Multiple damselfish species in 150Gal

[Firthy13]

Hi guys,

quick question, looking at adding some small fish to add a bit of movement in the tank. i was thinking about Azure and Talbots damselfish. I have never kept damselfish before, would one of each work or are you better to keep them in small groups of 5 or so?


here is my planned stocklist.
The flame angel is still in question and ill probably only do 3 of the 4 tangs.

 

[Big G]

I have a small group of Sapphire Damsels in my tank. Very peaceful, good neighbors, brilliant color.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have 6 azure and 2 talbots in mine. They are fun. The azure have established spots all fairly close to each other and do not go at it much. The azures stay near each other during feedings and through the day.
The talbots have found places very far from each other. Two of the talbots interact sometimes.
Lots of hiding places is key to multiples. These two types also do not bother each other much.

Now my lemons are another thing. I have two and they just mated and have eggs right now. The male is mean to me and to the female. He is territorial, but just chases all other fish. He stays near where the eggs are though, so not too bad.

 

[Angel_Anthias lover]

My lfs keeps a mix of similar damsels and it works ok.

Also i wouldnt mix the naoko fairy wrasse with the labouts fairy and other planktivores. They are quite agressive for a fairy wrasse.

 

[Firthy13]

My lfs keeps a mix of similar damsels and it works ok.

Also i wouldnt mix the naoko fairy wrasse with the labouts fairy and other planktivores. They are quite agressive for a fairy wrasse.

great advice, thank you. I didn't realize they were more aggressive than any other Cirrhilabrus sp. The Naoko is probably my favourite looking wrasse, going to be a hard decision whether i keep him or have multiple other wrasse. im also going barebottom so that limits my selection as well

 

[Firthy13]

I have 6 azure and 2 talbots in mine. They are fun. The azure have established spots all fairly close to each other and do not go at it much. The azures stay near each other during feedings and through the day.
The talbots have found places very far from each other. Two of the talbots interact sometimes.
Lots of hiding places is key to multiples. These two types also do not bother each other much.

Now my lemons are another thing. I have two and they just mated and have eggs right now. The male is mean to me and to the female. He is territorial, but just chases all other fish. He stays near where the eggs are though, so not too bad.

great thankyou. i was thinking about 2 talbots and 4-5 azures.
great build thread by the way!

 

[Larry L]

I have 6 azure and 2 talbots in mine. They are fun. The azure have established spots all fairly close to each other and do not go at it much. The azures stay near each other during feedings and through the day.
The talbots have found places very far from each other. Two of the talbots interact sometimes.
Lots of hiding places is key to multiples. These two types also do not bother each other much.

Now my lemons are another thing. I have two and they just mated and have eggs right now. The male is mean to me and to the female. He is territorial, but just chases all other fish. He stays near where the eggs are though, so not too bad.

This is very similar to my experience, I have the same thee varieties and they act just like you described. They definitely do better when there are a lot of visually distinct areas that they can claim as their own territories, e.g. separate bommies of rock. Tall branchy Acros and Monti digitata also help create visual separation between territories.

 

[User1]

You really can't go wrong with any Chrysiptera damsels. They tend to work together provided you have an established tank with lots of nooks, crannies, and what not for their safety retreat. Mature tank I mean corals in various stages of growth and types. Gets back to the nooks and crannies and places to retreat. If a chase does break out 150 gallons seems like a lot but it isn't. Similar to 400 and over gallons. As another hobbyists here said, @ca1ore , one things 450 gallons is enough for fish a to not find fish b but they do. And he has well over 54 damsels

 

[Firthy13]

This is very similar to my experience, I have the same thee varieties and they act just like you described. They definitely do better when there are a lot of visually distinct areas that they can claim as their own territories, e.g. separate bommies of rock. Tall branchy Acros and Monti digitata also help create visual separation between territories.

good to hear this isnt just a one off. my aquascape contains lots of caves and aches that they can swim though and hide. and once the top half of the tank is planted out in SPS, i'm sure they will have plenty of room to get away from eachother.

 

[Firthy13]

You really can't go wrong with any Chrysiptera damsels. They tend to work together provided you have an established tank with lots of nooks, crannies, and what not for their safety retreat. Mature tank I mean corals in various stages of growth and types. Gets back to the nooks and crannies and places to retreat. If a chase does break out 150 gallons seems like a lot but it isn't. Similar to 400 and over gallons. As another hobbyists here said, @ca1ore , one things 450 gallons is enough for fish a to not find fish b but they do. And he has well over 54 damsels

i do like that whole genus also. i'm not a fan of blue green chromis which alot of people seem to use for adding movement. they are very common and people always seem to only ever end up with 1. i like how damsels tend to pair up and breed and defend there little territory. makes for good entertainment as long as no damage is done.

 

[User1]

i do like that whole genus also. i'm not a fan of blue green chromis which alot of people seem to use for adding movement. they are very common and people always seem to only ever end up with 1. i like how damsels tend to pair up and breed and defend there little territory. makes for good entertainment as long as no damage is done.

Yup - agreed. Damsels have an unnecessary bad reputation in my opinion. Sort of like dogs or other animals. If you do not provide the proper environment what can you expect? Anyway you have a good choice. I had three azures and 2 talbots for the longest time. I am down to a single azure now over the years but waiting to add more. I lost a few during my upgrade so just waiting a bit more for some corals to mature. I have the rock work and foundation but I'd like a few more things in there to break flight / chase should they squabble. Plus this remaining azure is probably 7 or 9 years old as I know I've owned it for the last 7 - he/she didn't tell me their age and I didn't ask

Best of luck! I bet it will be nice.

 

[Larry L]

Another nice thing is that the azure (kupang), lemon, and Talbot's are all available as captive-bred (although the captive-bred Talbot's are a bit harder to come by).

 

[ReefHog]

This is very similar to my experience, I have the same thee varieties and they act just like you described. They definitely do better when there are a lot of visually distinct areas that they can claim as their own territories, e.g. separate bommies of rock. Tall branchy Acros and Monti digitata also help create visual separation between territories.

I have four Azure damsels in my 220 mixed reef. I have four distinct rock "islands" and each damsel has claimed one of them for their home base. They don't really leave their rock except for feeding but patrol their rock all day. They don't bother anybody except the smaller fish when they come too close to their rock.

 

[msujohn]

I have four Azure damsels in my 220 mixed reef. I have four distinct rock "islands" and each damsel has claimed one of them for their home base. They don't really leave their rock except for feeding but patrol their rock all day. They don't bother anybody except the smaller fish when they come too close to their rock.

So the 4 don’t pair up at all?

 

[ReefHog]

So the 4 don’t pair up at all?

Not at all. They each make one large rock structure their home and patrol it all day long. If the file fish, clown fish or gobies (or my hand) go near it they chase them away. The tang, copper band, Moorish Idol, flame angel and hawk fish can go wherever they want. At feeding time they swim out in the open water column.