Damsel and clownfish tank mates?

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tankdude

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
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Would a cloudy damsel and true perc be fine together? Thanks
 
I wouldn’t do it in anything under 29g. Damsels are fairly aggressive. But it would work in that size tank.
 
The damsel will grow much larger then the clown and eventually bully it.
Eventually could be the day after you introduce them.
Damsels are conspecific and clowns are in the damsel family so although there is much written saying it may work I would not risk it.
Damsels are mean ,mean fish..You are better off not even getting one IMO and choosing a more peaceful fish...
I would never let a friend get a damsel...
Get a royal gramma.They are under $20 and a great all around fish for a FO tank or full reef...
 
Would a cloudy damsel and true perc be fine together? Thanks
Not to disagree with the other's posts, I will give my perspective being as I am a damsel lover ( of certain types ;) ) I've set up many Damsel only tanks over the years. (y)
CB is correct in that Clowns and Damsels are closely related and as such, do not usually make good tankmates unless they are in very long tanks where they can set up territories and not have to interact with each other. A 29 gal is only 30" long so it would be hard for those 2 to not be interacting. I would not consider doing a Damsel/ Clown combo tank in anything less than 4'-5' long. This is about the range that many Damsels keep on the reef. You would need to set up decor on both ends of the tank ( and introduce your fish at the appropriate ends) so that each fish would have a separate home to defend without having to go wander the tank looking for a home.
One thing to watch out for: If you plan on an anemone for the clown, it can move and so will the clownfish. The anemone can move over to the damsel's side and all heck will probably break out. ( This is another reason why damsels and clowns together is a risk. :whistle: )

I once set up a 5' long 100 gal tank and decorated it with a small coral patch ( decoration corals not live ones) on the 2 ends and built a mound of rock ( back then it was Lava rock) in the middle which was topped with a large piece of Catspaw/ brownstem coral about half way up the tank's height. On one side of the tank was an Atlantic jewel Damsel, the other side a pair of Maroon Clowns and in the middle was a school of a dozen pacific 4 stripe Dacyllus ( sometimes called Humbug Damsels) amongst other fish I had in there. The reason this worked was because the Jewel likes to live solitary and had it's own space, the clowns don't usually stray far from their home and they were fine without an anemone and lived in some plastic plants and coral rock I used as part of the decor and the Humbugs like being in schools and near cover to hide in case of danger so they didn't venture too far from the coral head. So I met the needs of all the fish involved and they didn't have to interact with each other. (y) That's about the only way you can really keep a lot of different Damsels together successfully. It's very difficult to keep multiple types of the same families or just a large number of damsels period, without some thought in how to accommodate them.
Hope this helps (y)
 
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