Talbot's Damsel as a starter fish?
- Thread starter Rhetoric
- Start date
Maybe I don't understand the difference. Here's a quick history.
7/15 - Initial setup: 75g w/38g sump - Put some mostly dead rock in the tank. (about 30 lbs) It used to be live rock but had been sitting around for a year and a half (long story). The guy who setup the tank for me checked it out, sniffed it, and said we could go ahead and put it in. There were still small bits of purple on it.
7/22 - added 7 Green Chromis - maybe these were the cycle fish? they died off one by one over the next week.
7/24 - Ransacked by brown algae - I've since learned this is the diatom phase
7/29 - Added 20 snails and 7 hermits.
8/8 - Brown algae mostly gone. Some green algae, hair algae, round white puffy algae
8/15 - Hair and puffy white algae gone.
8/19 - Added about 40 lbs nice live rock...few more snails and hermits.
8/21 - Added 3 emerald crabs.
Was told to wait at least a week before adding any fish after putting the new live rock in. Recommended fish were Green Chromis, Blue Reef Chromis, or Talbots Damsel. So was hoping to add some this weekend.
What are your thoughts? Thanks again!
7/15 - Initial setup: 75g w/38g sump - Put some mostly dead rock in the tank. (about 30 lbs) It used to be live rock but had been sitting around for a year and a half (long story). The guy who setup the tank for me checked it out, sniffed it, and said we could go ahead and put it in. There were still small bits of purple on it.
7/22 - added 7 Green Chromis - maybe these were the cycle fish? they died off one by one over the next week.
7/24 - Ransacked by brown algae - I've since learned this is the diatom phase
7/29 - Added 20 snails and 7 hermits.
8/8 - Brown algae mostly gone. Some green algae, hair algae, round white puffy algae
8/15 - Hair and puffy white algae gone.
8/19 - Added about 40 lbs nice live rock...few more snails and hermits.
8/21 - Added 3 emerald crabs.
Was told to wait at least a week before adding any fish after putting the new live rock in. Recommended fish were Green Chromis, Blue Reef Chromis, or Talbots Damsel. So was hoping to add some this weekend.
What are your thoughts? Thanks again!
Talbots are supposed to be relatively mild mannerd, at least in the damsel world. I have no personal experience with this, but I have been researching them for a planned 20 gallon m-tank in the near future. Everything I have read about them states they're relatively docile. Just to be careful about putting more than 1 in a tank, unless it is larger, or a known pair.
Damn you Carl Spackler.
Talbot's are great fish, and excellent beginner fish for a newly set-up tank. They will become aggressive as they mature, so if you start off with between three and six, they will quickly establish a pecking order, and gradually the number will dwindle until you have a (one, singular) survivor. This damsel should be afforded the best care and highest level of respect, as he has, after all, killed off all possible competition and now reigns supreme in your tank, in full glory, and with banners flying.
That said, you might be careful about adding any fish that has the potential to bully future additions. You will not find it easy to remove them later on, unless you are ready to remove all the rock in order to capture them. Make sure you plan to add fish that can stand up to damselfish aggression.
For the moment, do not add any fish, or any more livestock until you run your tests, though. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate should all be zero. For future reference, you should aways run tests after adding new live rock. Ammonia levels from improperly cured live rock can quickly kill off your existing livestock if you don't test it and fix the problem. Once you have coral in your tank, you should quarantine new live rock, in case. Once you have had aiptasia run rampant throughout your tank, you will understand the importance of this :lol:
Talbot's are great fish, and excellent beginner fish for a newly set-up tank. They will become aggressive as they mature, so if you start off with between three and six, they will quickly establish a pecking order, and gradually the number will dwindle until you have a (one, singular) survivor. This damsel should be afforded the best care and highest level of respect, as he has, after all, killed off all possible competition and now reigns supreme in your tank, in full glory, and with banners flying.
That said, you might be careful about adding any fish that has the potential to bully future additions. You will not find it easy to remove them later on, unless you are ready to remove all the rock in order to capture them. Make sure you plan to add fish that can stand up to damselfish aggression.
For the moment, do not add any fish, or any more livestock until you run your tests, though. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate should all be zero. For future reference, you should aways run tests after adding new live rock. Ammonia levels from improperly cured live rock can quickly kill off your existing livestock if you don't test it and fix the problem. Once you have coral in your tank, you should quarantine new live rock, in case. Once you have had aiptasia run rampant throughout your tank, you will understand the importance of this :lol:
Thanks for everyone's advice. I think I may go with good old reliable Green Chromis for now. I may look into the Talbot's in the future.
I just tested and it looks like Nitrites and Nitrates are both 0. The Ammonia appears between 0 and .25...closer to 0 I think. (So hard to tell with these stupid tests) My ph appears to be about 8.1.
Does that sound reasonable for adding the fish? Should I try to get my ph up to 8.3 first? Is the Ammonia level close enough to 0 or should I do something to make sure it is a definite 0?
Thanks again for all your responses.
I just tested and it looks like Nitrites and Nitrates are both 0. The Ammonia appears between 0 and .25...closer to 0 I think. (So hard to tell with these stupid tests) My ph appears to be about 8.1.
Does that sound reasonable for adding the fish? Should I try to get my ph up to 8.3 first? Is the Ammonia level close enough to 0 or should I do something to make sure it is a definite 0?
Thanks again for all your responses.
Rhetoric":2pd7257h said:fishaddict":2pd7257h said:
My everything? That doesn't sound good. Any chance you could expand on that?
They get BIG, and don't much care what they eat once they reach a certain size. I had one that got huge and started on the other smaller inverts in the tank-pulled snails and hermits right out of the shell. It was so daggone well camoflaged and quick it took forever to remove it :x
Never again.
Ha! About a month and a half ago I got a big rock that brought a reddish serpent star and 2 emerald crabs. I was happy to see them! In they went! I guess I might regret that, huh?Lawdawg":38g6o3oo said:Rhetoric":38g6o3oo said:fishaddict":38g6o3oo said:
My everything? That doesn't sound good. Any chance you could expand on that?
They get BIG, and don't much care what they eat once they reach a certain size. I had one that got huge and started on the other smaller inverts in the tank-pulled snails and hermits right out of the shell. It was so daggone well camoflaged and quick it took forever to remove it :x
Never again.
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