Creating an angry little world

[kaiser]

I'm thinking of starting a saltwater tank. Are these options possible in a 29 gallon fish-only tank?
Option A:
1 humbug damsel
2 yellow tailed damsels
2 percula clowns
Option B:
3 yellow tailed damsels
2 percula clowns
Option C:
2 humbug damsels
3 yellow tailed damsels

 

[sly]

You will need one large perc and one small one so that they become a mated pair or else they will probably fight. I had some yellow tails and they did pretty good. The only problem I had was I had some blue damsels in there too and they kept harassing the yellow tails. I'll never have a blue damsel again.

 

[kaiser]

So Option B is possible?
Anyone been able to mix a striped/humbug damsel with a pair of percula or false percula clowns?

 

[boomper]

Most people will advised not to use damsels due to their aggressive nature (and they are hard to catch if you want to get rid of them). A mated pair of clowns are a good idea, chromis, small angel or firefish are also good ideas for a small tank (not all of these together though

 

[rbmount]

Don't get the angel, They need a large tank.

 

[chandler04]

Yea, mated pair of clowns, dont go for damsels. If u want em, get a small skool of cromis damsels if u want fish only. If not, set up a small reef, get the mates an anemone, and they will be the kings of the tank. That is wat I am doing at least...

 

[lionfish28]

Damsels=mini hulks!!!
What i meant is that damsel are very agressive and mean and strong!!!!!!!!!(they never seem to die,unless one damsel is battling another damsel)

 

[kaiser]

Option D:
-1 royal gramma
-2 percula clowns
-1 striped/humbug damsel
-1 yellow tailed damsel
This will be my first tank. I'm planning on a fairly small tank (29 G) so it's not like I can add a big $50 fish. I'm interested in damsels because they're colorful, active, hardy, and cheap.
If someone has a 29 G FO tank, what's in your aquarium?

 

[badkharma]

The guy said he wanted an angry little world - so don't tell him to get rid of the damsels! I like your option D. That will be one angry little world, that's for sure. At least to any newcomers...you don't really want to introduce them all at once or you'll spike the bioload - but you don't want to introduce them seperately or they'll bug the newcomers. I'd add the damsels last.

 

[kaiser]

My LFS said I could do this:
-2 percula clowns
-1 yellow tailed damsel
-1 4-striped damsel
Objections?

 

[dreeves]

Scrap the striped damsel...any of the Dascyllus damsels will eventually become aggressive to the point of creating problems for other tank inhabitants...this is usually compounded by the smaller the tank size.

 

[einnaws]

I will now always consider damsels as the hulk from this point on, "Damsel get mad, damsel get strong"..

 

[dreeves]

The yellow tail damsels are not (in my own experiences with them)..too aggressive. They tend to keep to themselves.

 

[grantman]

I started with damsels. IME when two of the same kind of damsel are in a tank they fight. I have four different kinds and they have always gotten along. Going on five years now. The four I have are blue devil, three stripe, some ugly little yellow one, and a black and blue velvet that I fished out and flushed because it was eating my zoos. Other that that last one I absolutely love these fish.

 

[bigsteve]

I've got a 29g. All I've got is a coral banded shrimp, a yellow tail damsel, and just the other day I added 3 blue-green chromis. When the damsel was the only fish in the tank, all he really did was sit around in a hole in the LR. Now that I've put the chromis in there, they're constantly moving, and the damsel's getting a little more active.

 

[chris a h]

Actually, I've had two yellow tailed damsels and they were more shy than my Banggi Cardinal. Go figure.
Are you sure you want a 29? You could buy a 45 or a 58 for not a whole lot more, esp. if you buy used.
Chris:thinking:

 

[sweetdawn]

damsels are evil:scared: i had a damsel and then i put in a clown fish and the damsel harrassed him so bad i had to get and anename and then i had to get better lights and then i had to buy corals and spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars and it is all the damsels fault. he went back to the lfs got a coral beauty angel fish who later went back he was mean too. now i have my pink skunk clown fish, bicolor blenny and a fire fish everyone is getting along am at my limit with fish.

 

[badkharma]

Originally posted by sweetdawn
damsels are evil:scared: i had a damsel and then i put in a clown fish and the damsel harrassed him so bad i had to get and anename and then i had to get better lights and then i had to buy corals and spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars and it is all the damsels fault. he went back to the lfs got a coral beauty angel fish who later went back he was mean too. now i have my pink skunk clown fish, bicolor blenny and a fire fish everyone is getting along am at my limit with fish.

 

[edwar050]

If you go damsels, dont get a velvet or stripe unless you plan on having an overly aggressive. Dont get two of the same species either. I just had to quarintene a velvet because it tore another up. If you get damsels, Get your more expensive fish first and let them grow and acclimate. Then I would buy a SMALL blue devil or yellow tail. One day I would like to have a velvet damsel, a snowflake eel, and a voltain lionfish.

 

[goldpuffer]

Damsels are the devil's fish. Look at the name. (Dam) is what you say when they harrass or kill their tank mates and (sel) is what you do when you take them to the lfs for a credit. I had three that killed my lemonpeel angel, a two of my clowns. I had to take out everything out of a 55g to catch the little fish. In my 20g long I have two percula clowns, a chromis damsel, baby yellow tang and an arrow crab.