young. The Domino still has it's juvenile colouring and I expect it will get more aggressive as it ages.

 

[tsav]

Mine are:
Black Domino (Dascyllus trimaculatus)
3 Stripe (Dascyllus aruanus)
Blue (Chrysiptera cyanea)
Azure (Chrysiptera hemicyanea)
Andaman (Pomacentrus alleni)
Talbot (Chrysiptera talboti)

The Domino is by far the dominant of the group, and much larger than the rest. The 3 Stripe is second, and the only other 'assertive' one - these two joust with each other a little. The remaining 4 are very mild mannered so far. The Talbot stays to a small territory under an overhang and doesn't seem to be noticed by anyone, and the Andaman has a burrow in the sand under the rockwork which it stays very close to.

In my experience, Damsels seem to hate Chromis. When I've done anything to upset them (new fish or coral etc.) the Damsels (Domino & 3 Stripe) chase the Chromis. I've never seen any aggression toward any of the other fish, but I've only had them in there a year and I know they're still young. The Domino still has it's juvenile colouring and I expect it will get more aggressive as it ages.

Yep, Dascyllus has been known to be more aggressive so this makes sense.

 

[Sk8r]

I run a damsel tank: I lost a good deal in an 8 day power outage, but am restocking as soon as we get through with this floor redo. I have a 105 gallon tank, and the dominant is a full-sized (4") golden domino dascyllus probably female, two terrorized chromis (do NOT put in chromis with a domino in the tank) ---and a 3-stripe, probable male dascyllus. I'll be adding a Fiji blue devil, several azures, a blue star, and assorted blenny/goby/basslet types, who are royally ignored by same. If you put damsels into a tank much under 100 gallons there's a strong likelihood of troubles, but given that size, they seem to settle down.

 

[jenjen]

I've got a mixed community with plans to add two or three azure damsels. The folks I've talked to say that azures are peaceful enough to get along - but the folks I've talked to sell damselfish for a living!

What do you folks say?

Can they behave with flasher wrasses, dartfish and other smaller active fish?

~Bruce

What size is your tank? My understanding is that the Azure is one of the damsels thar are ok in a group, but I'm not sure how they'd fare in a smaller tank.