Damsels and other fish

jake.harry.3 · Mar 9, 2018

So I was in the LFS last week and was looking for something new to add to my 125 that’s been up and running for about 2 months now. I have a pair of Clarki clowns in it already. Decent sized ones.

Long story short one of the employees recommended a fish to me. Called it a domino damsel(which I knew very little about, but swore that clowns were a type of damsel). He told me that they would be fine and he had them in his tank, so trusting in the knowledge he has I walked out the door with 3 of them.

Upon further reading during the week I have come to find out this is a bad recommendation and a horrible choice for my tank? I was looking to do a mostly predator tank to begin with, which is why I chose the larger Clarki clowns. Is this tank death having them in or will I be okay? They are all small 2-2.5 inches each. I’ll pull them out and take them back or just buy something that eats them if I can’t catch them, but I need advice.

ritter6788 · Mar 9, 2018

Dominos get huge and nasty. If they don’t fight with your clowns they will likely fight with each other.

jake.harry.3 · Mar 9, 2018

So probably get rid of them or find something that eats them if I can’t catch them?

ritter6788 · Mar 9, 2018

jake.harry.3 said:
So probably get rid of them or find something that eats them if I can’t catch them?

That’s your call. If you like them keep em and see how it goes or get rid of them now before any issues arise. If you don’t have a way to get them out of your tank I don’t think adding a damsel eating predator is the answer. Many a tank has been broken down to get rid of cranky damsels.

jake.harry.3 · Mar 10, 2018

I’m not breaking down this tank when I just got it setup 2 months ago.

eatbreakfast · Mar 10, 2018

What sort of fish are you planning on adding? Dominos can certainly be aggressive. But 3 together in a tank will focus on each other if future tankmates don't want their chosen cave.

jake.harry.3 · Mar 11, 2018

Was thinking a pair of sand sifters, a lion, maybe a toadfish, and a larger wrasse. Depends on what the LFS can even get. I don’t want a normal fish tank, I want flashy and odd.

lion king · Mar 11, 2018

Damsels are tricky, very elusive even for the most efficient predator. The toadfish and lion would make a meal out of them, if they can catch them. I even had to tear down my small lion tank down to get a blue damsel out, I got tired of seeing him after he refused to be eaten. I'd probably pull them out now before things get complicated.

jake.harry.3 · Mar 11, 2018

I caught one of the 3. The other 2 are proving to be to smart to catch easily. I’ll just have to keep more aggressive fish in the tank.

graffitireef · Mar 12, 2018

jake.harry.3 said:
I caught one of the 3. The other 2 are proving to be to smart to catch easily. I’ll just have to keep more aggressive fish in the tank.

Sounds like you want a predator tank. If thats the case, I wouldnt advise keeping clownfish unless it was a larger maroon clownfish. I've had luck keeping damsels with eels, groupers, and lionfish. They are def scrappy enough to hold their own.

jake.harry.3 · Mar 12, 2018

The maroons and Clarki clowns get about the same size. Mine are already larger. I’m aiming at a mixed reef. Was thinking a dwarf lion, the 2 damsels, the 2 clowns, a snowflake eel, and a larger wrasse. Possibly a tang down the road.

lion king · Mar 12, 2018

jake.harry.3 said:
The maroons and Clarki clowns get about the same size. Mine are already larger. I’m aiming at a mixed reef. Was thinking a dwarf lion, the 2 damsels, the 2 clowns, a snowflake eel, and a larger wrasse. Possibly a tang down the road.

That's a nice line up; the clarkii's get fat enough, almost as large as dwarf lions in the body. You would have some nice choices in small tangs for that tank.