Damsels in an aggressive, whoops

[olemiss]

Hoping to add a splash of color, I added 5 blue devils to my 150 aggressive. Using the logic that they were small, fast and somewhat intelligent they could survive in the rockwork. Well I was quite wrong. They lasted maybe five minutes. My tusk and bluejaw trigger seemed to work together to corral them into a corner and devour them. I feel bad for the little guys but, it was quite a show. Lesson learned, albeit too late.

 

[kjr_trig]

Funny....When I moved from Charleston to Phoenix, I gave all my fish to a friend that was new to the hobby and had cycled his tank with 5 damsels (as the LFS had told him to

)....I figured they would be fine, my fish had all been in captivity at least 4 years and never really offered live food in that time. The 7 inch Porcupine Puffer ate 4 within 2 minutes of being added the Niger Trigger killed the last one and the Snowflake Eel ate the remains of it. It all took under 5 minutes.

 

[crypt keeper]

that is crazy. I feed my eel damsels on purpose. But that is nuts. i didnt think a bluejaw would be that fish aggressive

 

[usirchchris]

Huh, I was thinking of doing the same thing with a tank that has a niger and stars and stripes...perhaps I will not now. Stars and stripes will go after anything that hits the water.

 

[crypt keeper]

maybe if you acclimated them at night

 

[95harley]

I've got 6 Yellowbelly damsels and Sgt Major in my DME tank, and the following in my 240g semi agg with a 7" Tusk, Lunare, Red Coris, and Green Bird, and 2 eels:
4 - 4 stripe humbugs
1 - Starkii
1- Yellowbelly
1- Blue Devil
1 - Blue Velvet
All are not even chased and all have been added post Tusk. Go figure

 

[camarodrivenrs]

I had a yellow belly in my 75g with a black edge eel, P. puffer, and a Lionfish and honestly everything else was terrified of it. The Puffer and Lion hid in the upper corner of the tank and wouldnt go near the rocks and I saw the black edge getting chased numerous times.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/3013409
that is crazy. I feed my eel damsels on purpose. But that is nuts. i didnt think a bluejaw would be that fish aggressive
Sure, blue jaws are open water fish that feed largely on smaller fish and other goodies that they scare out of floating weed, etc.; very similar to Sargassum trigger feeding behavior. Most triggers will eat small fish if they have the chance and haven't been completely conditioned to eat the easy pickins' provided by the owner. Most triggers will attack at the belly of a prey fish and eat it that part first. Wild triggers are very opportunistic feeders that will eat just about anything that is alive and the can get at. Years ago, I put a medium Flameback Angel in with a large Niger and was shocked when the Niger ate him; but that's what triggers do.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by OleMiss
http:///forum/post/3013169
Hoping to add a splash of color, I added 5 blue devils to my 150 aggressive. Using the logic that they were small, fast and somewhat intelligent they could survive in the rockwork. Well I was quite wrong. They lasted maybe five minutes. My tusk and bluejaw trigger seemed to work together to corral them into a corner and devour them. I feel bad for the little guys but, it was quite a show. Lesson learned, albeit too late.
Glad to see an Ol' Miss fan!
The upside to your experience is that you won't be posting a "How do I get these damn damsels out of my tank?" thread, one of the most common topics on the forum. Be happy they're gone, they would have eventually found a fish to torment; they can be incredibly nasty little monsters.

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by OleMiss
http:///forum/post/3013169
Hoping to add a splash of color, I added 5 blue devils to my 150 aggressive. Using the logic that they were small, fast and somewhat intelligent they could survive in the rockwork. Well I was quite wrong. They lasted maybe five minutes. My tusk and bluejaw trigger seemed to work together to corral them into a corner and devour them. I feel bad for the little guys but, it was quite a show. Lesson learned, albeit too late.

this is what happens when we try to use logic when it comes to fish