Damsels in Reef tanks and community tanks

[SMT6h]

this thread here has got me thinking
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1903666
So I wanted to query others:
In the time I have been in the marine hobby, it has always been stated, taught, passed along, and believed that damsels and similar fish are aggressive. I have kept a good number over the years with some interesting observations and was wondering what others have found.
What species of damsel type fish have you found to be aggressive?

My experience over the years:
Blues--sometimes with small fish are aggressive, fine with corals and other inverts
YT Blues--passive---never had a problem
Green Chromis-- passive, never had a problem
Domino- Mean as S%6t
Striped- Same as Domino.
Clowns- Always bullies, but in that cute goofy clown way.

Anyone else with similar experience?
How many of us have damsels in our reef tanks? Any problems?

 

[pinnatus]

I currently have a blue devil in my 240 gallon tank. It can be aggressive to newcomers, but usually, not a problem. However, it seems to me that these fish kill each other off over time if you have multiples. I started with 3 and now have one.

I had a tomato clown that would attack my hand every time I put it in the tank. I got rid of it...don't like being attacked.

I was snorkling in Cancun once when I was attacked by a 3" damsel. Sounds funny, but it scared me since I was in a narrow area and couldn't turn around easily to see what was attacking me. When I turned around and saw the damsel giving me the attitude, it was pretty humorous, but the attacks did hurt a little.

 

[JamesJR]

I like damsels but it is all a matter of context. If you keep them with other damsels and fish that can handle a little aggression they are fine. They are cheap, easy to come by and can handle a lot of things that other fish won't.

As far as coral compatibility goes I would mention that when they form pairs they might start clearing away patches of coral and algae on your live rock so they can lay their eggs.

 

[Irish1983]

What about different Chromis that like to school? They are true damsel fish but live peacefully if they have a group to swim with. I want to know if anyone has had experience with different chromis being good for the same aquarium (given space of course). Was always curious if a school of Blue Green Chromis would be ok with a school of Black Bar Chromis in their tank, or with a school of Vanderbuilt Chromis. Does anyone have experience with housing them together?

In my experience Blue Greens are more prone to being bullied then the reverse, and my pair of clowns will display dominance over their territory but are ok with docile fish being near them and their host once they are acclimated to the idea. My fire fish hangs around/out with them during the mid day.

 

[SMT6h]

kind of funny, but I have a femal madarin goby that is actually flairing and displaying to my Blue/Green Chromis. She will swim up in the water column and curl her body and flair her fins to them. They seem a bit bewildered as to how to respond. In my current reef tanks I have YT damsels and Green Chromis living well....no problems. Interesting point on mixing different chromis together--I wonder if anyone has had success, I have not tried it.

-Shawn

 

[xxtriggermanxx]

I have both chromis and rex damsels in my 265 the rex's are not very large (no more than 3 inches) very active but not very aggresive. here is a picture of one of the rex's
that i think makes a great addition to any reef.

 

[JamesJR]

No one has commented on this so I thought I would mention that keeping groups of Chromis is not always an easy task. They are more of a shoaling fish then a schooling fish. They are very scrappy and will attack and fight the weaker fish in the group.

 

[Irish1983]

No one has commented on this so I thought I would mention that keeping groups of Chromis is not always an easy task. They are more of a shoaling fish then a schooling fish. They are very scrappy and will attack and fight the weaker fish in the group.

I have seen this but if the group is large enough there isnt really any danger. Also having other fish that swim near them in the water column makes them pay attention to other things and Mine school up closer. Maybe you had yours in to small a tank or hiding spots were limited?

 

[Jensen12]

what about a electric blue damsel?

 

[Ooulophilia]

In terms of damsels anything in the chrysiptera genus are usually fairly safe and stay small. In my big tank I had a big shoal of talbots damsels (I recommend them for any tank!) and they were easily my favorite fish in the tank - a lot of movement and very colorful. I think that they served the purpose of "dither fish" - when they were out a lot of my smaller gobies and shrimp seemed to feel safer and venture out more. Just stick to damsels in the chrysiptera (with a few exceptions not usually seen in the trade) and you will enjoy them with no headaches!

In terms of green chromis - I have been in this hobby for quite a while and taken care of a lot of tanks and I have just about given up on them - I put a big group in a 7000 gallon tank and even in a huge tank that size they still picked each other off. I never recommend blue green chromis (Chromis viridis) for any tank (there are a few other species that do well - Vanderbilts chromis are very cool!)

 

[benita]

have one YT damsel in with 2 clowns and Blenny he's horrible and will be coming out on my change over to larger tank he spends the day chasing the clowns back to their corner and nips the cleaner shrimps - was told he would be fine with the others

 

[dvmsn]

I have 5 azure damsels and 2 bicolor cromis Chromis margaritifer in my 90 cube. The chromis beat themselves down to a pair. The azures each have separate territories. The largest chromis is the king of the tank. There is some intraspecies aggression, but it is minor and is resolved mostly by posturing. They are not aggressive to non damsel tankmates and I would highly recommend both species. The bicolors regularly spawn and I get fry in my tank once every several months. I can tell they are spawning because the largest chromis gets very aggressive toward the smaller chromis.

 

[scchase]

I have 6 Azures in my 480 they each have their own territory and beat each other up some except when spawning other than that they leave most everything else alone.

 

[Mr.leee]

7 blue damles, 3 Domino, 8 chromes, and 6 anthias.

heres a video before i got the 3 domino

 

[reef_doug]

I have 5 azure damsels and they only squabble amongst themselves. Only problem was when I added a flame hawk and one damsel didn't give him a warm welcome, but settled in now. They pretty much keep to their own territory. BTW... I don't have clowns so can't comment on that compatability.

 

[Irish1983]

In terms of damsels anything in the chrysiptera genus are usually fairly safe and stay small. In my big tank I had a big shoal of talbots damsels (I recommend them for any tank!) and they were easily my favorite fish in the tank - a lot of movement and very colorful. I think that they served the purpose of "dither fish" - when they were out a lot of my smaller gobies and shrimp seemed to feel safer and venture out more. Just stick to damsels in the chrysiptera (with a few exceptions not usually seen in the trade) and you will enjoy them with no headaches!

In terms of green chromis - I have been in this hobby for quite a while and taken care of a lot of tanks and I have just about given up on them - I put a big group in a 7000 gallon tank and even in a huge tank that size they still picked each other off. I never recommend blue green chromis (Chromis viridis) for any tank (there are a few other species that do well - Vanderbilts chromis are very cool!)

That is unfortunate that they haven't worked out for you. You are referring to this correct:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1634+115&pcatid=115


I want to get me a few Vanderbuilt Chromis when I finish upgrading.