Damsels in Reef tank

FishyDP · Mar 5, 2019

I have an azure and yellow tail damsel in my 125 mixed reef. They are with a yellow tang, coral beauty, 2x clowns and some inverts. I suspect that they killed my royal gramma. I found the royal in the damsels cave half eaten. Other than this mishap, they chase each other on occasion, but generally behave. I have heard that the black and white damsels are much more aggressive than the blue, especially when they mature. I would say it is a bit risky to keep damsels with very docile species, such as a royal gramma. They definitely add a pop of color though, especially the azure. They are very active as well

erk · Mar 5, 2019

Larry L said:
Wow, those look nice, had not seen them before.

Yeah, I've noticed there are several different color morphs of them. Once they reach adulthood they also change. The males change color constantly based on mood. Going from a pitch black with grey tail to an almost iridescent blue with light yellow tail. The streamers get pretty long and look really nice as they swim about. I found the ones I own at Petco and they've done really well. Really hold their own against the coral beauty and other tank mates. Funny to watch the Lubbock's wrasse and the scissortail males have a show-off display.

crazyboi48 · Mar 5, 2019

Thank you everyone for the advice. Adding my Emperor, Mystery and Dot Dash Wrasse finally tomorrow.. And now deciding on which Damsels.. haha.. I've decided to move forward, thinking Alleni, Talbot and CB Azures (3 of each..)

Any advice on the Damsel selection and the quantity? I've made a decision to add Damsels just now asking for experience in adding them and quantity.. Keep in mind I have an established 180 for 3 years.

I get the bio-load but from my experience with these small fish and excess feeding I will just do larger water changes the next couple weeks and add bacteria.

erk · Mar 5, 2019

crazyboi48 said:
Thank you everyone for the advice. Adding my Emperor, Mystery and Dot Dash Wrasse finally tomorrow.. And now deciding on which Damsels.. haha.. I've decided to move forward, thinking Alleni, Talbot and CB Azures (3 of each..)

Any advice on the Damsel selection and the quantity? I've made a decision to add Damsels just now asking for experience in adding them and quantity.. Keep in mind I have an established 180 for 3 years.

I get the bio-load but from my experience with these small fish and excess feeding I will just do larger water changes the next couple weeks and add bacteria.

Not sure what kind of sand bed you have or lack of one, but the Talbots will want to excavate a lot. My 3 each have several homes around the tank. They are also very peaceful, so maybe consider adding them first so they can get established.

crazyboi48 · Mar 5, 2019

erk said:
Not sure what kind of sand bed you have or lack of one, but the Talbots will want to excavate a lot. My 3 each have several homes around the tank. They are also very peaceful, so maybe consider adding them first so they can get established.

I have about 1.5” and a lot of rock rubble

crazyboi48 · Mar 5, 2019

Well I pulled the trigger. Freaking DD haha.. I got a Starcki (hoping to find another shortly), 3 Bartlett Anthia Trio, and 3 CB Azures.. Think that's a blast of color and excitement for my DT!

crazyboi48 · Mar 8, 2019

Everyone is doing great and happy! Actually no picking on anyone as of now. Also actually loving the azures, May get more or another type.

shred5 · Mar 8, 2019

I think the problem is people group all damsels together and each is species is different.

I always stayed away from them because of their reputation.

In my new tank I wanted allot of smaller fish and never considered damsel and I have been in the hobby 30 + years.
After some research and seeing so many have no issues with a few different ones and some are very docile I am going to put a bunch in my new tank..

Steve_Skullsplitter0 · Mar 8, 2019

Don't do it. Mean little buggers. My Domino is named Venom by my grandson because it is vicious and unrelenting. Even chromis are mean. Started with a school of 8 only 2 left. They basically kill the smallest one first and so on.

Venom is beyond crazy fast and too smart for traps.

shred5 · Mar 8, 2019

crazyboi48 said:
Everyone is doing great and happy! Actually no picking on anyone as of now. Also actually loving the azures, May get more or another type.

