Odd Behavior?

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Joemama16341

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Messages
62
Location
Titusville PA
I have a Blue Damsel that keeps digging a hole under one of the plastic decorations in my tank and today i wanted to smooth the sand back out from him digging his hole. I tried to remove this object and the little guy keeps nipping my hand if I go near it. Is this usual that they protect there home to this extent? Also is there a way to keep him from digging or do I just have to deal with it?
 
These guys are among the most aggressive og the damsels ( esp. the blue devils). They are very territorial . Do you have any other fish yet and are you planning on adding anybody else?

JG
 
Yes, these are VERY territorial little fish...tiny but mighty. You will want to consider this when you add more fish.
 
I've read where damsels will attack divers who go near there territory. I had a damsel who would dig under one of the decors in the tank. So it's normal.
 
Sounds normal for them to me. When I set up my 1st tank some years back I was told to purchase 6 damsels to cycle my 55g (eeek) and 3 lived... 2 green chromis, 1 blue ... this fish was as bold as they come. I often thought he had gone mental from the cycle because he was so aggressive he would attack the glass when I walked by and I knew he would nip me each time I reached in to clean the tank with out fail until my arm was out of the tank. S/he claimed the entire 2/3 left side of the tank and there was no bending on that. S/he dug as you mentioned as well.

I hated to part with anything I had so I tried adding my fish, a kole tang, a royal gramma and a clown and he was not very nice to the new additions so I trapped him and took him to the LFS. Be very careful before adding any new fish.

Warmly,
Kimberly
 
I have 2 clowns, 1 long tentical anemone, 1 stripped damsel, 1 yellow tail damsel, 1 yellow damsel, and a fire fish and he seems mildly aggressive toward them but me touching his rock yesterday must have been a no no. At least all my friends thought it has funny last night. I buried this this really deep this time to try to stop him from digging but when I got up this morning he had a 2 inch deep trench dug the whole way around it. I am ordering 80 pounds of live rock this week so maybe that will give him more places to hide and he will leave my sand alone.
 
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