Blue damsels

[Guest]

Anyone know how to differentiate a so-called Orange Tail Damsel from the Fiji Blue Devil Damsel?

Also, any experience with adding either to a tank that has a Butterfly, Mandarin Fish, Yellow Tang and Chalk Basslets?

Thanks.

 

[reefrunner69]

A fiji blue devil is actually blue and gold, an orange tailed damsel has an orange tail rather than yellow. I also think that the orange tail doesn't have as much (if any) orange on it's underside, where a blue devil has a yellow undeside.

 

[BBReef]

i hate damsels. though sometimes pretty to look at, they get pretty territorial and chase and nip at everything. when i got mine i was told that it would only be aggressive to other damsel fish of the same kind, nope, not mine. it chases my yellow and blues tangs like no other, especially when fed. ive been trying to catch it for weeks now but havnt had any success. anyone know of a good way of catching it?

 

[BBReef]

my damsel killed my baby regal tang last night. i really want to get him out now. any ideas? please help.

 

[Guest]

I think mine is the Fiji Blue Devil...bright blue, yellow underneath, orange tail with blue on the perimeter outlining the tail.

I sure would like to avoid dismantling the tank to get rid of it. Is their aggressiveness usually apparent soon after they are in the tank, or could they become aggressive even much later? So far, no obvious signs of aggressiveness.

And is it any more likely that they might not be disruptive if they are the only damsel in the tank?

Im probably just doing a lot of wishful thinking. Id love to get it out of there, but attempts at netting didn't work and tearing down the whole reef is something I am hesistant to do if there's a chance it might adapt peaceably.

 

[BBReef]

well i finally caught the damn thing. made my own little homemade fish trap out of a two liter bottle and it worked great. i caught my two cleaner shrimp, baby yellow tang and finally the blue damsel within 5 min great way to catch fish

i would leave it in there until you see it actually start chasing and picking on other fish. if you dont have any other fish in there now and are planning on adding some, i would definitly try to take it out before adding the fish. itll most likely get territorial and fight with it.

 

[scuba_steve]

how did ya keep him in the bottle kinda lost me there ¿?¿ did ya just cut the neck off and plant food inside and just grab it as soon as he was in it ¿?¿

 

[BBReef]

i cut the top a little more than half way up, then cut the threading off of the top to make the hole a little bigger, then put the top half inside the bottom half so they could get in easily be not out. basicaly looked just like a fish trap you could buy, just made out of a two liter bottle.

 

[gfishguy56]

I must have the best luck with damsels ever, because my blue, yellow tail, and canary damsel all get along and they've been together for at least 2 years. i also have a yellow tang, flame angel, 5 chromis's, and 2 false percula clowns, and everybody gets along. the only skirmishes are when the damsels ocassionally venture into the royal dottyback's small back corner of the tank, he chases them out and everybody proceeds with life, waiting for food to fall from the sky. I hope i didnt just jinx myself.

 

[BBReef]

lol i wish i had that same luck. my damsel is a very bright bl;ue with a nice looking tail and nice black trim and markings, but i cant stand it attacking my other fish anymore.

 

[thorn]

I've had a bunch of damsels (domino, yellow tail, green chromis, lemon, blue devil) and only one (yellow tail) was super agressive, so much so that I had to keep him alone. In the end, I think it just comes down to the fish... sometimes a normally passive fish will just be mean - and vice versa.

 

[CountZero]

I purchased a few Damsels for my tank to cycle it when I first set it up. Well, here it is 3 months later and now my velvet damsel is becoming a real jerk! He was mellow at first, but now he chases everything thats in the tank. I have two yellow tailed that are mellow and so is the 5 stripe damsel. However Mr. Velvet is in for a rude awakening. My old lady wont let me get rid of it cause its her favorite fish and is one of the nicest looking fish I have had. unfortunately for him, I just aquired a Niger Trigger thats about 3 times the size of it, and it would be tragic if he became a late night snack... Lets see what happens... If this dont work, I may have to get a lionfish

 

[Jim D]

I also have a electric blue damsel and if a shotgun wasn't so messy...well. The only fish he leaves alone is my percula's

 

[astride13]

I have one blue damsel that I kept only because the others picked on him. I did the cycle with damsels because the LFS said that was the best way. (since then I have been using the various fishless methods) They all had their own rock and would all pick on each other. Only one blue damsel didn't pick on any other fish, but always got picked on by the others. I returned all but the little blue one to the fish store after my cycle. I felt bad for him, so I kept him. For now all my fish get along, but I will never buy a damsel again.

 

[PrettyFishies]

I am against damsels. The only way I could get mine out was to take out the rockwork... i had a small yellow tail and a blue devil in teh very begininng... didn't even want to chance it with my new fish

 

[gfishguy56]

in my experience with the velvet damsel, you will find as it gets older it will get meaner and meaner and the bright colors it displays when young, will quickly fade and turn a dull ugly color. So you'll have yourself an ugly mean fish.

 

[toddwess]

i hate damsels. though sometimes pretty to look at, they get pretty territorial and chase and nip at everything. when i got mine i was told that it would only be aggressive to other damsel fish of the same kind, nope, not mine. it chases my yellow and blues tangs like no other, especially when fed. ive been trying to catch it for weeks now but havnt had any success. anyone know of a good way of catching it?

I hate them too. Mine killed two yellow tangs. One of them was only the size of a quarter. I had to remove all of the LR, and then chase him around the tank for about an hour to finally catch him.

I then sent him back to the sea . . .

Todd

 

[wseaton]

Damsels are controversial because of their tendency to be the first in a tank (cycling) and then take to their territory pretty firmly when other fish are added. Personally I think there are better options to cycle a tank; lots of hermit crabs, gobies, etc., that won't become as obnoxious as these critters can become and are easier to catch.

Still, I'm a bit perplexed by some of the scenarios mentioned above. Maybe it's just my luck, but all the yellow tangs I've had were meaner than a snake and woulnd't take guff from a trigger let alone a damsel. I've also found the three stipe and domino damsel (very similiar fish) to be the most pugnacious of the bunch an far worse than blue devils.

I've kept damsels simply because of their contrasting good looks with dwarf angels and clowns, and found them pretty unable to bother these fish. It would take a pretty bold damsel to start something with a cherub angel or even small maroon clowfish. The most pugnacious fish I've had as of late was a yellow psuedochromis which was far worse than any damsel I've had.

I like the trigger idea above in terms of having a 'biologically friendly' alternative to catching the things. The Niger trigger is a bit passive, but a Huma-Huma (Picasso) trigger that's been neglected dinner for a few days will take care of the problem in short order. The 2-litre bottle combined with a late night ambush is the nest easiest way to catch the little monsters.

 

[MACATUA]

Well, my LFS won't even sell me damsels. However, for my first fish, we went with the Green Chromis. Active, kind, and look really cool when you have a lot of light!!