Show your damsels!!!

Janci · Aug 21, 2018

Many do not want them.
Other think they are chromis.
Still others are afraid to add them.

I like to have a shoal of them and find it hard to choose.
So please post your nicest pictures of the damsel in your tank and indicate how many you keep.

Picture of one of my favorites (not my fish)

Sunny Goold · Aug 21, 2018

This is a gorgeous fish - I wonder if it’s aggressive. For me I just don’t consider damsels as I think a lot of them are risky. So this will be a great thread to follow

eatbreakfast · Aug 21, 2018

I love Chrysiptera species. Well-behaved and colorful.

Maritimer · Aug 21, 2018

Haven't got any great photos at the moment due to a recent hard-drive crash, but I've got three species of Chrysiptera in my 220 gallon tank. Two Talbot's damsels (old-rose pink/purple with a gold cap and black ocellus), three azure damsels (blue above, yellow below) and a trio of Rolland's damselfish (white with a diagonal black bar and clear yellow cap). Both trios are one male/two females, so I wonder if they adjust their genders, somewhat as clownfish do? - and both of those males are tending a plaque of eggs pretty much constantly. They mostly keep their tiffing amongst themselves, and ignore their tankmates - although the male azure will attack my hand if I get too near his nest.

~Bruce

Dmsick · Aug 21, 2018

This is the best pic I have currently. I got this trio from Divers Den last week. They are Lemon Damsels. I was hoping they might be less aggressive than the various blue species that seem to be uniformly evil. Hopefully since they came as a trio they are not going to kill each other!? They are in my QT now with a foxface. I'll try to get a better pic. They are really pretty.

Janci · Aug 21, 2018

Great info and lovely picture @Dmsick

@Maritimer
Did you add the damsel at the same time? As the last fish?

Hope many will follow.

Maritimer · Aug 21, 2018

Added the groups at different times. There was some hazing, but in a rock-stocked 6-foot tank, the new guys were able to integrate.

~Bruce

Baldguy · Aug 21, 2018

I have 5 springeri that are very peaceful. That's the pic you posted. They do not shoal. They've split up the tank 5 ways and are seldom seen together. They were added at the same time.

User1 · Aug 22, 2018

Janci said:
Many do not want them.
Other think they are chromis.
Still others are afraid to add them.

I like to have a shoal of them and find it hard to choose.
So please post your nicest pictures of the damsel in your tank and indicate how many you keep.

Picture of one of my favorites (not my fish)

Was going to say Jewel Damsel but I don't think so. In any case the Jewel is very pretty young but do not hold that color or so I've heard. You can't go wrong with anything in the Chrysiptera species. They are typically more calm. I've had Talbots and Azures. Down to Azures now though.

Waiting for @ca1ore to see this - he has a zillion Damsels in his tank

ca1ore · Aug 22, 2018

Yep, around 40 chrysiptera - mostly yellow tails, with a few azures and Rolland's in the mix. I also have what I thought were talbots, but not so sure anymore. They are a bit chippy within their own species, but ignore everyone else. I think the mostly bad rep damsels get are due to domino, 3-stripe, etc. Those lemons are nice.

Janci · Aug 22, 2018

ca1ore said:
Yep, around 40 chrysiptera - mostly yellow tails, with a few azures and Rolland's in the mix. I also have what I thought were talbots, but not so sure anymore. They are a bit chippy within their own species, but ignore everyone else. I think the mostly bad rep damsels get are due to domino, 3-stripe, etc. Those lemons are nice.

40 in one tank?
How big is the tank?
Will search your tread to find out more.

ca1ore · Aug 22, 2018

It's big ..... nominally a 450 (gallons not liters). Lots of pictures in my build thread, Simon's 450.

Katrina71 · Aug 22, 2018

sorry for the double post, but Angus is the sweetest fish my son has!

Janci · Aug 22, 2018

Katrina71 said:
sorry for the double post, but Angus is the sweetest fish my son has!

That is a good looking example.
Great picture.

kirstyflash · Aug 22, 2018

Took about twenty pics to get this one as the best. I don’t remember the type these two are. Cobolt is darker, larger and dominant with his fin up all day and Lapiz is a little lighter and smaller. Got them to eradicate a plague of flatworms and they have gotten the population down a bit. They aren’t the bosses of the tank, that’s the clowns and bicolour Blenny. They got pushed around for the first 48 hours but will stand up to the others now but without being aggressive about it. More like they just hold their ground and the clowns are accepting now. I was very dubious about getting them and hubby said ‘don’t name them because then you’ll get attached, they are here to get the flat worms then they are going.’ Yeah too late.

Haydn · Aug 22, 2018

I love damsels, you need to do your homework to get the right species and they will reward you with a stunning display. These pictures are from a previous incarnation of my tank-

The cloud is made up of green chromis, BlackTailed Chromis (C.Nigrura), half and half Chromis (C.Iomelas) and yellowtailed Damioselles (Neopomacentrus azysron) and a couple of Vandervelts chromis.

and finally, for me, a very special damsel- this was the best picture of it I had. Sadly I lost them when my tank crashed a few years ago and haven't be able to source them since

ReefWithCare · Aug 22, 2018

Haydn said:
I love damsels, you need to do your homework to get the right species and they will reward you with a stunning display. These pictures are from a previous incarnation of my tank-

I had 23 of these

I thought they looked good as a 'cloud'

And a very special Damselfish- sorry this is the best picture I have of them