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Choices, choices...

V

Vikki

OK, payday today, and you know what that means...yup, back to this fish store tonight. Damn addiction...I think crack would be cheaper at this rate. :eek:

So OK, I got the 2 damsels last night, along with the star and the scallop. And I know well enough that damsels are little b@stards in the tank, so aside from ending up with a tank full of damsels, what other fish could I get that they would leave alone? A dwarf lion, perhaps? Also, if I got an anemone and a clown, would the anemone protect the clown? How about Angels? I know they can be nasty, maybe they get on OK with damsels? Please help a newbie populate her nano and not turn it into an open season cage-match.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I agree to get rid of the Damsels. I still have one in my tank and it bothers anything I put in there. Wish the little SOB would croak already. Angels you need to be careful with as some are bad because they pick on corals. I had one they killed many zoos, leathers, etc. Coral Beauties are suppose to be one of the better tempered and not to expensive.
 
V

Vikki

Great....so I start over. ::) I can do that. I saw the firefish last night and there were a couple others I liked. I love mandarins, but they always hide and you never see them, at least the ones we've had.
 
ricwilli

ricwilli

The mandarins I've seen are always out and about. The one thing you need to make sure is that you have enough pods in your system so they can eat. These guys are very picky eaters.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Boy you think everyone dislikes damsels?

Which ones did you get there are a couple "nicer" ones? Clowns are closely related so they are a possibility. Dwarf angels, pseudocromis, and maybe some bigger type fish.

I think you need to decide what kind of tank you would really like to have. If you want an agressive tank then keep the damsels and build around them.

Take your time.
PS Some books like 101 Best Saltwater Fish is a nice beginner book with lots of fish if you don't have it I would bet someone could lend it to you. I can if you are close. There are lots of other good books that I would suggest reading.
 
R

REEFLECTIONS

this is a nano right? mandarin is out.... need a big mature system to give these guys a fighting chance. but there are lots of gobies that act similarly...
 
V

Vikki

Yeah, its a 15g nano, tall and narrow. Nice actually. The damsels I got were 1 domino and 1 yellow tail and I really like them. They don't seem too aggressive, but you never know. I love the royal gamma, but they seem a bit docile and would probably be beat up. Would love to get a dwarf lion, something small. I don't necessarily want an aggressive tank, its just that the fish I seem to fall for are aggressive. Figures. :)
 
P

phish guy

no to the dwarf lion. a 15g is far to small, same for any angel.

yeah dominos are one of the biggest b@$tard damsels ou there. dottybacks are good choices but they are rather mean, so in a small tank that may present some problems. if you do want a damsel, the yellow tail should be ok, they are ussually calm.

go for small n peaceful. firefish (or other dartfish) and gobies are great choices.
 
D

DaveK

Vikki said:
Yeah, its a 15g nano, tall and narrow. Nice actually. The damsels I got were 1 domino and 1 yellow tail and I really like them. They don't seem too aggressive, but you never know. I love the royal gamma, but they seem a bit docile and would probably be beat up. Would love to get a dwarf lion, something small. I don't necessarily want an aggressive tank, its just that the fish I seem to fall for are aggressive. Figures. :)
Click to expand...

Actually, considering this is a 15 gal tank, your choices are fine. Your going to be limited to 2 or 3 fish anyway. You have two you like, you just need one more.

Yes, in a larger system, where you wanted a lot of other fish, I'd say "ditch the damsels". You have two nicely colored fish you like, and they were not at all expensive.

I think the royal gramma would work out fine. You'll be suprisied at how territorial this fish can be, but once they chase what ever it is away, they leave the fish alone. I've kept them with damsels before, but if in doubt, go for one of the Pseudochromis species, also known as dottybacks. Here is a link (offsite) to information on them - http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+1855

Note that some of them are almost identical in color to a royal gramma.
 
Edwardw771

Edwardw771

NJRC Member
You guys make it seem like damsels are the devil. I've had one in my tank for almost 5 years. And he has never been an issue.
 
C

calaxa

Ed,

Take a look at the display at Philly fish factory. They had 8 damsels. They trapped and removed all but 1. The remaining domino looks to be about 8 inches and kills everything that enters that tank. Even the purple tang is afraid of him.
 
jsantoli

jsantoli

In my 24g nano I had a mandarin, clown, purple psuedo, hippo tang baby, and a cleaner shrimp. They all did great in there
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

A bicolor pseudocromis will holds its own ...so would a clown ...if it looks like a fight is brewing try to redoing the rocks.
 
V

Vikki

OK, so it looks like I'm sticking with what I have. Went to AF intent on getting something besides damsles, and ended up buying a jeweled damsel, really beautiful, and a 6 line wrasse. They were in the same tank, so I figured they'd get along. I also got a few clusters of purple stars, a feather duster, some green zoos and what Bryan says are whammy watermellon zoos, or something.

But I have a situation and not sure what's going on. Everything is in the tank, they all look to be getting along fine, no bickering, but as I was transferring the fish in, the wrasse lept out of the bucket and onto the floor. I got him back in the water quickly and he looked stunned but was breathing. Left him there a while until he was calm, then put him in the tank. Still breathing, but he sank to the bottom and immediately surrounded himself in a gooey cocoon. Is this just a defense mechanism because of the fall or is he dying??? ???
 
J

JerseyWendy

How's the Sixline this morning? (fingers are crossed here)

I had a wrasse leap out of the net once and it hit the tiled floor. :p It was fine. That same wrasse leaped out of my tank 2 days later when the lights went off. It survived that one as well. :eek: We have since covered the back with mesh to prevent further suicide attempts.
 
V

Vikki

He was fine when I went to bed last night, was swimming around and everyone seems to be getting along still. Still wondering was the slime was for, never saw that from a fish before. Can't see him in the tank right now, he's probably hiding, but no ones floating, so that's good.
 
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