damselfish only aquarium

xoticlover · #1 07-08-2015, 11:35 PM

Ok guys and girls. I have been in this hobby for 12 years and always veered away from the damsels despite the pretty colors due to knowledge of the aggression. Now I currently have a red sea max 130d (34 gallon) that had a major algae outbreak. I am currently redoing the tank and it is coming out well but with another baby on the way and having to move money is going to be tight. I am thinking about a damsel only tank mostly for the colors and movement with a low cost factor. Anyone had any experience with keeping damsels only together? thanks

skabooya · #2 07-09-2015, 02:53 AM

I asked this question before and was always told NO!!!. Some people had tried it and they all picked each other off until there was only one or two left. They keep territories and will protect them fiercely.
I am going to watch this thread because I am very interested in knowing if anyone has anything different to say.

albert_dao · #3 07-09-2015, 03:41 PM

Well, they are a pretty diverse group of fish. Not all damsels are made equal. Are you including clownfish as part or the mix? If you want to even up your odds for success, stick within the genus Chrysiptera but stay away from C.Rex, C. Tapou and whatever the Fiji devil is called. Springer's, Talbot's and yellow bellied are some examples of cheaper, well-to-do species. I'm on my phone right now, but if there's more interest down this line of thought, I'll come back later with a more comprehensive list.

Ulmo · #4 07-09-2015, 08:04 PM

I have limited experience with these fish but I'll tell you what I know.

I had 5 yellow tail blue damselfish in a 20 gallon quarantine for about 2 months. They were the only fish in there were constantly engaging each other, but mostly the biggest being the bully.

They now live in a 75 gallon display tank with 2 clowns, a yellow tang and a kole tang. The damsels have been completely passive for about 7 months now. They stay evenly spread out in the tank and never bother anything. They have turned out to be excellent tank mates.

So is it the bigger tank? Is it the other fish? I don't know, but their behavior has definitely improved since the move.

albert_dao · #5 07-09-2015, 08:19 PM

Actually, here's an article:

http://reefbuilders.com/2014/10/10/r...sels-disguise/

xoticlover · #6 07-09-2015, 10:45 PM

thanks Albert. There are some beautiful fish in that article that I have never seen in local stores before.

albert_dao · #7 07-09-2015, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoticlover

thanks Albert. There are some beautiful fish in that article that I have never seen in local stores before.

They're not uncommon, just hard to sell, so rarely imported.

xoticlover · #8 07-10-2015, 12:38 AM

I love the Chromis retrofasciata and the Chrysiptera caeruleolineata. They are both beautiful fish

albert_dao · #9 07-10-2015, 05:22 AM

Oh, I've sold tons of both. Maybe if I ever get back into retail... :P

mike31154 · #10 07-11-2015, 06:07 AM

A year or so ago I walked into my LFS in town & they had a tank set up with little in it other than a major school of yellow tail damsels. It looked amazing. They all looked like juveniles & of course as things go at LFS, it's no longer set up, so no idea how long they kept it going without issues.

I reckon you should just go for it. Inexpensive fish, so even if they eventually pick each other off, it won't be much different than what they do in the wild.