I have placed my first order with them. I have some acclimation boxes and will go from there. Waiting for the Anthias to come back. Are the damsels mean at all?
Which ones? I apologize if you asked earlier in the thread and I missed it.
The Pavo (Pomacentrus pavo)? They also go by Sapphires or Peacock. I had 7 of these at one point in my 210 gallon aquarium and they did ok. Not great, but not bad. The problem I personally ran into is that the male will protect the nest pretty aggressively. Overall it wasn't a problem when I had only 1 spawning pair. I had two that paired up and that was a bit much. I believe that one of them killed my older Coral Beauty as they used to fight pretty aggressively and I think it lost. The only other problem I had is introducing new fish. The existing fish knew about the spawning, locations, what to avoid and when. New fish didn't and it became stressful for me and the fish. Acclimation box doesn't help in that situation. I ended up capturing all 7 and giving to a fellow hobbyist. It was somewhat sad as the courtship and color change of the male is pretty neat.
Lyretail Damsel (Neopomacentrus azysron) - black, yellow inner tail, neon blue fin outline on some. I currently have 11 of these in the same tank I mentioned above. Multiple spawning pairs. Some fighting but no fight clubs or to death. I do notice one of the larger males a bit beat up with torn fins but he is still spawning. I originally purchased one to test the water then followed up with 4 more and again observed how everything got along. Once I saw that was ok I saw them on sale and picked up another 6 which brings me to my 11 now. They are not the most colorful but they bring the reef structure to life. They all find their respected area to hang out. Spawning is interesting in that the male darts out of its nest area and charges the female then darts back to the nest. Fun to watch. They do not group up but rather stay near the structure hovering over it.
I also have the 4 pink squares (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia) and they are also doing well. No fighting. One transition state others staying female. The transition or dominate one is a bit of a bully and chases some new fish that I've introduced but nothing to death. I added a Milletseed from Biota and I thought it was going to kill it but talking to Jake and Felicia about it they thought that it would chase but not harm and they are correct. The Anthias and damsel relationship in my reef reminds me a lot of what I've witnessed while diving. That is why I have more smaller fish than the larger.
I should note that this is what I observe and as you know it may be different elsewhere. I feed hourly pellet, small portions, a mixed blend of sizes as I have some larger butterflies that are fast along with the anthias. The smaller fish may not get the food thus me mixing pellet size. I also feed frozen at least once. Mixed of LRS reef, fish, nano and then the basic brine, mysis, plankton, etc. I rotate through these as the week goes on.
Anything I can clear up or if you want a picture send a message and I'll get you one. As I said I'm pretty biased as I like what Biota is doing and I enjoy buying the smaller captive bred, raised, fish and watch them grow. It is a different behavior I feel when they are small vs mature.
