I hate damsels

[Jpcrash1]

The wife spotted these damsels at the lfs. The worker said they were a great first fish ,so I bought two. With in two days they were not getting along. Today I ripped apart my tank chasing them to return them. I am going to try chromies this time and leave the wife at home. Will they get along with each other and later on a clown fish?:headwallblue:

 

[BillNye]

I hated mine as well. I got rid of them and plan on getting a small school of chromis. They should be fine with your clowns.

 

[Sk8r]

They require a hundred gallon tank, or close to it. I have a predominantly damsel tank, and have no problems. A caution on the chromis. ONE per 30-50 gallons.

 

[Jpcrash1]

Why only one?

 

[gone fishin]

Do not be surprised if your school of chromis ends up as one maybe two at best.

 

[gone fishin]

Why only one?

They have a tendency to pick each other off until there is only one may be two.

 

[JoeVandal49]

They require a hundred gallon tank, or close to it. I have a predominantly damsel tank, and have no problems. A caution on the chromis. ONE per 30-50 gallons.

Mind sharing your reasoning on this sk8r? Not questioning, just curious.

I currently have 4 in a 105g 6 foot long tank. Previous to that they were in a 55g.

From my experience, as long as each has its own crevice that they don't have to share,(mine never share the same hiding spot, each has their own, the exception is the spot where i think eggs are being laid as my two largest will share that crevice at times) they seem to do well. Also i find that they tend to "school" more if there are large more active/aggressive fish sharing the tank.

I do have limited experience though, so i was just curious to the reasoning behind your high lighted comment.

 

[South City]

I bought two Chromis as the first fish that I introduced into my tank and they have behaved. I still have them both after 6 months.

 

[Jpcrash1]

Just other chromie or do they take out other fish?

 

[Sk8r]

Because they require a hundred gallon tank. One damsel is no problem in a 50, unless it's one of the more energetic ones. Clowns, you may know, are also damsels, so putting a regular damsel in a tank with clowns may cause problems: their behaviors are similar: the only thing that distinguishes clowns is their adherence to an anemone instead of a cave, coral or piece of rock, which somewhat keeps them out of trouble...but not always, depending on species of clown. If you have a hundred gallons you can get away with multiples because they have room, but putting them in a small space is going to generate territorial spats until the numbers are reduced to lower the panic/aggression level.

 

[KafudaFish]

Think Highlander.

Sometimes it takes months but it happens.

 

[Sk8r]

JoeVandal, chromis are a special class of damsel, like perc clowns, that are a bit more quiet, less prone to fight IF they have enough sleeping spots. Otherwise they disappear, about one a night, until they have enough sleeping spots. If you have a lot of coral , esp. gorgonians in your tank, where they love to hang out, you might get by with a few more.

DO watch the tank alkalinity: if you have damsels and the alkalinity drops, you will see fights: as they become uncomfortable (and this goes for clowns) they get crankier and more serious about their spats.

Damsel aggression goes first for their own type, then toward other damsels, then toward other fish. They seem scarcely to regard blennies and gobies as anything but moving rocks, not a problem. I've never seen them go after one of the cigar-shaped lot the way they will something more like them. But mostly they want THEIR rock to themselves.

 

[gone fishin]

IME just each other. When I set my 180 up after our move I decide to try them again. I got 7 within 6 months I was down to 2. They have lived peacefully for the last 4 years.

Not to scare you off of them but, they seem to have uronema quite a bit. So know the symptoms. Uronema is a pretty nasty one.

 

[lpsouth1978]

More often than not, the Chromis will eventually turn on each other as well. You will probably end up with only 1-2 left. I started with 16 in a 300 gallon tank about a month ago and I am down to 13 now. They only school when there is a threat, without one they turn on each other.

 

[Jpcrash1]

If a have a 37 gallon tank will a chromie be okay with a ocellaris clown?

 

[Sk8r]

I'd really suggest you go for a royal gramma or other small fish: if it were other than a clown, probably no problem at all, but clowns are one of the most aggressive damsels (the reds, particularly) and even the little occys and percs can get pushy. It's more likely the clown would push the chromis than the other way around, though you might get away with it. If you DO get a squabble, put some plastic floating weed in your tank until you can grow some corals. That will give the chromis a refuge.

 

[JoeVandal49]

They have a tendency to pick each other off until there is only one may be two.

This is not particularly directed at you gone fishin, just a general observation...

I have personally seen this mentioned in just about every chromis discussion i have ever read on the net.

And while maybe true in some cases, i think it has become more internet legend than anything else. Instead of making blanket statements about particular things, maybe we as a community need to take a better look at why some have great success with certain things, such as successfully keeping a group of chromis together, and others dont, such as only being able to keep one or a pair of chromis.

I may be in the minority, but i have had pretty good success with my group of 4. From my experience, the two keys to success are- 1. plenty of rockwork and space for each to establish its own hiding crevice. 2. larger more active/aggressive fish sharing the tank to distract them from wanting to go after each other.

Based on my experience, i would not discourage others from attempting keeping groups of Chromis, but i know others have had the exact opposite experience. I just feel like sometimes issues are exaggerated and we end up at times making blanket statements that don't really hold a lot of truth. What is the truth in this case? I cant tell you, but i can say that myself and many others have had success with groups of Chromis. I cant tell you why for certain.

 

[davocean]

Not all damsels are aggressive, there are a number of them that are fairly passive, allens, certain chromis to name a couple.
Not all chromis are the same either.
I am one of those that have had absolutely no issues keeping chromis long term, and I see too many locally kept here to agree they always turn on each other, but at the same time I see too many comments here that say they do to ignore that as well.
Do not hate the damsel, instead look at it as a lesson that you and you alone are responsible for what you put in your tank.
Research before you buy, always.

 

[JoeVandal49]

JoeVandal, chromis are a special class of damsel, like perc clowns, that are a bit more quiet, less prone to fight IF they have enough sleeping spots. Otherwise they disappear, about one a night, until they have enough sleeping spots. If you have a lot of coral , esp. gorgonians in your tank, where they love to hang out, you might get by with a few more.

DO watch the tank alkalinity: if you have damsels and the alkalinity drops, you will see fights: as they become uncomfortable (and this goes for clowns) they get crankier and more serious about their spats.

Damsel aggression goes first for their own type, then toward other damsels, then toward other fish. They seem scarcely to regard blennies and gobies as anything but moving rocks, not a problem. I've never seen them go after one of the cigar-shaped lot the way they will something more like them. But mostly they want THEIR rock to themselves.

Makes sense and similar to my observations about needing enough rock work and individual crevices to call their own. Thanks for explaining. I just hate that we are shoehorned a lot of times into using water volume for recommendations. Which is why i asked. Thanks.

 

[gone fishin]

Joe your correct, I could have phrased it better. I have known folks that have kept multiple green chromis and others that could not. I really do not know the why in some cases other than just bad luck. My personal experience is in the bad luck category.