Hello all; I'm new

[TrogdorFTW]

Hi everyone this is just a hello world. I just started my tank 6 1/2 months ago (which I have learned is not that long in reef time) I have a 90 gallon that is slowly turning from a fish only into a reef.
Tank inhabitants:
2 percula clowns (not killing each other yay!)
1 blue tang
1 coral beauty angelfish
1 blue devil
1 domino damsel
1 yellow tail blue damsel
4 RBTA (free from a coworker yay!)
clean up crew of 3 turbos, 4 trochus, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 emerald crab
1 SPS (dont know which species its a small frag brown with green polyps)
1 zoa (6 polips standard green tentacles with a pink ring)

So as I'm sure you guessed I am trying to catch my damsel fish. I know I know I shouldn't have gotten them in the first place. I tried to fishless cycle and my nitrite just wouldn't go down. I waited 2 months before I got the damsels the damn LFS talked me into it (I don't go there anymore).

 

[Mr tap water]

Welcome[emoji3]

 

[Martini5788]

Try a homemade bottle trap, if you search for it on here you
Will find quite a few threads. You can also try and mirror placed up against the glass, sometimes it will distract aggressive fish enough that you can net them out

 

[nuxx]

The Blue Tang will get big and aggressive.

That being said, we had a YB Blue in a 55 for a few years...

As soon as we moved him to a larger tank he tripled in size in about a year...

 

[Sk8r]

Probably your chief problem is the domino dascyllus. Extract that one and the rest will probably behave. The clowns are also damsels, and share many of the same habits, but can get real pushy about territory, as can the domino. Put two of the more aggressive damsel species (clowns and domino) in the same tank, especially with a mated pair, and fireworks are likely.

 

[TrogdorFTW]

Probably your chief problem is the domino dascyllus. Extract that one and the rest will probably behave. The clowns are also damsels, and share many of the same habits, but can get real pushy about territory, as can the domino. Put two of the more aggressive damsel species (clowns and domino) in the same tank, especially with a mated pair, and fireworks are likely.

Oddly enough my chief problem appears to be the yellow tail damsel, I notice bite marks it the tail of my blue tang and the yellow tail damsel is the one I notice chasing it the most. They have chosen hidey holes near each other and I think are in a territory/ look similar battle and the damsel is quicker and the blue tang doesn't have its barbs yet (very small only slightly bigger than the damsels).

The larger of the two clowns appears to have the dascyllus in check although the dascyllus has claimed the nems and when the smaller clown tries to go near them since he (probably since its smaller) is more interested than she (probably since its larger) is the dascyllus postures and then the clowns posture back with no biting or chasing but from what I can tell some serious tension.

 

[Tfink660]

welcome...

 

[scootshoot]

Good luck extracting your damsel. Had to catch mine as well. They are very fast and hyperactive so it's hard to surprise them. Only way I caught my aggressive guy after much trial and error was I noticed he had a tendency to sleep/rest inside a rock hole....so one night many hours after lights out I pulled that whole rock structure out, slowly drained inside a large net and out he came, hah.

 

[heathlindner25]

Tape a mirror of decent size to the side of the tank,the damsels will ALWAYS go up to it and go into fight mode. Come up behind him with a net, on damsels this trick works a lot!

 

[ericarenee]

This may sound mean but.. I have a friend in the uk who took a small fish hook Filed the barbs down and caught his with a small fish hook. None of them were harmed other then the obvious. Then traded them in at LFS....

But you might be better off removing rock in my opinion

 

[heathlindner25]

This may sound mean but.. I have a friend in the uk who took a small fish hook Filed the barbs down and caught his with a small fish hook. None of them were harmed other then the obvious. Then traded them in at LFS....

But you might be better off removing rock in my opinion

If you catch them with a hook you have to eat them.... that's the rule...lol

 

[monkeysee1]

I have a 90 gallon that is slowly turning from a fish only into a reef.

Are you my evil twin and or a phantom in my house? I have the EXACT SAME setup! LOL!

1 blue tang

You mean a Powder Blue Tang? Or a Blue Hippo Tang? Or yet a PURPLE tang (the one that is a vivid cobalt blue with a bright yellow tail)? Huge difference in temperment between the three. The first two I described are TOO BIG for your tank.

Anyway, there are clear plastic traps you can get for the damsels to safetly remove them.
Try to see if you can find a good home for them, or get a 40 gallon short open frag where they can play among the anenomes and corals and live happily! Lol!

 

[davocean]

From all the things I've tried and done I have found the least invasive way is to siphon your water into a couple brutes, catch the culprits(I would pull both damsels, domino and blue) and use a pump to pump water right back in.
If you have a little well of sand bed this works best.
I use the same pump I use to make WC's for doing just such things, takes about 10 minutes if that.