Damsel causing distress

[sailfin tang]

Ok my tank has been set up for 8 or 9 months now and I am looking to add fish.
My blue damsel (Dave) made it through the cycle and has had the tank to himself for all that time, or atleast until I added the clean up crew a few weeks ago.
After reading many posts on this site I have come to the conclusion that damsels (even Dave) are evil, or atleast bad for the peaceful reef I have in mind.
I asked my aquarium maintenance guy if he had a home for Dave the Damsel and he said sure he had a restaurant account that had damsels.

I said great go ahead and get him out so I can move forward with getting fish without having to worry about them being chased and nipped.
Well last week he tried to get him out and couldn't, he said he went about it the "wrong way" and would try again this week.
I get a call @ work today and he says "I'm havin some trouble".
He said he had to take all the LR out cause Dave was fast and kept going behind the rocks.
He said he took the last rock out but figured out (I guess reasonably quickly) that Dave was no longer in the tank.
He said Dave must have swum in a hole in a piece of LR.

I said so Dave's in a rock on my floor? He says yeah sorry I think he has to be.
Well to shorten what has become a lenghty post (sorry) he restacks my LR and leaves calling me to tell me there's no sign of Dave and that he believes he has to be dead or trapped and soon to be dead.
Well I get home from work a few hours later and of course there's Dave looking no worse for wear. As a matter of fact when I look real close he appears to be smiling.

My aquarium maintence guy was surprised to hear Dave was alive and said he will try agian next week.
My tank has been pretty stirred up the past couple of weeks and I don't want to keep doing that.
I think I have decided that Dave the Damsel gets to stay.
So finally to my question.
If I decide to get Dave some more damsel friends to school around with what other fish can I safely have?
I was hoping for
1 Tang probably yellow
1 six line wrasse
1 (or pair) clown
1 foxface
1 flame hawkfish
Maybe add some shrimp to my cleanup crew
Different corals and maybe an anemone.
What I have...
80 gallon bow front
90-100 lbs of live rock
10 turbo snails
15 naso snails
20 mixed hermits
1 serpent star
1 brittle star
4 emerald crabs
4 cleaner clams
420 calsium
KH-196.9
Phosphate 0
Nitrate-0
Thanks for any fish suggestions you have

 

[rbaldino]

"Blue damsel" sounds pretty general. What kind of damsel are we talking about?

 

[sailfin tang]

Can't find any other name for it.
This site lists it as a blue damsel. (pic on this site is flashed bright)
Same color blue as the kind with the yellow tail, just a blue fish a little black line through the eye he's probably 2" maybe 3"

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Sailfin Tang
Can't find any other name for it.
This site lists it as a blue damsel. (pic on this site is flashed bright)
Same color blue as the kind with the yellow tail, just a blue fish a little black line through the eye he's probably 2" maybe 3"
Could be a blue devil, one of the more aggressive damsels. The simplest thing for you to do is to drastically rearrange the tank when you add a new fish, in the hopes that the damsel will have to establish a new territory.

 

[sailfin tang]

Which if any of these fish would work or not work with damsels generally?
Tang probably yellow
six line wrasse
clown
foxface
flame hawkfish

 

[doktorj99]

tang probally not....they call them blue devils for a reason....they are evil and will never die....

....it was the first fish i ever had and it lived through hell and back.....hardy suckers but very aggressive...good luck

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Sailfin Tang
Which if any of these fish would work or not work with damsels generally?
Tang probably yellow
six line wrasse
clown
foxface
flame hawkfish
I don't think that any of those fish are really incapable of dealing with the damsel. If the damsel were added last, it wouldn't really be a concern. Unfortunately, you already have him. Like I said, the simplest thing to do would be to move rocks around when you add a new fish. The best thing to do would be to remove the damsel and hold him somewhere else until you add all the other fish you want, then put him back in. Of course, you've already seen how difficult it is to get him out.

 

[sepulatian]

What size tank is this? Rather than moving the the rocks everytime, move half of the rocks to one side. Fashion a divider out of eggcrate or something else Add the food to the bare side of the tank. When he swims over to eat, drop the divide. You may have to wait a day. Let him get used to eating in the open spot. As for your fish list; what size is the tank?

 

[srfisher17]

yes, you can get him out.I like the eggcrate; traps and actually fishing for the little monster will also work. Do a search of this site and I'm sure you'll find a few ideas. It is your tank; but don't let that fish decide your whole fishkeeping experience.This is a very common problem...good luck!

 

[socalracer]

just went through your situation I had ick in the tank and my only fish to survive was my blue devil damsel and my flame hawk they were in the tank alon for probably 3 months and i just added a maroon clown and a sixline the damsel terrorized the clown for about 3 days and picked on the sixline a little. they been in their for about a week and their all doing ok now. so i think you will be alright with those but some initial harrassment is inevidible. o my tank is 100g if that helps at all

 

[sailfin tang]

Thanks for the help.
My tank size is 80 gallon bow (48")

 

[3stripedamsel]

I hate those blue damsels, it went after my clowns, 3 stripe damsel, everything. The whole tank didn't look right.
Get him while he is sleeping, fish him from underneath.
Throw him in the ocean.

 

[topfins-mj]

I too had the same problem and it took me two hours of removing rocks and corals to get the sucker out, they totally harrass every fish you put into the tank. My tang was abused and got a cut from being chased around so much, that was the final draw. a $4 fish against a $40 dollar fish was not going to justify them staying in. I took it out and threw it into the ocean. I felt terrible since I liked the jail bird (Striped Damsel). But they are mean and will never die.

I will say take them out and never get one again.

 

[iowafish]

Do a search of the forums for fish traps. I've used the 2-liter soda bottle method in the past (likewise, for a damn-sel, LOL), and it worked like a charm. A search will turn up how to make one.
I agree with what a previous poster said -- don't let this one fish dictate your whole SW aquarium experience (paraphrased). Get that little sucker outta there! Good luck!

KH

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by IOWAFISH
Do a search of the forums for fish traps. I've used the 2-liter soda bottle method in the past (likewise, for a damn-sel, LOL), and it worked like a charm. A search will turn up how to make one.
I agree with what a previous poster said -- don't let this one fish dictate your whole SW aquarium experience (paraphrased). Get that little sucker outta there! Good luck!

KH
Bottle traps do work well. Next step would be a depth charge!

 

[kingfish8302]

You really need is a mini

[hr]
gun with a nice scope and good eye and a trigger happy killing damsel trigger finger .
i'm a lucky 4 years go I got mine with a net after 20 minutes .
use a large glass jar or a 2ltr pop clear bottle will work
keep the neck on and cut a whole the size you need and just put it in your tank with some food in it and sit back and wait you will have to put some weight if you use the pop bottle
they cant see and just put it in the tank with a tiny bit of food as bait may take a while to catch them all but it works

 

[kingfish8302]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
Bottle traps do work well. Next step would be a depth charge!

. Just remember to yell, "Fire in the HOLE"!!!!!

IF that does not go well go nuclear

!

 

[kingfish8302]

Never mind skip the depth charges and call in the priest for an exorcist.