Damsel fish

[sidtwat]

i have a blue star damsel and was wondering if anyone knows if they would get on with a pair of tp clowns? as have been told that star damsels aint as vicious as other damsels
any info would be appreciated

[michael lai]

Hi Sidtwat,
A very warm welcome to Aquatic Quotient. I have stopped marine aquaria awhile back so I hope I'm not too rusty. Damselfish are a great fish to start with, hardy and affordable. Unfortunately extremely aggressive towards their own species. Even for proven pair of male and female, they will still bicker if not in breeding period. The only damsel I know that schools together is the green or brown forktail damsels. You can however solve this problem by getting a bigger tank and lots of corals for hiding space. If your tank is between 60-80 gallons, a small family of 6-8 fishes will quickly settle in. If you intend to keep other fish keep the numbers low then. Hope the information helps. Have fun.

[michael lai]

i have a blue star damsel and was wondering if anyone knows if they would get on with a pair of tp clowns? as have been told that star damsels aint as vicious as other damsels
any info would be appreciated

I believe they are still territorial and as such adequate space should be catered for.

[sidtwat]

thank you your information si most helpful.

[michael lai]

You're Welcome, have fun and give us a shot of the fish later

[bukitimah]

My first fish in the tank is a yellow tail damsel and he is there till today in my 2 ft tank! I have two more damsels, but not sure of their names, one black with white spots and another white will black strips. Although they chase each other like crazy, well, they are all alive and eating well.

Recently I added two clowns and one mud skipper, hmmm being bigger in size than the damsels, they seem to swim about without much fight!

So, I guess in a crowd, they tends to work better like what you see in the shop while the damsels live in a school?

[michael lai]

Hi Bukit Timah,
Welcome to Aquatic Quotient, the black with white spot is a domino damsel and the one with stripes is the infamous 'sergent major'. In this scenario, you have achieved what we termed as the "balance". Furthur additions will have to be research before application. The skipper does not belong in this habitat and the clowns are bound to suffer with or without the anemone in a 2 footer. I would advise caution here as it is extremely cruel to put them there like this.
Maybe it's time to get a bigger tank and get twice the fun setting it up again. Till then, enjoy and have fun.

[bukitimah]

Skipper does not belong to this habitat meaning he has to go? Hey he is enjoying himself and tunneling through the life rock! With one crab and one skipper, I find my tank is rather clean, not sure if that is the work of the partnership?

2 clowns for a 2 footer too much? I noticed one with a body growth, bought it without noticing it. Hope he can survive. Otherwise, I will live with just one.

[michael lai]

You lost me here, is the damsels with the clowns and skipper in one tank or are they in different tanks? Is that a mud skipper or goby???

[bukitimah]

Hi, they are all in the same tank. Yes, I found out the skipper is actually a Yellow Shrimp Goby or yellow watchman goby. It is almost 3 inches therefore considered matured?