Damsels good or bad

[manissen10]

Here is my stocking plan for my 55 gallon tank. I already have 2 saddleback clowns and a kole tang and a mixed reef. I'm thinking about getting a snowflake eel and 3 damsels. Using an hob filter bakbak 2 skimmer no sump. Is this too big of a bio load or will the damsels get too aggressive??
Thanks

 

[khaosinc]

I think you are going to get crowded in a hurry.. Damsels are cute and colorful, but they are territorial, as are the clowns.. eels are a whole different pile of headaches as well.. especially in what most would call a smaller tank...

I'll skip the usual commentary on tangs..

 

[Chris27]

Damsels are the devil's soldiers of a saltwater tank - just plain evil. If you want a cheap colorful fish, go with some blue-green chromis, they come from the same family, but didn't inherit the pure anger of most other damsels.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I had green Chromis that would bully large Surgeonfish.
JMO but I'd overhaul the stocking list here.

 

[Denbf58]

before to long the eel is the only thing that will be left

 

[A sea K]

Most Damsels are "bad", however there a few that are "good".

 

[isildursbane]

^^ If you do decide to add some damsels, get ready to learn how to use a Hawaiian Sling and if that does not work, you can always re-scape your reef when you pull all the rock out to get them . . .

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

fwiw

fwiw

I've never viewed a critter as being "good" or "bad".

Even dung beetles perform a function in the overall scheme of things.
Damselfish can be great aquarium inhabitants if one knows what to provide and expect.

 

[potterjon]

I had a yellow damsel for many years, like 7 or eight. He was indestructible, when I finally made up my mind to take him to the lfs, I felt guilty because I had kept him for so long, but it opened my tank up to so many other possibilities for inhabitants, that it was worth it in the end. But then again, I was going in a reef tank direction and it doesn't sound like you are trying to do that. I would reconsider the eel, unless that is pretty much what the tank will be based around.

 

[Sk8r]

The only damsel appropriate for a 55 is ONE chromis.
Damsels require a lot of territory---make a stunning display, but require over a hundred gallons, and ideally about 300.

The value of one chromis is that they're insanely active, and their being out and about reassures the other fishes there's no predator.

 

[davocean]

Not all damsels are aggro, there are a number of less common ones that are fine.
I personally do love chromis and have had great luck w/ them, wouldn't be w/out them.
A 55g does limit space though, and your clowns are going to claim a good piece of that space(they are damsel family BTW)
The kole should have more space than a 55g provides, if looking for algae control I'd replace it w/ a lawnmower blenny.

 

[davocean]

Here's a good link to some safe damsels.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/hcs3/index.php

 

[rancoo]

I really enjoy the damsels that i have. I have a Blue Velvet damsel and a domino damsel, but they are both very aggressive and i had to ban them to the quarantine tank for now. I have two percula clowns and they didn't do well with the damsels

 

[david pinder]

damsels especially schools of them really add a lot of color to my reef but its a very large tank. In smaller tanks they tend to reek nothing but trouble

 

[reefWW96]

I have had a few damsels in the past. They are terrible fish in a community reef tank. A perfect damsel biotope would be a 180+ gallon tank filled with staghorns, and only damsels. beautiful fish though