damsels too aggressive

[fishman73]

I have a relatively new tank. 125g. To cycle, I had 9 damsels - 1 died - 8 left. They are the ones with the dark blue body and yellow tail. Now I have 8 damsels, 9 hermit crabs (super small), 2 clowns, 1 naso tang, and I just put 1 blue hippo tang (2") and one of the damsles keeps beating on it!
Question: How do I get rid of the damsels? I dont want them anymore, and they are too fast for me to catch them with a net... I want to keep the tank non-aggressive. I heard a snowflake eel would do it, but then what do I do with the snowflake eel?
Any ideas? I would hate for a $3 fish to kill a $40 one!!!
Thank you in advance!

 

[petjunkie]

Drain your tank. You can try fish traps and nets and tricks but unless you have very little rock you will most likely have to empty the entire tank to remove all eight and you will want to get them all out. If you don't have much rock however move it all to one side, get a divider and net away. Hate to be so pessimitic but if you search removing damsels, it's gonna bring up 100 or so posts about how fast and difficult to catch damsels can be.

 

[bcspeed34]

Yeah, I would go for a divider or a huge net. If possible, remove your rock and put it somewhere safe, and then slowly trap them in a corner or something with the divider. Think of the trash compactor scene from Star Wars!

 

[sparkee61]

I did the same thing. They killed one of my clowns. I woke up early and turned on moon lights. The damsels were still light headed as I scooped all four of them and flushed away.I have a 75 gt with 160 lbs of lv so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

 

[phishface]

The only way is get a big container and pull all the rock out of the tank. Then , if you can get another person with a net, chase them to each other. Worked for me. Good luck. :happyfish

 

[socal57che]

I moved the rock to one side of the tank and used the glass front from the entertainment center (a near perfect fit in my case) to divide the tank leaving a little room on one side. The next day, while the fish were exploring the new landscape, I blocked the escape route. I then chased them around an empty space for a while. It's a little known fact that damsels are the fastest living thing on planet earth. I won in the end.
"I dont want them anymore"
Amen! They are the evil minions of satan, put on earth to dissuade aquarists.

 

[sepulatian]

"I dont want them anymore"
Amen! They are the evil minions of satan, put on earth to dissuade aquarists.
Then why did you buy them? They don't hold up little signs that say, "hey buy me, I am sweet, I swear!" You put the fish in there to be tortured durring a cycle and now they are bothersome? They weren't so bothersome while they were helping your tank.

 

[sepulatian]

A bit of advice, don't buy animals unless you intend to keep them for life. I am not trying to flame you at all, but now you are talking about getting an eel to eat the damsels and then what to do with the eel after? UGH.

 

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
Then why did you buy them?
They are a pretty fish. Bright blue with a flashy yellow tail. The dude at the lfs said to and presto...a tank chock full of mean little turkey basters. I don't blame anyone for buying them because, like you said, they didn't hold up a sign. Most people find this site after they have an issue or because they are veterans researching the hobby. Lesson learned. I'm sure if he could go back in time and buy a chunk of dead shrimp instead, that he would do just that.
Take them to the LFS you bought them from and get credit. Research your next purchase and voila.

 

[fishman73]

I took out all of the rocks (live rocks) from my tank... chased all the damsels around - got them all finally... except for one who was still hiding in the one rock I had to leave in the tank (it has an anenome anchored to it!!) After I put all rocks back in and the "dust" began to settle, I saw him!!! I didn't remember how many I had in the first place! AARGH!!! Do you think one Damsel will be bad? It seems so stressful for the fish to move all the rocks again to get him... My blue hippo tang looks OK now - maybe the damsel will remain in the rocks now that his "gang" is gone! Any ideas? Should I leave it alone or try to get him out?
thanks!!