DAMSELS what is your opinion on them

[cichlid000]

Think they tolerate the fish they are used to, but hard to introduce new fish afterwards once they are grown. Mine is with 2 clowns and he is fine with them, but I'll put my scraper in there to clean the algae off the sides of the tank and he is attacking it, and I mean attacking & bumping it. Its so much bigger then he is, that I couldn't imagine if it was another fish!

[bauder1986]

The odd damsel you will find to be very peaceful but for the most part, most damsels are @ssholes and can be very disruptive to a tank

[paddyob]

There is a reason they are cheaper than a Big Mac.

An even bigger red flag is that people GIVE them away.

[mike31154]

The yellow tailed blue damsel in my 77 gal is low man on the totem pole. Spawning Maroon clownfish pair, Yellow tang, & Singapore angelfish all keep him in line. Don't really know the outcome in anyone's particular tank, so that's probably why it's best to avoid them. The female Maroon & a Blue Devil damsel were the first two additions when I started the system & they pretty much stayed out of each other's hair. That Blue Devil was way more aggressive than the yellow tail I currently have. But like you, I really admire the blue colour. The Blue Devil died a couple years after developing some cancerous looking growth on it's tail fin. The current Yellow tail was a kind donation from another reefer & I'm happy to have him for the colour he adds.

Chromis are much less aggressive & also belong to the damsel clan, but alas, they're nowhere near as colourful. I had a group of three for a while but they all died eventually. Larger ones started picking on the smaller, one got isolated from the group & then they were all gone.

[Reef Pilot]

Get an Azure Damsel. They are colorful, but don't share the aggressive traits of their other Damsel cousins. I have one, and he is always been a model citizen with his tank mates.

[Flash]

i havd 5... 3 live in my sump as the other ones starting to rip thier fins off...

2 are in my work tank and get along fine with a killer oranger skunk clown... no way would i put these fis into my display tank... i like my other fish too much!!!

[coolhandgoose]

I think chromis are a type of damsel and they are very peaceful. Get a school of 3 or 5 of them and they look awesome with their flashing scales.

[tt101]

i might add everyone else first and then add a few damsels and hope and pray it goes well.......otherwise.......to the toilet they go. but i don't want to risk it and yeah the chromis are related but IMHO they do not compare in color.....i could have done a damsel tank with a pair of clowns and an angel.....that wuld have been good.....i'll have to think about it

[Smittyburger]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Get an Azure Damsel. They are colorful, but don't share the aggressive traits of their other Damsel cousins. I have one, and he is always been a model citizen with his tank mates.

I agree with Reef Pilot on the Azure Damsels. No over the top aggression as most report on Damsels in general.

I have had 3 of them for a year now. They have each staked out their own territory and give chase to each other the odd time when their territory is breached.

I have them in with Tangs, Firefish, a mandarin and a 6 Line Wrasse with no real issues other than the odd hit and run.

[Reef Pilot]

Yup, girl at J&L told me the Azures are different, and she was right. Had him for over a year now. Beautiful fish, and totally peaceful.