Why DAMSELS?

maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Even though I sound ultra negative about damsels, my frag tank has 12 of them
. Very colorful, blues, zebra's, yellows, bi-colors etc...
.
It's kinda like having an open wound and taking a dip in piranha infested waters whenever I have my hand in the frag tank. I find the yellow ones to be exceptionally offensive and hateful. I seriously wanted to kill him this morning, but he's way too fast..
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Debbie, you are 100% correct. In the correct setup Damsels are exciting and entertaining fish.
Unfortunately LFS sell them to everyone for start up tanks. Most Damsels are far too agressive for peaceful reef tanks and so they cause lot's of issues.
It's the hobbyist and pet store who are to blame, not the fish. I've posted before on my observations of Damsels in the wild. They aggressively defend their homes on the reef and I suspect play a large role in preventing Parrots and other polyp eaters from overgrazing the reef.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by xDave
Most people who think damsels are mean are keeping them incorrectly. They are a schooling fish and need to be kept in groups of three or more, preferably odd numbers.
It depends on the damsel. If you are talking about chromis then groups of six or more are best. They are the calmest yet still have the heirarchy of command.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
A 150 with 5 damsels would be semi-peacefull. One would realy have to enjoy damsels though to dedicate the time, and money to a 150 full of rock for 5 damsels.
 
rackyrane

rackyrane

Member
I have white spot damsel that I inherited. That little sucker is so aggressive. He attacks my hand every single time I put it in the tank--he's started using his teeth. When I catch him, he is making a one way trip to store. He may well be joined by a pair of devil perc clowns from another tank. They attack me in the 110 gal. Can't stand these blasted fish, but my kids love them because of Finding Nemo. Would like to strangle Disney for that one.
 
dkw27

dkw27

Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
I had a black and white clown in one of my 90gal. aquariums and I always wanted to catch it, but never made the effort. One day, that clown jumped out of the tank and it was like a miracle!
Send that karma my way, please! I have a flame angel in the tank that is causing so many problems, I wish every day he would die...I can't catch him, so jumping out of the tank would be wonderful!!!
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
Originally Posted by dkw27
Send that karma my way, please! I have a flame angel in the tank that is causing so many problems, I wish every day he would die...I can't catch him, so jumping out of the tank would be wonderful!!!

That's an expensive death wish
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
Originally Posted by Debbie
Okay ccampbell57 what the heck is with your avatar and those clowns...


its a Rhinocellaris
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
A 150 with 5 damsels would be semi-peacefull. One would realy have to enjoy damsels though to dedicate the time, and money to a 150 full of rock for 5 damsels.
I am sorry for the post. There were groups of 5 different damsels with 5 of the same fish in each. So the display was very nice, colorful with lots of movement.
 
ufo8micats

ufo8micats

Member
i cycled my 55gal. with damsels, i have 2-three strip, 1 domino, and one i have no clue what it is.
they are mean as hell. only thing they don't mess with is my hawk and clowns, anything else is fair game.
1 bought 6 green chromis about 5 mos ago and was down to 2, thanks to the damsels. so i bought an ex-large green chromis, and they don't mess with the 3 at all now.
i thought it was cool.
 
phelpz

phelpz

Member
Oh my effin God.
I'm gonna feed the damn thing to my cat.
I wake about about an hour ago, go check on my tank everything is fine. Everything is still alive.
I go look at it a couple minutes ago to feed them and it looks like the Damsel already ate. It ate my Coral Banded Shrimp.
Now I have to break down my tank and catch the evil thing. I am so pissed.
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
There are no bad Damsel fish, only bad owners.... Sorry, that's the excuse used for Pit Bulls. My BAD
I have 5 fish in my 75. Four are Damsel fish, two yellow tails, one yellow and one Maroon Clown being Belsabub. The 5th is a Foxface. I think the yellow tails are great looking fish. The only thing that scares the foxface is seeing me in a white t-shirt. I swear it remembers the long acclimation process when I got it and associates me in the t-shirt with it...
 
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