IS This Too Much???

[petekc]

I have a 55gal FO with lots of lace and lava rock. I already have 6 Damsles in cycling the tank. I have heard nightmares about getting the Damsels back out so I decided I'll keep them and they can fend for themselves. What I have in mind is this...
6 Damsels (2 blue, 1 yellow tail, 3 domino)
1 Coral Beauty
1 Maroon Clown
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
1 Cleaner Wrasse (maybe)

 

[petekc]

I know about the reputation of Damsel fish. But I do not really want to take my whole tank apert to get them out. Plus they are very cool looking active fish. I have been told as long as the fish I add are bigger or as big as the Damsels and are fast, or not whimps anyway, that I will be fine and my Damsles willa ctually become the possible prey.

 

[broomer5]

IMHO
Lose the Damsels for sure .. even if it means a Saturday afternoon with buckets and towels removing some of your rock.
No biggie - really.
I hate to think what the first poor fish will have to endure if you add it to a tank containing a renegade band of 6 hostile damsels. Typically, they have no allegiance to each other nor to any other fish.
They are aggressive by nature.
Please think hard on this one .....
Think of all the other COOL fish you could have instead of these 6 damsels in a 55 gallon tank
Not much room in there ya know

 

[jeff fenn]

peteck
i would warn you against not getting rid of the damsels. in my 55 gallon tank they became very territorial and would back into the other fish with the hind fin until either injuring them or killing them. I have found that the damsels i had did not like my flame, my butterfly which were both much larger than the damsel. Any way good luck with your tank.

 

[marty]

petekc, if you have a lfs that will take the damsels, fine. If not, my question for you is try a clown or a pair of clowns with your damsels. I personally have 2 dominos, 1 sgt major, 1 3-stripped damsel that get along fine with 2 tomato clowns, 2 false percula clowns, a bi-color angel, and a yellow tang. The damsels cycled my tank several months ago and I have added the rest since then. No stress, no fins bitten. If you have enough places for your fish to claim as their territory, they might get along just fine.
Now, I did have problems when I added a yellow tang by itself to the established tank. That one did die of whole bunch of things that really were my fault, not its. The damsels were very territorial and totally stressed out that tang. But since then, when I added the tang along with the angel and a pair clowns, all fish are doing well.
Just my 2 cents. HTH!