damsel debate

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cathy

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May 2, 2003
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We set up our tank (46 gal) with a good amount of live rock and 3 damsels. I first got 2 yellow tailed blues, got an itty bit amount of ammonia (0.5) which increased no further after a week and a half. Advice I got was to increase the bioload, so I did get one more fish - a green chromis. He was the only one left in a tank of yellowtailed blues and looked healthy. He seems to be acclimating well; when first introduced, there was some chasing around, but no serious picking, and things settled down fairly quickly.
Now I know there are fishless ways to cycle; our first book had a detailed outline for the live rock + fish method so for better or worse that's what we're doing. My questions focus on the fish themselves.
Before I got these guys I tried to do my homework and look into the temperaments of what I would purchase. I wanted the first fish to be inexpensive (for the cycling) but also a potential member of a community tank. I stayed away from species noted to be aggressive. These two species, from what I read, seemed to be the more peaceful members of the group. Now I'm reading all these comments on this board about how nasty damsels are.
I would invite comments about these 2 particular species. Has anyone tried to integrate small numbers of these in a community tank, and what success or failures did you experience? What other species did you try to mix with them?
 

kreblak

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Mar 13, 2003
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Yes, damsels are tough, territorial, nasty little buggers. I once had a 2" long Blue Devil that not only survived 9 weeks of the worst water quality anyone has ever had, but managed to kill 9 other damsels, then killed a maroon clownfish twice his size in less than 48 hours, and then managed to stress out a yellow tang so much that he came down with Black Ich and died.

Your situation is somewhat different, though, in that yellowtails (in general) aren't that mean. Green Chromis are actually quite peaceful, but chromis are a schooling species, and need others of their kind to be happy. Where you may find problems down the road is in the fact that the two yellowtails have now staked their territories in the tank. They both now consider the entirety of the 46 gallons to be theirs. ANY new fish you introduce will be subject to their approval. The best way to avoid potential conflict is to rearreange the live rock in the tank before adding new fish. This will confuse the damsels, and while they are busy staking out their "new" territories, your new additions should go realitively unnoticed.

With the yellowtail, you did choose a species of damsel that is generally okay in tanks. However, with fish, just like everywhere else, some are just jerks. I have never had a problem with green chromis being aggresive. Just watch for signs of aggression (especially fin nipping) when adding new fish.
 

a_free_bird73

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Jun 13, 2002
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You have to take the generalisation about damsel's with a bit of caution. Not all are aggressive (though most could be described as potentially that). And even the aggressive ones will depend from fish to fish, the setup of the tank and what else you have in there.

There are lots of interesting articles around on fish behaviour and if you have the patience you may be able to find ways of keeping everybody happy. I saw a recent article (though I can't locate it at the moment) comparing the less understood behaviour of territorial marince fish to those of Cichlids which we know lots about.

Do your home work first but don't be afraid of experimenting if you find conflicting views.
 

karlas

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Feb 18, 2003
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with the yellow tails i think it depens on what species you add later. i had a yellow tail he bothered my firefish everything else could hold there own against him and he left them alone after the first time he gave chase. it seemed like the ones he could imtimidate thats what he harassed. i had the same problem with a strawberry pseudochromis he harassed my firefish also but everything else put him in place.
 

kreblak

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Mar 13, 2003
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Most fish will get pretty territorial in a tank that isn't huge. Damsels just seem to be more visibly belligerant towards other fish. I liken it to an ichthyological equivilant of the Napoleanic Complex. Damsels are (usually) the smallest fish in the tank, so they have to put on an overly pompous display of aggresiveness in order to assert themselves.

Unfortunately, some Damsels actually seem to believe that they are a seven foot Sand Tiger shark, and behave accordingly. I have only had one damsel who ever believed he was the king of the tank, but the sad fact of the matter is that he was right! If you've never seen a damsel and a Yellow Tang (another highly territorial fish) go at it, try to imagine two harmless looking animals trying to tear each other's fins off. It would have been funny if one of them hadn't died.
 
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