Damsels Keep Dying

[millers2010]

Hello! I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place, but I bought 5 damsels on Sunday. 2 yellowtail, 2 blue and one yellow one with black stripes. Monday morning, one yellowtail was dead. The next morning the other yellowtail was found dead. I went back to the fish store, a local run fish specialty store, and got 2 replacements, one is half black and the other is another yellowtail. I woke up this morning one blue died, and the other one was acting crazy. I knew he was going to die. Came home on my lunch hour, sure enough he died. Tested my water at home and at the fish store when I replaced the 2 yellowtails, everything was great.
Other tank mates include one spot foxface, 2 clowns, and a half black tang.
Do damsels often kill each other? My tang is a bit aggressive so it could be her, but it's so odd it happens so fast.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by millers2010 http:///t/397151/damsels-keep-dying#post_3538831
Hello! I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place, but I bought 5 damsels on Sunday. 2 yellowtail, 2 blue and one yellow one with black stripes. Monday morning, one yellowtail was dead. The next morning the other yellowtail was found dead. I went back to the fish store, a local run fish specialty store, and got 2 replacements, one is half black and the other is another yellowtail. I woke up this morning one blue died, and the other one was acting crazy. I knew he was going to die. Came home on my lunch hour, sure enough he died. Tested my water at home and at the fish store when I replaced the 2 yellowtails, everything was great.
Other tank mates include one spot foxface, 2 clowns, and a half black tang.
Do damsels often kill each other? My tang is a bit aggressive so it could be her, but it's so odd it happens so fast.


Hi,

Welcome to the site....

First you should never add more then one fish at a time. Second...LOL..Do damsels kill each other...YES, and anything else more timid in the tank then themselves. They also have the reputation to bite your hand drawing blood when they mature. Your tang may have had enough of the last one standing, and took it out. They are beautiful little devil fish, if they all are dead, consider yourself lucky.

 

[jay0705]

I have a yellow tail with my scooter and sunrise dotty back. The damsel doesn't bother a thing. Now that said they can be nasty suckers, but suspect would be the clowns. There in the damsel family and depending on the type can be just as nasty

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jay0705 http:///t/397151/damsels-keep-dying#post_3538892
I have a yellow tail with my scooter and sunrise dotty back. The damsel doesn't bother a thing. Now that said they can be nasty suckers, but suspect would be the clowns. There in the damsel family and depending on the type can be just as nasty


LOL...I never owned a single damsel, they are so pretty, small and cheap...no wonder people get them. I decided early in the hobby to never get one....

It's kind of a funny story...back when I was first setting up my tank, I was purchasing live rock. I hand picked each piece. I saw a nice purple colored one with lots of nooks and crannies, but the lady of the store (owner's wife) wouldn't sell it for less then 3Xs the amount of the other rocks.

I asked why THAT rock was so expensive, and she told me there was a damsel in the tank and she wasn't going to put her hand in there...so she charged an outrageous price hoping nobody would take it. Her husband came in about that time and he said she was crazy and reached into the tank and got me the rock I wanted....he jerked a couple of times and brought out the rock....his hand was dripping blood.

I was told the damsel was in that tank because it killed all other fish ever put with it...he did offer to sell it to me real cheap...LOL

 

[jay0705]

Omg that's how I got my damsel it was in the lr and wouldn't come out so I said I'd take it too lol. Its in my qt w my "reef" safe dotty back that ate my cleaner shrimp! Lol the dotty isn't nice but the damsel behaves.