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View Full Version : Super Aggressive Damsel - Help?


ladylinden
06/08/2011, 10:22 PM
I have a bully of a damsel in my tank... he's a black and white striped damsel, that has had the tank to himself until today, when I added a Clarkii Clown and it's host Long Tentacle Anemone. Poor clownfish has been trapped inside his anemone all day long, not allowed out for ANY reason... Damsel "shoo's" him back in with wild tail flapping and sneak attacks from around the rock at any hint of movement. And Clown is bigger than Damsel, so I was surprised at his aggressiveness towards a larger fish! LFS assured me that as long as there was enough room in the tank for both fish - and there is, with lots of nooks and cranny's to hide in - that damsel should be fine... but now I'm thinking I'm gonna have to capture the guy and put him up for adoption. He was a foster kid from the beginning, but I've become attached.

Is there anything I can do to get my "kids" to play nice? Or am I going to have to separate them?

Any advice is appreciated.
Lady

disc1
06/08/2011, 10:35 PM
Those little guys sure can get the tough guy complex. One thing you might try is rearranging some of the rockwork. The damsel might settle down long enough for them to split up the tank. How big is the tank? Give them lots of little landmarks or islands or points when you rearrange to help them come up with a "border".

pmrossetti
06/08/2011, 10:37 PM
do you have a qt you could put him in for a time out?
or a sump?

duncantse
06/08/2011, 11:23 PM
IMO, I would just sell it.Even if you change the rocks or place it in another tank, it will just keep being a bully to the clown and new fishes that you add to the tank.

skrillnet
06/08/2011, 11:28 PM
IMO, I would just sell it.Even if you change the rocks or place it in another tank, it will just keep being a bully to the clown and new fishes that you had to the tank.

Yup, what he said. Damsels are always going to be jerks at one point or another.

pentrix2
06/09/2011, 05:17 AM
just look at the Damsels face, they got a "I am the boss of this ecosystem, and disrespect me you shall face the back of my tail...."

:deadhorse:

Pen

thebkramer
06/09/2011, 05:20 AM
:lmao: pentrix2!!!

I use to have the striped and a domino!!
the most aggressive by far!! and I had an aggressive tank at the time!!
My domino use to bite me every time I put my hand in the tank.. I have scars to prove it!! I use to call him the Grumpy Old Man because of his face!!! :lmao:
Those darn damsels even killed my $150 Borbornius Anthias!! He had to go!! NEVER again!!

If it were me.. I would adopt the damsel out.. otherwise you may never be able to add another fishie :sad2:

tspors
06/09/2011, 05:25 AM
Feed your fish from a net, Thaw frozen food in the net then lower net into tank and let food drift out. In time your fish will feed from the net and bingo. I always feed that way I have my fish go into the net to get the food. If I want a fish out, I just feed.
Good Luck

Chris27
06/09/2011, 05:38 AM
If you're attached to it, leave the two in there for the time being. Clownfish aren't swimmers, and rarely stray too far from their nem. Plus, they can get just as mean as the damsel, just give it time to work up the strength. I'm sure that after some time, the two fish will live together just fine.

Under no circumstances though should you put in another fish though....a rumble will surely break out....and unless it's a lion fish or 12" grouper....it surely won't do well.

jbell370
06/09/2011, 06:02 AM
Just let the Clarkie grow up a little more. I have a pair and the female by far and large is the meanest fish I have ever owned. She rules the tank and makes it very clear which areas are hers. She bites me every time I go near her rock and will pick up my emerald crab and drop him on the other side of the tank. That being said, she is my favorite fish.

nanshaw2001
06/09/2011, 06:31 AM
Tspor....I had never seen or heard that idea of catching fish. Seems relatively fool proof...thats for your input! And Lady...let it go.....damsels are only trouble. Good luck!

Sugar Magnolia
06/09/2011, 06:41 AM
Lady, what size tank are they in?

Peale
06/09/2011, 06:44 AM
Get rid of the damsels. I had two 8 year old striped damnsels in my tank and I could have NO other fish. I finally had enough, tore apart the tank, and got them out! They are now in their own tank (family won't let me get rid of them!). I now have a wonderful, peaceful reef with no bullying!

thebkramer
06/09/2011, 06:46 AM
Lady, what size tank are they in?

26g

Sk8r
06/09/2011, 06:47 AM
A damsel (depending on type) needs about 50 to 100 gallons. A clown is also a damsel, and damsels are pushy. I kept a nice 100 g with (counting the clowns) 12 damsels, and it was the clowns I had to get rid of: they bit everything, including me, they developed nasty little teeth, and wanted half the 100g to themselves.

pentrix2
06/09/2011, 07:35 AM
Feed your fish from a net, Thaw frozen food in the net then lower net into tank and let food drift out. In time your fish will feed from the net and bingo. I always feed that way I have my fish go into the net to get the food. If I want a fish out, I just feed.
Good Luck

that's a great idea. i've been trying everything i can think of to catch my Red Coris Wrasse because stupid dude keeps turning everything upside down, including all of my frags and every single coral. i would fix the corals/frags and minutes later he would flip them.

