To damsel or not to damsel,

[Mono]

that is the question.

I've heard people putting damsel's in their tank as part of their crew of working fish.

I know what tangs do. I know what wrasses do.

But what do damsels do?

A few years ago I had 3 blue damsels in my 125g display but they were so aggressive I was glad to get rid of them.

Probably 125g is just too small to house them comfortably with other fish.

So, I kind of wonder why people keep them around.

 

[User1]

This comes up a lot. You want to stay in the Chrysiptera line. Talbots, Azures, Allens, etc. All great community fish but of course all of our tanks are different. If set up properly with enough safety zones, sleep areas, and of course overall coral growth to help break up flight/swim lanes they are a great addition. Proper set up though is required similar to most fish.

If you search for damsels you will see several people here keep 40+ with a recent tank I was reading - the 22 footer - has over 200. Great fish though with speed, form factor, color, and attitude.

 

[Mono]

Yes, exactly. I was also watching the BRS video which brought them to mind.

Thanks for the info and considerations.

But I am still wondering, Do they have any "working" fish function?

 

[User1]

Yes, exactly. I was also watching the BRS video which brought them to mind.

Thanks for the info and considerations.

But I am still wondering, Do they have any "working" fish function?

Utility wise? I do not remember. I believe mostly Omnivores so plankton, algae, smaller pods. Mine eat pellets, frozen mysis and brine shrimp, algae with the tangs, and whatever else it forages for. I'll let others reply on that other than my guess is poop and foraging Both good things but beyond that - I pass.

 

[Kzang]

Yes, exactly. I was also watching the BRS video which brought them to mind.

Thanks for the info and considerations.

But I am still wondering, Do they have any "working" fish function?

I think I saw somewhere they naturally go into SPS, and eat pests like AEFW

 

[Mono]

Ah, thanks Kzang. That makes a lot sense if true.

 

[bdesign]

My suggestion is Not To Damsel:

Confession: I freaking hate my clownfish. Any fish you love to hate?

They are beautiful 2 year old flurry clownfish, but they bite. They cause bleeding without gloves. With gloves, it still hurts. I keep them because they look great but I would really love to throw them in a garbage disposal and watch them suffer. With my new 125g they attack my elbow. dang I...

www.reef2reef.com

Build Thread - Erin O's 75G Build

I'm going to, but I was planning to wait until I get it cleaned up and ready to set up. It still has freshwater fish in it right now. I have a SunSun 404b on the 75g as well as the Tidal 110, right now. Should I use it, as well, when I make the switch to saltwater? Should I use the canister...

www.reef2reef.com

I’m never going to stop beating this dead horse until the four I have are dead... and I doubt I’ll even let it go then.

 

[mattzang]

a lot of people say springers in particular eat flatworms. idk how true it is, i have a springers and i'm sure he does stuff when i'm not looking, but picking at the rocks doesn't seem to be his thing. but i also don't seem to have flatworms so..

@bdesign they're in the tank in your build thread? that's surprising, i have a single azure and it got beat up by my springer damsel and i had to put him in the sump. and the springer itself is quite a pushover, he gets chased around by my bangaii cardinal

 

[Gernader]

Personally, I would not go with damsels ever because I have heard many terrible experiences with them and I just don’t want to risk my tank with damsels.

 

[Kzang]

My suggestion is Not To Damsel:

Confession: I freaking hate my clownfish. Any fish you love to hate?

They are beautiful 2 year old flurry clownfish, but they bite. They cause bleeding without gloves. With gloves, it still hurts. I keep them because they look great but I would really love to throw them in a garbage disposal and watch them suffer. With my new 125g they attack my elbow. dang I...

www.reef2reef.com

Build Thread - Erin O's 75G Build

I'm going to, but I was planning to wait until I get it cleaned up and ready to set up. It still has freshwater fish in it right now. I have a SunSun 404b on the 75g as well as the Tidal 110, right now. Should I use it, as well, when I make the switch to saltwater? Should I use the canister...

www.reef2reef.com

I’m never going to stop beating this dead horse until the four I have are dead... and I doubt I’ll even let it go then.

Nice you quoted my post. I'm glad to share the hatred

 

[Wolf89]

You want to stay in the Chrysiptera line

Are ALL damsels of the Chrysiptera genus peaceful and not aggressive jerks? What exceptions are they? Like the blue devil, Chrysiptera cyanea, are they peaceful enough?

 

[Magellan]

I have a blue devil and he is the runt of the litter in my tank. Never been the slightest bit aggressive. Of course, his tank mates are 2 clowns and a 6 line, so he doesn’t have much of a choice!

 

[BradB]

I started with a 120 gallon 20 years ago and upgraded to a 270 10 years ago- both 4 foot tanks. A night and day difference as far as damsels go. I never had more than 1 damsel more than 1 month in my 120, and even peaceful species like Tabot's were a nightmare for every other fish in the tank. In the 270, I've been able to add multiple of the peaceful damsels, with no obvious aggression.

I recently added 2 Chrysiptera taupou (maybe the blue devil you meant instead of cyanea) which I never tried before. They were aggressive to each other, and I believe 1 is dead. They were also aggressive to a newly added fairy wrasse as well as an Emperor and Coral Beauty in the tank for years - but I think they lost against the angels. I haven't seen aggression in the past week. But I still wish I added multiple cyanea instead.

As far as utility goes, they are algae eaters, but I've never heard of anyone adding them for any other reason than being cheap, tolerant of bad water, and interesting to look at.

 

[bdesign]

a lot of people say springers in particular eat flatworms. idk how true it is, i have a springers and i'm sure he does stuff when i'm not looking, but picking at the rocks doesn't seem to be his thing. but i also don't seem to have flatworms so..

@bdesign they're in the tank in your build thread? that's surprising, i have a single azure and it got beat up by my springer damsel and i had to put him in the sump. and the springer itself is quite a pushover, he gets chased around by my bangaii cardinal

@mattzang yessir, they’re in the Build Thread tank.
Maybe you feel like a road trip to taking them off my hands (after catching them)? Haha

 

[bdesign]

Nice you quoted my post. I'm glad to share the hatred

@Kzang I love that you said you wanted to put them in the garbage disposal. Lol

 

[Kzang]

@Kzang I love that you said you wanted to put them in the garbage disposal. Lol

Yeah, my heavy duty elbow shoulder glove came in today. It sucks to have to weae it to just put nori on a clip

 

[fermentedhiker]

If I was going to do damsels I think it would be a dedicated tank. Setup similar to a mbuna freshwater setup. Controlled overcrowding to disperse aggression among a large number of different damsel species. It would definitely be an active and colorful tank, but not everyone's cup of tea for sure.

 

[User1]

Are ALL damsels of the Chrysiptera genus peaceful and not aggressive jerks? What exceptions are they? Like the blue devil, Chrysiptera cyanea, are they peaceful enough?

Talbots, Aures, Yellow Tales, Traceys, and Rolands are a good starting point to read up on.

 

[mattzang]

blue devil is one of the chrysiptera you definitely want to avoid

idk why some people have issues with them and others don't. usually in a setup like @bdesign they just bother each other and that's it. i think when people run into trouble with them is they put them in first or try to add more peaceful fish after them

i mean, don't make @ca1ore come in and show off his damsel collection

 

[BradB]

I really wish people would stop discussion about blue devils without specifying Chrysiptera taupou, Chrysiptera cyanea or another fish. They are in the same genus but so are black bears and polar bears, which have different behavior (specifically, the likelihood of eating me).