Yep. Doesn't look like it. They're small and they stay pretty small, though the Seattle Aquarium has what looks like a one-spot domino that's the size of a dinner plate.
They're colorful, they're inexpensive, they WILL school, which is a pretty sight, and unsuspecting novices, on being sold a 28 gallon tank, pick a nice inexpensive bright blue or striped fish and just can't understand why their next fish comes to grief.
Damsels are NOT particularly aggressive, but they freak in small spaces. Any fish will freak out and kill competition if it feels crowded: rabbits are notorious for this, once they grow too large for a tank. Tangs will do it. Any fish with the ability to kill will do it---if the tank does not afford them enough space.
Here's a good way to handle them. First of all, the only damsels 'safe' to have in small tanks are clowns, the yellowtail, and the chromis. You can have 1 chromis per 25 gallons of DT. They're active, somewhat airheaded, and move constantly, which reassures shyer fish it's safe to come out. BUT overcrowd them, and they'll eliminate each other in battles at night for sleeping holes. Not enough holes that THEY like---disappearing chromis. Dunno if the yellowtail will do this---but probably.
The big virtue of damsels is that, given enough room (that 100 gallons), they squabble and make rushes defending turf, but they never bite each other...unless you have 2 of a kind. You DO NOT want groups of most kinds of damsels. Go for color and variety, and pay attention to the scientific names: do not get two with the same Latin name. I can say I have successfully violated that rule with the golden one-spot and the three-stripe, both of which are dascyllus, and they are spectacular, but I was lucky, and all my others, a fiji blue devil, a blue star, 4 chromis, and such, are milder.
Watch out for the so-called blue velvet and the garabaldi---the first because it is a very aggressive fish and the second because it grows over a foot long. Beautiful, spectacular, but huge.
You want a tank where fish school (the chromis, who go in a group for safety from the dascyllus) and have bright colors and patterns (the dascyllus and fiji blue) and never stop moving---ever---and you have a 100-200 gallon tank, they're a lot of fun. You can also have sedate species like a mandarin or watchman or lawnmower blenny, wrasses---damsels are too occupied with each other in this situation and never offer to aggress at these species. They're probably ok with dwarf angels, although the more timid species may find them too much movement to let them feed securely.
They're absolutely reef safe, but they will redecorate: my obnoxious three-stripe refused to let me set a piece of coral in 'his' doorway: he'd grab a piece 10x his size and move it. Or throw it on the sand. I glued it. He finally gave up.
You want schooling, color, movement, and personality---they've got it. You just have to take them on their terms.
I also discovered the trick of setting up vertical spires here and there: when they chase, they figure-8 around them, get confused, or feel satisfied, and the chase ends. They tend to regard these as territorial markers. They're not that high, some only about 5", but the fish observe them as sort of personal boundaries.
They're one of the few fish (blennies and gobies and dwarf angels being popular others) that are caught and sold nearly adult: about 5" is max for most. So with them, you can build a slice of reef that is pretty well to actual scale.
They're also completely reef safe unless you put a piece of coral where a dascyllus damsel doesn't want it. He won't attack the soft part. But he will try to move it.
They're colorful, they're inexpensive, they WILL school, which is a pretty sight, and unsuspecting novices, on being sold a 28 gallon tank, pick a nice inexpensive bright blue or striped fish and just can't understand why their next fish comes to grief.
Damsels are NOT particularly aggressive, but they freak in small spaces. Any fish will freak out and kill competition if it feels crowded: rabbits are notorious for this, once they grow too large for a tank. Tangs will do it. Any fish with the ability to kill will do it---if the tank does not afford them enough space.
Here's a good way to handle them. First of all, the only damsels 'safe' to have in small tanks are clowns, the yellowtail, and the chromis. You can have 1 chromis per 25 gallons of DT. They're active, somewhat airheaded, and move constantly, which reassures shyer fish it's safe to come out. BUT overcrowd them, and they'll eliminate each other in battles at night for sleeping holes. Not enough holes that THEY like---disappearing chromis. Dunno if the yellowtail will do this---but probably.
The big virtue of damsels is that, given enough room (that 100 gallons), they squabble and make rushes defending turf, but they never bite each other...unless you have 2 of a kind. You DO NOT want groups of most kinds of damsels. Go for color and variety, and pay attention to the scientific names: do not get two with the same Latin name. I can say I have successfully violated that rule with the golden one-spot and the three-stripe, both of which are dascyllus, and they are spectacular, but I was lucky, and all my others, a fiji blue devil, a blue star, 4 chromis, and such, are milder.
Watch out for the so-called blue velvet and the garabaldi---the first because it is a very aggressive fish and the second because it grows over a foot long. Beautiful, spectacular, but huge.
You want a tank where fish school (the chromis, who go in a group for safety from the dascyllus) and have bright colors and patterns (the dascyllus and fiji blue) and never stop moving---ever---and you have a 100-200 gallon tank, they're a lot of fun. You can also have sedate species like a mandarin or watchman or lawnmower blenny, wrasses---damsels are too occupied with each other in this situation and never offer to aggress at these species. They're probably ok with dwarf angels, although the more timid species may find them too much movement to let them feed securely.
They're absolutely reef safe, but they will redecorate: my obnoxious three-stripe refused to let me set a piece of coral in 'his' doorway: he'd grab a piece 10x his size and move it. Or throw it on the sand. I glued it. He finally gave up.
You want schooling, color, movement, and personality---they've got it. You just have to take them on their terms.
I also discovered the trick of setting up vertical spires here and there: when they chase, they figure-8 around them, get confused, or feel satisfied, and the chase ends. They tend to regard these as territorial markers. They're not that high, some only about 5", but the fish observe them as sort of personal boundaries.
They're one of the few fish (blennies and gobies and dwarf angels being popular others) that are caught and sold nearly adult: about 5" is max for most. So with them, you can build a slice of reef that is pretty well to actual scale.
They're also completely reef safe unless you put a piece of coral where a dascyllus damsel doesn't want it. He won't attack the soft part. But he will try to move it.
