The truth about yellowtail damsels...

[Mihai]

Sooo... what's the truth about yellowtail damsels? I heard that they
are the best behaved (not counting clownfish and chromis) in the
family. Still, this may not mean anything coming from such a terrible
background.

However, they are the only "blue" fish (gorgeous blue BTW) that I can
keep my my 90gal reef (blue tangs and angels are out), so I'm considering...

Do you have any first hand good or bad experiences with them?

I was thinking to get 1-3 of those guys (3 ideal).
Other tank inhabitants include:

4 green chromis
2 ocellaris clowns
1 yellow tang
1 royal gramma
1 mandarin
2 cleaner shrimps

Planned additions:
- the pair for the mandarin
- 3-4 small cardinals
- perhaps a small and cute goby and/or blenny

Given the fact that the tank is not that big, I'd hate for the damsels
to take over half of it and squeeze everybody else to the other
side...

Thanks for the advice (either way),
Mihai

 

[Anonymous]

I would strongly consider not adding any more fish to your tank. 9 in a 90 is a good number. I had 10 in my 110 and considerid that to be enough. I would stay away from any damsels, just my opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

Mihai, the True Yellow tail Chrysiptera parasemaare pretty mellow compared to the others, these are hard to find and are more expensive than most other damsels. Most Yellow tails in the LFS are C. hemicyanea these are just as mean as the rest. There is a Chromis called the Blue Reef Chromis C. cyaneus that is a pretty blue and likes to be in groups of 3 or more.
Andy

 

[mattstewart]

i have had a yellow-tailed blue damsel for over a year and have no problems with it what soever. i think he is the most peaceful fish in my tank. i also agree that his blue color is great, especially for a fish that cost $5. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pCatId=134 this is the guy i have. they stay small too. just my experience with them.

 

[Mihai]

I would strongly consider not adding any more fish to your tank. 9 in a 90 is a good number.

Wazzel, isn't this an oversimplification? I mean, I'm sure that one of my chromis is nowhere as poluting as my tang (probably 3 times the body mass). Most of the fish in my tank are (and stay) fairly small. I think that it was an "inch" rule (so many inches of fish per 10 gallons) that is still flawed, but more accurate than the number of fish per tank size.

Besides, the entire system is more like 185 gallons (90 display + 20 refugium + 60 sump + 15 second sump ) so it should be able to handle the extra waste they're producing. I'm not worried so much (at this point) with the fish load as much as with the aggresion in the tank.

Mihai, the True Yellow tail Chrysiptera taupou are pretty mellow compared to the others, these are hard to find and are more expensive than most other damsels. Most Yellow tails in the LFS are C. cyaneus these are just as mean as the rest. There is a Chromis called the Blue Reef Chromis C. cyaneus that is a pretty blue and likes to be in groups of 3 or more.

Very sorry for not being more precise: I had in mind exactly what Matt has: Chrysiptera parasema, that, by his account (and the liveaquaria link, and Matt's nano fish list) is the "nicest" of the true damsels. Andy, something is wrong in your species - you called the blue chromis and the "bad" damsel the same (C. cyaneus). If you mean the chromis that are very similar to the green chromis but just on blue instead of green, I'm sorry, but there is no comparison between their blue and the yellow tail damsel blue IMO.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pCatId=134

Thanks,
Mihai

 

[Anonymous]

I was thinking more of crowding and agression issues. The more fish you shove in a tank the more stressed you make then and the more agressive they get towards each other. If you have the equipment you can shove 100 fish in a 90 but it does not mean you should.

 

[Mihai]

I was thinking more of crowding and agression issues. The more fish you shove in a tank the more stressed you make then and the more agressive they get towards each other. If you have the equipment you can shove 100 fish in a 90 but it does not mean you should.

OK, we're on the same page. The thinking was to add fish that would coexist peacefully, so they don't get stressed... besides the yellowtail do you see any risks of aggresion?

M.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey M, thanks for catching my mistakes. The aggressive yellow tail is C. hemicyanes, the more mellow is the C. parasema, the chromis is C. cyaneus.
Andy

 

[Anonymous]

I would still be leary about adding the damsel, but that is me. I would be more comforable adding the cardinals if it was my tank.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Waz, once in the tank it will be very hard to remove them.

