Question for Domino damsel owners

[kaiser]

I bought a domino damsel today to cycle my tank.
I was wondering if anybody has been able to have a domino damsel in a community tank. If so, what species do you have in your tank?

 

[flatzboy]

I had a damsel in my reef tank for about a week it bothered just about every fish in the tank so I took him out and and gave him back to the lfs.

 

[kaiser]

What fish did you have in your tank?
I would like to get a tomato clown and either a royal gramma or strawberry dottyback next month.

 

[chandler04]

Dominoes are CRAZY angry fish. They bo BERZERK!!! Mine actually went after a grouper three times the size of him. Needless to say, that fish isnt with us anymore, lol. They are not the nicest fish. Only cool part about em is that they host anemones. Other than that, theyre not worth it. Figure out a way to catch it and get it out b4 it trys to kill all of yer fish... thas my 2 cents.

 

[kaiser]

Nobody owns a domino?

 

[msallen]

i own 2 they dont seem to bother any of my fish but my tank is all damsels and an eel so there really isnt anything int he tank that cant hold their own against it.

 

[kaiser]

What kind of damsels do you have?

 

[phoenixpi]

Damsels are from hell! Believe everyone that says it, get it out now. I, too, thought, Oh these or those are pretty docile, but even the so called docile ones eventually got very aggressive as they got bigger. They grow pretty fast too. I never saw them actually kill another fish, but have had deaths with them in there and saw them chasing everyone. I haven't lost a fish since I got them all out. About the only "damsel" you can get away with in a community tank is the green chromis.

 

[jeepboy]

I have 2 dominios. They are in their own tank though. I would never keep one in a community tank since they are extremly aggressive.

 

[mytank]

I have a domino damsel and also have the following fish:
brittle starfish
cc starfish
yellow tang
neon damsel
clown fish
firefish
hawfish
I just made sure that my damsel when I got him was the smalled one available. And he swims with the yellow tang and has never ganged up on anyone. This is also true with the neon damsel.

 

[mytank]

Another thought I did have a neon damsel for 4 years in a community tanks and it never got aggressive with the others either and "Old Blue" was about 5 inches long and his buddy in the tank was the yellow tang. Old Blue died from old age and we got another on and he is really small yet, but enjoys his fish brothers.

 

[kaiser]

My domino damsel is very shy, never leaving the rocks since I got him last Tuesdayy. I'm worried that it's not eating. Is this normal for a domino?

 

[badkharma]

When you feed it, does it eat? That's how you can tell. They might not eat if they are new to the surroundings - or more probable in this case - have a case of nitrite poisoning and are too sick to eat. Most damsels survive this cycle though, and that's why people use them. I have two dominoes just chillin in my QT tank, waiting for me to take them back to the store. They were in my community tank, and they are holy terrors. And, unless you get lucky, you have to take out a lot of your rocks to try catch 'em. Get rid of them while you can. They are cool looking, and have a cool swimming style, but if I had a billion gallon tank with a blue whale and a domino damsel, the damsel would probably harrass the blue whale to death. Take most people's advice and get rid of them after the cycle (take them back to LFS). It's not worth it if you ever want other fish.

 

[kaiser]

He didn't make it.....

 

[badkharma]

Sorry he didn't make it. Damsels are not guaranteed to survive the cycle process - thus, many are against using live fish to cycle, while others consider them "expendable" (I know you didn't). Keep following your parameters and wait for your tank to finish cycling. Then don't get any damsels. They look cool, but they are too much of a pain.