Drama in the aquarium

Klyph · Nov 16, 2017

Ok, so I have a 32g biocube, and have had 2 clownfish, 1 banghi cardinal, and 1 royal gramma. They’ve all gotten along wonderfully since I got them and the tank a few months ago.

I’ve wanted a splash of bright blue, so just decided to add a fifth fish, a blue sapphire damsel. I know damsels can be aggressive, but the blue sapphires are supposed to be the least aggressive of the damsels.

Well, one day in, and all heck’s broken loose. The damsel has claimed the royal grammas home cave, and the royal gramma is now cowering in a very small hole and won’t come out. And the cardinal is now relentlessly nipping at the new damsel. It feels like he’s taking up for his gramma buddy.

Anyway, I immediately regret taking the risk of adding this damsel. My question is, since the damsel is getting put in his place by the cardinal, is it possible this could settle down over the next couple days, or do I need to get rid of the damsel ASAP?

eatbreakfast · Nov 16, 2017

If it is a blue sapphire, then things will settle down in a day or two.

Klyph · Nov 17, 2017

Well, the royal gramma is dead. Can’t figure out exactly what killed him. I never actually saw the damsel attack him. I didn’t see any major injuries on him. Weird. The cardinal is still nipping at the damsel a little, but not as bad as yesterday. Should I leave the damsel in a couple more days, and see what happens?

eatbreakfast · Nov 18, 2017

Can you post a pic of the damsel? A few weeks ago I got in some damsels labeled as springeri, but were actually blue devils. I'm curious if this is a possibility in this case.

Adam G · Nov 18, 2017

Sorry to hear of your issues. It is always hard to see a nice little friendly neighborhood disrupted by member. I have had that happen to me many times over the years. My guess would be the Royal Gramma died of stress and not an attack per say. At this point you have to make a decision if you want to keep a more aggressive species in the tank and risk future problems or get rid of him and go back two more peaceful environment with a very Docile species that you have had in there this far.

There is a very good chance that moving forward everything will settle down at all will be good. However, if you want to replace the fish you lost now the new guy will most likely get terrorized. Kind of a vicious cycle.