damsel

[syntax357]

my blue devil seems to be digging holes in my sand, everywhere. Is this good or bad? He is doing it under the rocks. I am worried that he may be kicking up bad stuff out of the sand bed. The sand is 3.5 to 4 inches and in some spots its over 5. Should I remove him befoer he causes too many problems

[bertoni]

I doubt the digging will cause problems, so if you really like the fish, I'd say leave it there. They do get mean, though.

[zoomfish1]

Ah yes, the old damsel tail dance. Doubt that he will do much damage, but if you get the chance to remove him. DO IT. You will be happy forever after (he is gone).

[creditgirl]

The blue devil is appropriately named! They can get very nasty if you're not careful. Ours just started digging in the sand bed last week. He likes to bury the algae tabs we give our Tang to nibble on. I have to say, he is a tough guy, cause he is the only surviving fish we had since the start of our tank 6 mos ago. We even QT him for awhile cause he got so nasty and then reintroduced him back to the main tank after about 1 1/2 and he seems to be less aggressive now.

[syntax357]

I just might take him out. He is a beautiful fish but he keeps digging under the rock. the only fish he doesnt mess with is my tang

[Racing1]

They can be very mean fish and love to make a mess digging under the rocks. I had 2 Blue Devils in my main display and had to take them out. One kept bullying the other fish and one kept nipping at my open brain. They are now at my local LFS in her 180 gallon damsel rescue tank. People do not seem to research these fish before getting them and then find out how bad they can be. They can be a beautiful fish and I would recommend them for a fish only tank. I found out the hard way as do many other people. Here is a distant shot circled in green of the damsel rescue tank she has set up at her store.

[Joshua1023]

I have to agree w/ Racing. I think that pet stores are far too prone to advising people to "cylcle their tanks" or "test out the tanks condition" on what they deem to be a starter fish. The only problem is that once you have your suggested one pound of rock per gl, its all but impossible to remove any fish without tearing your whole tank apart. That said I really don't think its fair to the fish to be used as a test subject. If the stores would recommend a fairly good test kit from the jump, I think it would save everyone a few headaches along the way. My suggestion to you is don't keep damsels in a reef tank. Also try to avoid the mistake most of us make from time to time buying fish on an impulse without doing the research. A little patience will save you a bunch of aggravation and probrably a few hundred bucks along the way. Just my 2 cents.


(oh, by the way, blue devils turn to a dark navy blue almost black as they mature. Not very attractive at all.)

[dawnskaybug]

True that my friends yellow tails has turned almost all dark blue
they are about 5 inches long now and do the dance also

[dbtoys]

are yellow tails as mean and have problems??

[Joshua1023]

As the same with anything else, its all relative. If you want to put damsels in a tank first, they feel that it is their territory. Hence they will try to bully anyone else introduced. This will always be a problem with the more delicate species trying to acclimate to your aquarium. I've seen many a damsel (irregardless of type) bully other fish to the point that they stress them to death or refuse them the opportunity to feed causing them to starve to death. Even fish twice the size of the damsel are not immune to this ruff treatment. They are cool little fish, just be careful.

[syntax357]

well my tang shows him whos the boss of the tank. I was just worried about him digging in the sand and realeasing bad stuff as I have a dsb and was told not to disturb it

[bertoni]

Well, the DSB isn't going to function as a filter with the animal digging in it, if that's a concern.

[syntax357]

Ok thats what I thought. I will remove him to the LFS and fill in the holes that he is digging hopefully it wont do too much damage.

[grouper25]

Don't worry. This is what they do. I have one in a 20 nano tank and he has tunnels all over to escape through. All my parameters are fine too.
G25

[AuroraDrvr]

Blue devil? More like blue whimp. Try out a 3-spot domino, all my blue does is get picked on my the 3-spot. The domino even tried going toe-to-toe with my lawnmover, but one chomp from the LM and he learned. I was another "starter fish to test cycling" by LFS person.