Red dragon?
One of my favorites.
That one is fantastic.

jsvand5 · Mar 8, 2019

Backreefing said:
I have a small sps tank mature 18 years neglected until last October I started with a blue ( devel ) demsel. Then a 6 line wrass . The blue demsel is terrible aggressive and killed a Talbot demsel. I caught it ( whew ) and put her in another aquarium. Got 3 Chromis . Do you think I can reintroduce the blue demsel in a few weeks or months? Once there is at least 5-7 fish ?

Your problem is likely that you said “small” tank. Damsels need quite a bit more space than most people realize. Also, Chrysiptera cyanea are probably the most aggressive of all the Chrysiptera. I have also found tracy’s Damsels to be a bit mean. But I have a bunch of Azure, couple yellowtails, Rolland’s, and Talbots in my tanks and they are actually the most peaceful fish I have. Tangs and angels are meaner.

jsvand5 · Mar 8, 2019

Steve_Skullsplitter0 said:
Don't do it. Mean little buggers. My Domino is named Venom by my grandson because it is vicious and unrelenting. Even chromis are mean. Started with a school of 8 only 2 left. They basically kill the smallest one first and so on.

Venom is beyond crazy fast and too smart for traps.

Your issue is with the types you chose. Dascyllus and Pomacentrus should be avoided. Most Chrysiptera are totally fine in a large community tank.

jsvand5 · Mar 8, 2019

crazyboi48 said:
I have a 180g and wanted a small group of damsels or chromis. I've been looking at Blue reef chromis, CB Azure Damsels or Alleni Damsels. Any feedback or advice? .

The CB Azure are great and pretty much bullet proof. Blue reef chromis are tough to get through initial acclimation and get quite large. They also don’t shoal all that much as they get bigger. Chromis tend to slowly pick each other off but some people do seem to have luck with bigger groups. I don’t think anyone has figured out the secret to keep them from killing each other.i don’t have any experience with Alleni but I think the Azure are just better looking.

shred5 · Mar 8, 2019

jsvand5 said:
The CB Azure are great and pretty much bullet proof. Blue reef chromis are tough to get through initial acclimation and get quite large. They also don’t shoal all that much as they get bigger. Chromis tend to slowly pick each other off but some people do seem to have luck with bigger groups. I don’t think anyone has figured out the secret to keep them from killing each other.i don’t have any experience with Alleni but I think the Azure are just better looking.

I have had 6 for years and are pretty large now. They were super small when I got them and my trigger almost ate them.. Never lost a one and they are now pretty large.. I had them in a 100 gallon vat with a ton of rock for almost a year and I figured when it was time to pull them out some would be missing but they were all there. The now reside on my frag tank till the new tank is done. They originally were in my in my 125 and when I moved they went into my reefer 250 where they got a little aggressive. I then moved them into my live rock vat with most of the fish I was saving for my 120.
They do shoal if larger fish are with them or scared. I love how they will quickly disappear into a large acro.

Yea I do not know what the secret for green chromis are either but I have never had them pick each other off but I always keep 6 or more.

jsvand5 · Mar 8, 2019

crazyboi48 said:
Everyone is doing great and happy! Actually no picking on anyone as of now. Also actually loving the azures, May get more or another type

.

You’ll probably want to add some more azures. 3 is a bad number and I don’t understand why DD sells so many damsels as trios. When they grow two will pair up and the other will likely end up being pushed out of the group and picked on. I think 7+ is a better number. LA sells the captive bred ones just on their normal site too so you don’t have to rely on DD only.

crazyboi48 · Mar 8, 2019

shred5 said:
Red dragon?
One of my favorites.
That one is fantastic.

Yes and thank you!

crazyboi48 · Mar 8, 2019

jsvand5 said:
.

You’ll probably want to add some more azures. 3 is a bad number and I don’t understand why DD sells so many damsels as trios. When they grow two will pair up and the other will likely end up being pushed out of the group and picked on. I think 7+ is a better number. LA sells the captive bred ones just on their normal site too so you don’t have to rely on DD only.

Yes I bought from LA the CB ones. Love the size. Hope they start eating the tiny brine I’m mixing in. Haha