Very Aggressive Damsel

[ThatGuy]

Is there anyway to curve damsel aggression. I had a striped damsel for quite some time as the only fish in the tank(since the eel died) and desided to add more. I added another striped and a domino damsel to the tank yesterday(both larger than the original) and he whooped them soooo bad. Is there any way to have them all get along or will I end up with one damsel again? Also added a engineer goby who got a couple of tail slaps and thats about it. I'm so annoyed right now I'm half tempted to get something to just eat them all.

Any advice would be great.

Josh

 

[downbeach]

I think most damn sels are a PITA. You could try putting the one in the sump by itself for a while, giving the others a chance to become familiar with their new surroundings.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Jim said it……When a fish has the word “damn” in its name, you know it’s not good.


I only had one beautiful neon velvet damsel that terrorized my tank. I can’t imagine three…..it’s not going to be pretty.


My guy ended up in the witness protection program and is enjoying himself in an undisclosed location. I would suggest you do the same for all three of them. Damsels need to be in an aggressive tank (just one) with other aggressive fish…jmtc

 

[ThatGuy]

Would it be okay in a sump? Its only about 4" deep. Out side of that I'd have to return them back to the store, but I have a feeling they would just continue to get beat up since they are in bad shape already.

 

[downbeach]

Did you get them from Aquarium Center?

 

[ThatGuy]

No. JB. And the new ones were bring backs for being to aggressive. But they weren't aggressive enough.

 

[falconut]

I cycled my tank way back with a Striped and a Domino and they were some real nasty fish. Just like Jim said, you have to take out the established one and let the others establish a little. But then you may wind up with the same issue when you and the old one back, they might beat him up.

Personally, I'd remove them and get something else. They're going to make it harder to add others in the future. I have an Azure Damsel and it's much less aggressive than the ones you have. It can take care of itself, but doesn't look for fights. Maybe look towards them if you really want a damsel.

 

[NikkiT]

Some people have luck with temporarily removing the damsels, redoing the rock work, and adding them back in. By redoing the rock work, they trick the fish into thinking it is a whole new territory. Damsels in the wild protect pretty large territories (they are algae eaters) which makes them a challenge in our tanks.
You could also consider temporarily adding dividers to the tank so that they can heal, and then removing the dividers when they are all healthy. That will give each of them the chance to try to establish a territory in the tank.
If your stiped damsels are the same sex, this plan won't work (and no, I do not know how to sex them- I do not believe they are sexual dimorphic, nor do I know if they are like clowns and are sequential hermaphrodites, sorry).
It is possible to get damsels to coexist, but not easy. Also, if you plan on keeping them, keep in mind that you may have trouble with adding additional fish in the future.

 

[ThatGuy]

well I went home for lunch and the new stripe doesn't look like its going to make it. I did separate it in a breeder box now. As for the domino it seems like it is being tolarated as it looks fine and the striped isn't chasing it at all. I guess if the striped makes it, it might be my sump monster for a little while so it can heal before I try and find it a new home. As far as reaquascaping, I did do that the day before I added the new guys.

As far as getting rid of it I can't as its suppose to be my daughters tank and she picked it out and when I asked if I could get rid of it she said no.

 

[NikkiT]

Are they in your daughters 6 gallon?

 

[ThatGuy]

No. The 40 pillar is hers. LOL. I never had a tank smaller than a 10 gallon. I'd have no idea what to do whis something so small.

 

[NikkiT]

No. The 40 pillar is hers. LOL. I never had a tank smaller than a 10 gallon. I'd have no idea what to do whis something so small.

Lol, I got confused, Treo set up a tank for his daughter that is 6 g, sorry about that!

As you discovered, the problem with damsels isn't bioload, it is aggression; going forward, before you add any more fish, I would isolate or remove the damsels. If you are adding damsels, add all back in at the same time. You will need to be very careful with what you add in later.

 

[ThatGuy]

I think if the 2 damsels and Goby Co-exist thats going to be the extent of her fish. She still has her 2 stars and a anemone. That should be good enough for her anyway. Maybe I'll get her another nem but thats about it. The only reason she got the goby was a kind of replacement for her eel.


So much for my pipe dreams of a seahorse tank witch kinda sucks because the LFS has a male thats about to pop with babies, but so is life.

 

[Hawkeye]

I actually just added a domino damsel to my 120. It will be the last fish. All my fish gave chase a bit but I knew the damsel was tough enough to handle it. The real concern was the yellow tail damsel. Basically the domino inhabits the upper part of the tank...eats like a pig too.

So in a nutshell, if you remove the fish out, and put other fish in, once the other fish have established their areas you could conceivably add the damsels back.

As to why I did what I did...well the YT damsel was a fish my wife had a sentimental attachment too from our past experiences. It was going to be my last fish. The domino was a fish my daughter saw at Aqob's frag tank years ago and had this crazy fascination with them. Of course AqOb was stocked with a few and I agreed only because I knew it would be the last fish for the tank and as such would be kept in check. Obviously these damsels will likely become problematic as they get older, but if my tank can keep them around for 5, 10 years, that's a problem i'd welcome since it would mean the tank is going well.


Anyways it's great to see the younger generation want to be involved!

 

[ThatGuy]

So I ended up with one damsel.(not supprising) But the Goby made the cut. I guess it just turned into $10 worth of food as the big chocolate chip star got the striped that died and the condi anemone got the domino in its weekend state. Guess if I end up doing something with this tank I'm going to have to tear it down to get the damsel out first.