Damsel tank?

F

FranktheTank

Premium Member
Would anyone even dare?

I've been sleeplessly researching the equipment for a 36g corner tank. Now I'm starting to think about the live stock.

Would it be possible or probable to do some green chromis, blue reef chromis, yellow tail... etc.

I think the chromis are peaceful... would it just be the most terrible idea I have ever thought of?

I have always thought the damsel was one of the most colorful and beatiful fish in the aquarium... they're just pain in the asses.
 
I have always heard they are bad. What are the problem with keeping them? I guess my friend would complain that they bite him everytime he is in the tank. That can't be that bad? I know they farm algeas in the wild to attract a female. Do they do that in an aquarium? I was thinking of keeping a few myself.

Yuki
 
Well, it's a thought. I'm not exactly sure what fish would go in my 36g. Of course, my little girl is dying for a Nemo!

I was thinking of putting something like 3 green chromis in for sure. And I could do a mixture of damsels. It would be about the only thing that is cheap about my tank set up.

Anymore thoughts?
 
with the cichlid tank you have the ability to get a veriety of subspecies that dont mind the others but not all african cichlids deserve the rap they get. But if you use the cichlid model i dont see why you couldnt pack a tank full of damsels and just like cichlids the agression would be spread out. I had a cichlid tank till the reef obsesion took over. It was a 180 and had over 40 full grown cichids in it.
 
Well, the consensus is a damsel tank is possible?

Would a Nemo be able to handle a damsel tank?

I think my main concern is that as I add fish slowly, the already established damsels would be territorial to the newly added damsels.

What could you do to fight this scenario? Add green chromis first as a my first addition? Since they are more peaceful?

Then add the more aggressive damsels next?
For example:
Once the tank was cycled, I thought I would add a few green chromis so they could "school".

Then I could add something like a yellow tail, domino, zebra, blue, etc.
I figure with a 50g+ total water volume system I could get away with 5-7 damsels pretty easily. They're not that big, I don't think they would be too hard of a bio load.

Really the only fish outside of a damsel I would want (for my little girl) is a perc. I've had percs with damsels before, so I don't think it would be a problem.

Anymore thoughts on this?
 
Just stay away from the Sargent Majors, the black and white striped ones. I've had two different ones and they were both annoyingly aggressive towards the other damsels in the tank.
 
well i dont know about chromis with damsels eventhough they are damsels i have 2 in my 70 reef. But a clown is technically a damsel and isnt really that big of a problem. BTW some damsels get big real big. I personally have seen a dominoe the size of a tea saucer. I have a sgt maj and had to sump him because even at a small size he was horible. he even picked on my cleaner goby. If you dont mind a different clown a tomato or cinimon clown are aggresive and might be the more problematic of the bunch.
 
@Nazrac wrote:
well i dont know about chromis with damsels eventhough they are damsels i have 2 in my 70 reef. But a clown is technically a damsel and isnt really that big of a problem. BTW some damsels get big real big. I personally have seen a dominoe the size of a tea saucer. I have a sgt maj and had to sump him because even at a small size he was horible. he even picked on my cleaner goby. If you dont mind a different clown a tomato or cinimon clown are aggresive and might be the more problematic of the bunch. said:
That didn't make much sense... are you suggesting I get a more problematic fish, such as a tomato or cinnamon? I owned a cinnamon clown in my last tank, and I think they are beautiful. Though, I was thinking of just going with a perc this time around.

Thanks for the response, though I'm not sure what you were suggesting???
Click to expand...
 
i am saying that you could get a more problematic one and not risk loosing a more pasive perc or false perc. IMHO i dont think you will get much in a 55 though.
 
What what what?

Some damsels will kill clowns. I think mixing several damsels in a tank with a clown would not end up good.

Without a clown, I would add the green chromis first. Then add all of the damsels at once so there is no established territories.


Surely there are others reading the forum that have had damsels kill clowns.
 
that is what i am saying a tomato would hold its own i would think with damsels i am trying to say that the more passive perc or false perk would be more likely to die but a big tomato might be more aggresive than the damsels. I would never do a damsel tank but if i were and wanted a clown i would prabably go with a tomato but some say gsm's are bad but mine isnt 50/50 90
 
Well, this is all just a thought to begin with.

But I have had a perc with damsels before with no problems. And I have owned a cinnamon clown before which yes, they hold their ground quite well. I had a psuedo that was previously established and when I introduced the cinnamon all hell broke loose for about 30 minutes... then they got along for the rest of the tank's time.

That's why I thought maybe adding the aggressive fish at the same time would be a good idea. Seems as though everyone is mixed on this topic.

I wonder why they do great in groups at the lfs but not in our tanks???

I think the damsel would be perfect in my 36g corner... maybe it's just something I'll have to experiment with. It would be a rather cheap experiment.

Keep the thoughts coming on this please!!!
 
When I first set up my 55g, I my yellow tail damsel was the first fish that I put in the tank. The next fish that I added was 3 green chromis. They did fine and were not bothered by the damsel at all. Then I added my pair of nemos and all hell brike loose.All 3 green chromis died within a week from the nemos harassing them. I tried adding more but they also didnt make it long either.
Right now my yellow tail is the most peaceful fish in my tank and has been for 2 years now.
Alot of times you may find fish of a certain species that are commonly aggressive to be just the opposite. I've found that alot of times the fish of the more aggressive species that are being harrassed by the same species turn out to be pretty good tank mates when they are place in a tank with other species.
My point is that alot of the aggressive species,although they are usually aggressive, can be kept with other less aggressive species.
Thats just my experience.
 
When I lived in Hawaii, I had a 30g tank with a dozen domino damsels (I caught from the wild) in it with my live shells (cowries, nubies). They were actually quite comical to watch schooling and playing chase with each other and they're cute I think. just my $.02

Gail
 
Clowns are techniclly damsels...so you cant keep a tank full of clowns (or it's very high risk at least)...why do you guys think it's going to be any different with any other type of damsel? One thing is for sure...it would never be boring. Not to mention one damsel is enough to make you want to never stick your hand in the tank again...imagine a tank full of them biting you. :D They are evil. Why do you want them anyway?

I've only had yellow tails, 3 stripe, and dominos. Out of those the yellow tails have been the most tolerable. The other two types were completely belligerent and I wanted to pinch their little heads off 99% of the time. I did get a good laugh out of watching them act like idiots all the time, but I felt that they kept all the other fish on edge. My 265 still has a yellow tail, but hes not too awful. Picks on my 6 line and yellow wrasse a lot.

I wonder why they do great in groups at the lfs but not in our tanks??? said:
The same reason 15 yellow tangs in a 10 gallon dont fight at the fish store? They don't have territory issues and aren't "comfortable" in the fish store IMO.

Check out this damsel. He has been on LA divers den for at least a month I know. Talk about looking like you have an attitude...
http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=32817&siteid=20
Click to expand...
 
One of the coolest fish pair cominations I ever had was a black tomoto clown and a 3 spot damsel. The damsel knew that the clown could not catch him, but would come into his territory just to get the clown to chase him. They would go around and around in circles around this one rock. CLASSIC to watch.

I've never had problems with damsels picking on other fish as long as you plan it out right. I've kept damsels with tangs, clowns large angels, butterflies.
 
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