Trouble Fish...

[wingshear]

So I have this problem. I moved the fish I had in my 125 gal. fish tank to my new 90 gal. reef - which I'm still getting ready for corals etc. There weren't many - a couple of black striped damsels, a couple of small blue damsels, a couple of cromis and one big black damsel. I got rid of the 2 black striped damsels because I thought they were digging up the sand bed and clouding up the water. Turns out that the big black damsel is making a real mess. He's moving all the sand out from under my live rock and as a result the water is cloudy and sand is settling all over the rest of the rock. Is there a way to change the tank environment (more, larger hiding places) to get this fish to stop this behavior, or is the best option to get him out of the tank all together. I've had him for over 10 years and want to keep him if there's a way for him and corals to co-exhist.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Wingshear

 

[obscurereef]

Just curious why you downgraded/why didn't you use the 125 for the reef? Damsels are very territorial, and can bully fish even larger than them. They are also hard to catch, but I'd recommend you get rid of him especially since you are now having a peaceful reef community where this fish will mostly likely pick on many of the inhabitants. I don't think he'll stop his behavior. Getting rid of such an old fish would be hard, but if you are up to it, I believe that's the best course of action.

 

[wingshear]

Just curious why you downgraded/why didn't you use the 125 for the reef? Damsels are very territorial, and can bully fish even larger than them. They are also hard to catch, but I'd recommend you get rid of him especially since you are now having a peaceful reef community where this fish will mostly likely pick on many of the inhabitants. I don't think he'll stop his behavior. Getting rid of such an old fish would be hard, but if you are up to it, I believe that's the best course of action.

I needed to move the big tank out of the bedroom to make room for my 2 Macaws' cages and there isn't room enough for it in the living room. It was also a very old tank - probably nearing 20 years - lots of scratches on the glass - nearing the end of it's safe lifespan - so it was time anyway to at least replace it and the stand. I'm really happy with the new tank. It's 36x24x24 and sits right at eye level when you stand in front of it and will make a beautiful display when it's all set-up. I'm still working on getting the plumbing just right, but it's all coming along nicely, except for my 1 problem fish. I was hoping there was a way to re-arrange the rock (maybe) to give him more of a protected space, but I guess that wouldn't work. I think the shop that sold me all the new gear will take him, because he want's me to buy more stuff (invertebrates etc.) and I really can't do that if the sand bed is going to be stirred up all the time.

Thanks So Much for you're input,
Wingshear

 

[obscurereef]

Wow that's an old tank. Glad you like your new aquarium . Hopefully they take him in.

 

[wingshear]

Wow that's an old tank. Glad you like your new aquarium . Hopefully they take him in.

Well, Saturday I took all the live rock out of the tank, netted the big Damsel and got him out of the tank. My neighborhood shop was glad to take him in so that made it a little easier. Right now, the tank is clearing very nicely and I'm looking forward to getting some corals in the tank very soon.

Pictures to follow...

Many Thanks,
Wingshear