advice on damsels

[RTV]

I have a relatively small tank-46 gals- 57lbs of lr and 50lbs of live sand- starting with a couple of ocellarus clowns and waiting to get a diamond goby- I'd like to add a few blue yellow fin damels but have heard bad things about damsels - i've read that these are the least agressive of the damsels- any comments ? I'll be adding a 6 line wrasse, and a mandarine dragonette down the road-I'm wanting a peacful group...would the damsels be a mistake in a community tank?

 

[afilter]

I would skip the damsels. Not sure who told you they are less agressive. Maybe least agressive of the agressive damsels? They will only be problems down the road. They would preclude you from getting the rest of the fish on your list as well. With the fish you listed you will be close to you max bio load in a 46g with out the damsels. If you ever do go with a damsel they should be the last fish you add due to being very territorial. Unfortunately some still use them to cycle their tanks and they end up being one of the first fish due to their hardiness which usually leads to problems when you try to add more fish.

I would also avoid the mandarin as a 46g with only 55-60lbs of LR is probably not enough to support the pods required for a mandarin. Now if you have a fuge or plans on getting one you might be able to get away with one if you have plenty of pods(usually not recomended for a tank less than 12 months old anyway). Most would probably recommend against it. It is very rare for a mandarin to take any prepared foods therefore they nee pods to survive. Many do not know this which is why about 98% of all mandarins sold die in 2-3 months of starvation.

Otherwise your stocking list looks good. If you do decide you want a schooling fish blue/green chromis which are technically a damsel truly are a docile fish if kept in a small school 3+ and rarely bother anyone. Again this would cut into your bio load and I would not recomend more than 2-3 other small fish with a school of 3 chromis in a 46g.

HTH,

 

[RTV]

yes, I've learned that a 46gal tank is very small in the the reef world!- thanks for the info- exactly the kind of advice I needed.