Damsel question

[tinman]

I have 2 damsels one blue devil and one solid yellow one(not sure the name). My question is are all damsels mean by nature. The Blue one has such a cool personality while the yellow one is alittle more intense. I actually wanna get rid of the yellow one and get a clown but I keep hearing that damsels are horrable fish. Will the blue one harass the clown? the yellow damsel harrasses the blue one constantly. He has to go but will the blue one need to go to be able to get a clown. BTW this is a nano 10 g. tank

[JPloman]

Making the statement that all damsels are mean by nature is like saying all snakes will bite if you try to touch them. It really depends on the personality of the animal. For the most part, I have found, Domino Dams and the ones that are blue with yellow tails are always mean.

Then again, I have a school of Dams that are never mean, they are the most peaceful fish in my tank...

[electrikat]

10 gallon is pretty small for a clown and a damsel. Even a fairly even tempered damsel might have a territory problem in a 10gallon. Even the clown might if you put them together. Once the clown decides what to make her home she/he will defend it.

[stusclan]

My yellow tail blue damsel is a sweet fish. He eats on the nori clip with my tang, and swims around with my perculas. He was the first fish in the tank, so no problems with territory - I have lots of hiding places for everyone. So, not all damsels are mean.

I do agree that a 10 gallon with a damsel and clown might be too much bioload. Close quarters aren't suggested for either of these fish.

[AR15 guy]

Actually liveaquaria says you can keep a couple percs in a 10 gallon.

You would probably be better off with two percs instead of one clown and 1 damsel.

I had a blue damsel that almost killed a small trigger. It was mean.

I thought the blue ones with yellow tails were supposed to be some of the more peaceful damsels?!

go to liveaquria and check out their nano section. Help give you some ideas on what kind of fish to keep in the 10.

I think I may put 1 perc and 1 firefish goby in mine.

[quarryshark]

Many damsels are mean, but some are fine. My Damsel is the perfect gentleman, even hangs around with my clowns with no issues. I think where people many times run into trouble is that they introduce the damsels first while they cycle the tank. After this period in the tank the damsels have established the tank as their territory and any newcomers are gonna get blasted.
I introduced my damsel last and he gets along with everyone fine. I'm glad too, he is one pretty fish (see gallery).

[JPloman]

[quote="AR15 guy"]I thought the blue ones with yellow tails were supposed to be some of the more peaceful damsels?! [quote]

I think they are like humans, if you are not happy you can be very mean!

[AR15 guy]

I am always mean. So maybe some of them are always ***holes like me

[saltwatersmac]

I have a Fiji Devil damsel(blue with yellow top and bottom) that right now is the meanest fish in my 90gal. He keeps a maroon clown in the corner and is always sparring with my coral beauty. The damsel was the last fish put in the tank. I will have to get him out of the tank but he sure is nice looking.

Stephen

[taz291819]

I have a yellow tail damsel and a larger 3-inch Domino that get along fine with their mates. What's funny is, my green wrasse is agressive towards my Clown, but the Domino protects the Clown. And my Tang pretty much keeps EVERYONE in check.

[cardinal]

i have no probs with my damsels at all...
i yellow tail...1 bue..and 1 humbug...
they adore the banghaii cardinal..and all swim together )

[AR15 guy]

I had a blue damsel that almost killed a trigger that was twice its size. The trigger dug a nice hole the my rock and just stayed there. I eventually took the trigger back and got a couple clowns.

[JG]

I had a blue devil and he lived up to his name. He was a mean ol' cuss. I have a 4-stripe humbug - he is fairly aggressive. My yellow damsel is a sweetie, but will stick up for himself.

I've heard that the dominoes are the worst.

[Mbeef61]

i know of one true reef safe damsel...its called a talbots damsel...they are a little more expensive than most damsels...mine was 8 dollars but hes awesome...kind of like the blennies that find a rock crevice...never seen one of them even nip at something...completely safe yet fairly unheard of...i would recommend one for smaller reef keepers looking for a fish with character.

[AR15 guy]

I just put a domino damsel in my 38 gallon. I don't plan on keeping him. I just had to get something in that tank for now. Soon as I get the 10 gallon finished I am going to work on the 38 gallon.

I thought the domino was going to die. He went absolutely insane inside the bag while I was acclimating him. He started floating on his side taking huge breaths. So I dumped him in. He just floated around. I left for a few hours and came back and hes doing great.

He is quite a bit more skidish than my clown though.

[pluk1992]

i had damsels 3 to be exact i bought some clowns they died every thing died thank god the lfs gave a 2 day guarantee no questions asked so they told me to get rid of two of the damsels and i did same problem just last week got two more clowns and got rid of that damsel hard to catch and no more mysterius deaths so my advice to you is get rid of the damsel imop

[mike0179]

My yellow-tail tends to attack my hand anytime it is in the water. If I get too close to the outside of the glass he will face me and have a staring contest. I’m weary of what his reactions will be when new fish are introduced to my tank

[method0075]

My blue and yellow one hides in the lr and never comes out... Scared of everything. My clowns don`t bother anyone...

I`ve found with a lot of species and animals is that if you get them young and introduce them into the same enviroment together they will grow up with each other and not have any problems.

My cichlid tank is a perfect example. Overstocked but the fish were all bought as babies and respect each others space. If I add anything though they kill it! I have a friend with Pirahnanas that are full grown and school with the neon tetras that they were raised with. Won`t eat them but will eat anything else.