Damsels

[phish7740]

my advice is dont buy damsels, i dont even know why they sell them. they are so mean and fast and getting them out is such a pain....they dont go near traps. and you have to remove the LR to get them out.

anyway...had to vent a little, i finally got the last two meanies out but lost a new fish in the process.

lesson learned.


Newbies: dont get them or get them out BEFORE adding other fish.

 

[xkenneth]

I second, just don't even bother. They look cute when they're little, but when they get older they're big, ugly and mean.

 

[roka64]

I agree, I have a tank full of them. They are good starter (NOT cycling) fish. They are very hardy and have outlasted a few of my other "delicate" fish and killed another. I got them because I was new to the hobby and that was recommended, to learn how to keep up with my tank. I would tell people to get them, if they were just starting out, just make sure you don't get a lot of them! LOL!
phish7740, I'm glad you got them out, wanna come chase mine down?

 

[phish7740]

i wish i got them all out at once, they stay clear of traps and removing all the rock was a pain.

even with the rock out they are still hard to catch.

 

[trotty]

Thanks for the heads up.... LOL

 

[FishFrik]

I returned mine the 2nd night i got them lol

 

[i have crabs]

i bought a 1/2"domino damsil for my 20g and now a have a 5" domino that chases down my 13" grouper

 

[Wood_Dog]

I agree and had the same problem with damsels... so many times they are recommended for a starter tank by the lfs and everyone runs into the same problems. It's a shame cos they are nice looking fish.

 

[tdthrows]

I agree with that when considering the domino or blue devil damsel, but chromis are not aggressive and if you have a hand full they will school together and add a cool look to a reef tank. Just my opinion

-TD

 

[Wood_Dog]

Very true..I have chromis and they are peaceful and do look very cool in a school

 

[OceanMist]

I found they only really bother fishes they can actually bother, the one I had in my previous tank would stay clear of my yellow tang but bullied my maroon clown, and the other damsel into hiding, I will not be making the mistake of starting with them twice.

My yellow tang was actually friends (is that the right word to use?!) with my maroon clown and they would swim together, I would watch my yellow tang dart down to clowfishes cave to keep away the damsel whenever he saw it coming, it was really cool to watch!

 

[Scoot]

I picked up a jewelled damsel - it was a really pretty fish.

Took me 2 hours minutes to realize he wasn't going to get along with the rest (he was just plain mean). Luckily he wasn't too hard to catch, I returned him the next day to the LPS.

My tank hangs out with my much larger princess parrotfish. Follows him everywhere. He gets a little too playful sometimes, flashing his tail on him, but the parrotfish is so much bigger, he doesn't even seem to care.

At first my tang was really mean to him - but then the tang had to come out for QT for some black ich - when I put him in, he wasn't as aggressive anymore. Sort of like he was now the "new guy" after QT for a few weeks.