Pecular clown and damsels

[scott foster]

That is exaclty why you don't need to cycle a tank with damnsels. All you need is the appropriate amount of liverock to cycle a tank. It's not fair to the damnsels to use them. Just because they are cheap is no reason to torture them with ammonia burns.

Did antbody say anything about cycling my tank with Damsels. The tank was cycled befor I put the Damsels in. I did not know they might be mean when I put in a clown. B.T.W. It is day 6 now and everybody is still getting along fine. If anything the Damsels seem to swim away from the clown.

There is no need for personal comments/attacks of others. Keep the thread on track. MSL

 

[nchoman]

My domino damsel was also an aggresive little bugger and always seemed to see the net before it hit the water. Finally while changing substrate I was able to catch him. He had torn the fins down to nubs on a yellow tang and I believe may have been the cause of some mysterious dissapearances in the past. Hated to see him go after so long and yes Skippy if I had known better at the time I also would not have used damsels for the cycle process.

 

[caseykell21]

Getting along

I have two percula clowns and 1 damsel and they get along great, they had a rough patch at first but they get along now.

 

[scott foster]

Well today is day 8 and still no sign of either of the two damsels picking on the clown. Everybody seems happy. I think the gut at my LFS had the right idea telling me to keep it dark in tank first couple of days. :huh:

 

[fastbackgly]

I have two mated percs and a blue damsel and a three stripe damsel. The female perc harasses the three stripe to no end but other than that, there is no violence at all. Except between the blue damsel and my red snyper goby. The goby loves to wriggle up and chase the damsel. It's pretty funny.

 

[freefall582]

i thought i would add a reply to this thread instead of start a new one. I recently added a percula clown to my tank, which already had two damsels in it. At first they darted at him a little bit, but i kept my eye on it and they seem okay now. Problem is my clown is just kind of hanging out in the upper back corner of my tank and I cant get him to come down. He hasnt eaten since i got him 2 days ago either. I am a little worried. I may get an anenome soon and pray to God that he hosts in it. Any tips? My water parameters are fine and I did all the necessary steps to introduce him to the tank, so not sure why he is having a hard time adjusting.

 

[skippy2]

First of all, the clown is still adjusting to your tank. I wouldn't worry about him yet. It may take up to a week or a little longer for him to eat. As far as hanging in the corner, that's ok too. I wouldn't get an anemone for him either. I am assuming your clown is tank raised which, if that is the case, he won't know what an anemone is or what he is supposed to do with it.
Secondly, I would remove the damnsels. Notice the spelling. They are only doing what comes naturally to them but to the detriment of your clown or anyother fish you add.
Saying your water parameters doesn't cut it IMO. You need to list them. What size tank do you have? How long has it been established.
Also, I forgot to mention that clowns will host in anything. Even a powerhead. Mine use a pair of hairy mushrooms. It took them over a yr. and half though to figure it out.

 

[aquafan1]

Well today is day 8 and still no sign of either of the two damsels picking on the clown. Everybody seems happy. I think the gut at my LFS had the right idea telling me to keep it dark in tank first couple of days. :huh:

I've had a breeding pair of perculas in with my 2 damsels in my 300 gal reef tank for 9 months, I have never had a problem, it all comes down to the fish, like most fish they all have differamt personalities, some are just aggressive, and some are big sooks, I also have breeding blue tangs and a trio of yellow tangs, male amd female royal dottybacks ( which have just started showing signs of breeding)and finally a pair of black and white oscellaris clowns, as long as they have somewhere to hide and escape any agression then I don't think you will have any problems!!
If you do have any agression it will almost certainly be at night, try mounting a night light in the hood of your tank, I have done the same thing because I was worried about aggression, I was fortunate that all my fish get along great, but the night light looks really cool at night, just don't use any higher than a 7watt globe and you'll be fine!! :look:

 

[freefall582]

well if you check my link on my sig you can see what is in my tank, its a 75 gallon that has been running for about 18 months.

Salinity 1.23
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate < 5
Temp 80

I may be getting rid of the damsels, I dont really have that much attachment to them, they were mostly my first fish that I got after my tank had cycled so I could have a "beginner" fish.

 

[aquafan1]

i thought i would add a reply to this thread instead of start a new one. I recently added a percula clown to my tank, which already had two damsels in it. At first they darted at him a little bit, but i kept my eye on it and they seem okay now. Problem is my clown is just kind of hanging out in the upper back corner of my tank and I cant get him to come down. He hasnt eaten since i got him 2 days ago either. I am a little worried. I may get an anenome soon and pray to God that he hosts in it. Any tips? My water parameters are fine and I did all the necessary steps to introduce him to the tank, so not sure why he is having a hard time adjusting.

try giving him brine shrimp, or mysis shrimp, he may just be a little shy, use a night light when it's dark and he'll find a spo to claim as his own and settle in quite nicely, but i also have clowns in my tank, they don't swim like the other fishes, they stay very close to there territory, unless it is feeding time, it's a survival instinct that is very hard to break, once he gets used to you and his new surroundings, you should notice great improvements.
You could also try getting him a mate to help him feel a bit more secure with his own kind :dive2: :dive2: :dive2: :dive2: