Newbie 5 weeks in with bully Damsel

[tcunha]

Hi Guys, I am a beginner starting with my first AIO 40gal by IM. Using an AI prime with about 3 pounds live 10 pound dry rock and 40 pounds live sand. Tank cycled at around 3 weeks. I also have 3 damsels (starter fish) in there.
Everything has been good. Had a diatom bloom around week 2 but it has mostly cleared up. I added 4 nassarius snails bout a week ago and today acclimated my first pair of clowns.

My problem is that I think my Yellow damsel (starter fish) is being a big time bully. Added the clowns yesterday and he has been nothing but coming out and Peking at them. I am so ready to get him out of here. HELP! is this normal? How long should I wait?

 

[tankstudy]

Damsels can be pretty mean. Sometimes, I get lucky and get some rather passive ones, however, most of the time, they are pretty mean.

I would remove it and return it to the LFS if possible or give it to someone who runs a damsels tank.

I've had damsels kill an assortment of fish before. I just avoid damsels completely these days.

 

[tcunha]

Thats what I was thinking. Besides he cost me about 4 dollars where the clowns were 40/piece haha. I am going to net him and return him to the store.

 

[tankstudy]

Yep, they are pretty cheap. What they kill is generally far more expensive. lol.

 

[chrisl10]

That's a lot of things going on in a short amount of time. A large bio load on a relatively light amount of live rock / sand and biological filtration. I would get all those damsels out of that tank. The sooner the better. Many people are against the whole starter fish thing for cycling but in my experience that works the best. That's just my opinion. Good luck getting those damsels out. And yes the are aggressive You may also want to add some of that liquid biological filter additive. That will help add beneficial bacteria to your tank. Good luck with the tank!

 

[tcunha]

Oh man I had a typo. I meant 30 pounds of live rock not 3 and 10 dry rock. I have a total of 40lbs. haha oops. Still sleeping.

Thank you for the input though. I'll post some pics of my aquascape in a bit

 

[chrisl10]

Hahah glad to hear the typo I was thinking you had a bio crash in the making . Can't say I haven't had that happen.

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R! Get the damsel OUT! They get more aggressive as they get bigger!

 

[tcunha]

Thanks everyone! Damsels are out and what a frickin nightmare! Had to remove almost all my rock to get them in the net. I still cant find the smallest one but the two aggressive ones are gone and returned to the store. I wonder if the third one is stuck inside a rock..

 

[twilliard]

Welcome to the R2R community and that was a smart choice of removing them if your planning on other tank mates

 

[hybridazn]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Diesel]

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R

 

[tcunha]

third damsel still missing. I had to remove all my rock to get them out the other day but could only fetch 2 of them. The third must be crushed or stuck inside a rock?? What if he dies in the tank and I cant find him?

 

[chrisl10]

You have crabs or any type of cleanup crew? They can clean up the mess or monitor your ammonia level. See if the dead fish raises the level

 

[tcunha]

You have crabs or any type of cleanup crew? They can clean up the mess or monitor your ammonia level. See if the dead fish raises the level

No I don't at this time but will keep an eye on the ammonia. I might have to get a couple small crabs

 

[chrisl10]

Don't get emerald green they get too big and aggressive at times

 

[s2nhle]

Welcome to reef2reef

 

[kireek]

*Welcome to Reef2Reef @tcunha !* I hope you found your damsel.Maybe.It's possible that it jumped from the tank.Best of luck with your new system.Be sure to create your own build thread here https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks.52/ to record your progress.