:strooper:

Pen

Mr.Tan
06/09/2011, 07:49 AM
buddy of mine has had a blue devil damsel that bullyed fish more then double it size to the point that they died. It was the first fish he got so it pretty much took over the tank and wasent happy with anything being in it. Needless to say its since moved on to a different tank and its a whole new story now.... Best bet would be to move it to a new tank or take it back to the LFS

rinconmike
06/09/2011, 10:51 AM
While on the subject of damsels, I have a 150 FO with a 6" porc puffer, 6" red breasted wrasse, 24" snowflake eel, 5" butterfly, and1.5" blue damsel.

The larger fish leave the damsel alone. I assume it is because they are slower.

I would like to put in 2 azure damsels, 4 yellow tail dmasels, 2 green chromis, and a yellow striped clown.

Anyone think this is asking for trouble?

Thanks,

Mike

skrillnet
06/09/2011, 11:28 AM
While on the subject of damsels, I have a 150 FO with a 6" porc puffer, 6" red breasted wrasse, 24" snowflake eel, 5" butterfly, and1.5" blue damsel.

The larger fish leave the damsel alone. I assume it is because they are slower.

I would like to put in 2 azure damsels, 4 yellow tail dmasels, 2 green chromis, and a yellow striped clown.

Anyone think this is asking for trouble?

Thanks,

Mike

Put simply, yes :)

rinconmike
06/09/2011, 11:34 AM
Will the damsels become food or cause stress to the bigger fish or both?

I was hoping to add the little fish to add move activity in the tank with not adding a big bioload.

thebkramer
06/09/2011, 11:37 AM
Will the damsels become food or cause stress to the bigger fish or both?

I was hoping to add the little fish to add move activity in the tank with not adding a big bioload.

Hiya rinconmike :)
I would go here and ask snorvich :bounce3:
I'm sure he will be able to give you ideas of what you are looking for !!! :lol2:

Edit:
OOPSS.. forgot to add link!!!! :headwally:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1445390&page=171

rinconmike
06/09/2011, 11:44 AM
Where is snorvich?

Thanks,

Mike

thebkramer
06/09/2011, 11:52 AM
just posted the link.. sorry I forgot it !!!

here it is again ;)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1445390&page=171

ladylinden
06/15/2011, 10:06 PM
so..... here's my new dilemma...
My tank is now damsel free. It took me TWO HOURS yesterday to catch the guy - tried everything, feeding from a net, chasing into a clear jar, you name it... I tried it. I ended up having to pull all my rocks out of the tank and FINALLY caught him. But I knew it was trouble because in the process I stirred up everything in my tank, and it got really cloudy. So - I went to the LFS and got 7 gal of Catalina Water for a water change... about 25%... came home and changed the water promptly. Cleared up. Nice, right?? Wrong. This morning, I noticed that my Nem was all closed up, rolling around the bottom of the tank, not attached to anything, figured he was dead. Had to run the kiddos all around town, so just figured if he was dead I'd pull him out of the tank in the afternoon. Came home in the afternoon, and he's still rolling around the bottom of the tank, but this time, tentacles out, looking much more "alive"... Now tonight, again, rolling around the bottom of the tank, all puckered up, tentacles looking shriveled and lifeless...
Tested my water levels tonight and they're not great:
Salinity 0.126-0.128
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0.1-0.2
Nitrate 50+ (I can never seem to get a decent reading on Nitrates!)
PH 8.4-8.6

So I ran out to the Pet Superstore nearby and bought a new filter (mine was about shot anyway) - I got a Marineland Penguin 350 (for 70 gals, even though I only have 29)... can't do a water change again until tomorrow night at the earliest, when I can get to the LFS (a ways from my house) to get some more water... and honestly, I don't think this Anemone is going to live that long...

Makes me feel like a total fish tank failure, and guilty for trying to put anything into the tank with the damsel to begin with.

Ugh.
(Be gentle... I know I probably screwed up somewhere.)

Sk8r
06/15/2011, 10:22 PM
A nem should be for a tank a year mature. They're fragile and hot-tempered and mistakes can kill them and take out your tank. The ammonia is a no-no: get that solved if you have to use Amquel. Your filter system is the source of your nitrates, likely. Reefs use only live sand and rock, a filter for a fish-only, but not so much corals or anemones, precisely because of the bouncing nitrate problem. A damsel needs 100 gallons of space to calm down. You've had a rocky start: read the several stickies at the top of the forum with a *** mark in front. Those will help.
Maintaining a 29 is harder than maintaining a 100g. The salinity level is a pita, requiring an autotopoff or some such to keep it steady; the lack of a sump and skimmer will be a problem with corals or anemones. Try the *** stickies, and let's see if we can help you straighten this up. Is the tank cycled? How much live rock and sand do you have?

muffe
06/15/2011, 11:04 PM
Put him in the Soviet Gulag (sump)

WestChesterReef
06/16/2011, 11:36 AM
I had a sargent damsel in my 180, couldn't catch him,, became very aggressive to my tangs, I went to pro bass and bought the smallest hooks I could, then caught him with a piece of krill, very peaceful after that.