 

[Mihai]

I agree with Waz, once in the tank it will be very hard to remove them.

Amen! That's why I'm asking first and not "testing" . It seems that people had good luck with 2-3 yellowtails as they formed a pair and kept busy at each other (rather than with the other fishes)... Melbelle even had them spawning in her 75gal... the cardinals are nice too...

So you're saying it's the damsels OR the cardinals (I was thinking AND).

M.

 

[GSchiemer]

A small group of yellow-tail damsels (C. parasema) should be fine with that mix of fish in your 90 gallon tank. They tend to be nippy but mostly with each other, which is why I recommend a group of 4 or more. I also don't believe the tank is too over-crowded to consider adding the damsels.

BTW, contrary to what was said here, in most cases, crowding fish actually reduces aggression. This is particularly true with fish such as tangs and damsels. A good example from the freshwater side of the hobby is African cichlids. When they are crowded their aggression is reduced because there are just too many fish to fend off and it becomes impossible to establish and protect territories. Same thing for damsels, which are just saltwater cichlids.

Greg

 

[Anonymous]

A small group of yellow-tail damsels (C. parasema) should be fine with that mix of fish in your 90 gallon tank. They tend to be nippy but mostly with each other, which is why I recommend a group of 4 or more. I also don't believe the tank is too over-crowded to consider adding the damsels.

BTW, contrary to what was said here, in most cases, crowding fish actually reduces aggression. This is particularly true with fish such as tangs and damsels. A good example from the freshwater side of the hobby is African cichlids. When they are crowded their aggression is reduced because there are just too many fish to fend off and it becomes impossible to establish and protect territories. Same thing for damsels, which are just saltwater cichlids.

Greg

Hey Greg, I agree she can add a few more fish without much of a threat.

I can't disagree strongly enough however with the comparison between a reef tank and an African tank. Overcrowding and stress in a reef tank can lead to disease such as ich which is extremely hard to treat in a reef.

You pack Africans together to spread out the aggression, which it does and the water qulity goes down hill pretty quickly. The water in the reef is hard enough to maintain with a light bioload. Each is a very diff type of tank except maybe that the water in both is wet :wink:
Andy

 

[GSchiemer]

I'm not suggesting that we pack our reef tanks with fish in order to reduce aggression. I know that the African cichlid model won't work in a reef aquarium. I was only trying to illustrate my point that over-crowding actually reduces aggression, which is contrary to what was said earlier in this thread.

Greg

 

[Anonymous]

What they said, except C. parasema is certainly not hard to find. They're usually $2-3 around these parts.

These guys stay very small as well. I have a 4 year old pair that are 1.5-2" a piece. But there is one good reason why I wouldn't add them to your tank--the gramma. C. parasema and the royal gramma just do not get along at all in my experience. Similar coloration probably. Maybe others have tried it and can chime in.

 

[Anonymous]

How about a neon blue goby? They are tiny, have nice bright blue stripes, and work as cleaners. They're not aggressive, except to others of their own kind and sex.

 

[Mihai]

How about a neon blue goby?

That is not a bad idea. I like their color (although it's not as saturated as the damsel). The only problem is that they have a small lifespan (1-2 years) and I hate to lose pets (even for natural causes). If indeed they don't get along with the royal gramma I'll consider them though (a pair, as I understand that they get along and may even spawn).

Thanks,
M.

 

[dido]

I have blue yellow belly damsels that are great. They stay in their areas and don't really bother anybody. They look kind of like the yellowtails, but the yellow runs all the way up their bellies. All I can say is AVOID YELLOW DAMSELS. They attack any fish that gets close to them, especially new additions. Just my limited experience though. Good luck.

 

[saltnmyeye]

i have to say ditto to mattstewart. i have had damsels for 2 years now, one being the yellowtail, in my 55 along with a moon damsel, a small blue green chromis, amphiprion ocellaris clown, neon blue damsel, black and white damsel with a couple hermits, various snails and a few corals and it is a very peaceful community. this yellowtail has been in the tank since it was cycled 2 years ago. it prolly has something to do with the keeper. =-}

 

[Anonymous]

what about a fiji blue damsel. Looks kinda like a blue damsel but with longer fins and orange instead of bright yellow. My buddy had one and it was really passive and not very aggressive at all. Sorry I dont know the latin name