Anyone have luck with these damsels?

[satyra]

Chrysiptera talboti - Talbot's damsel
yellow back damsel
Neoglyphidodon oxyodon - Jewel damsel

Pretty sure that empty tank of mine will turn into a sw tank, just looking at options for fish right now. theres a talboti in the main display at our lfs that is really beautiful, seems fairly hardy, but never seen the other two species in a fish store....has anyone had any experience with these?

[REID429]

My petco carries the talbots all the time. That combo sounds good. The jewels now are hard to come by. You could roll with anthias as well

[OOwl]

I've never kept the ones you mentioned; although I think most damsels are fairly pugnacious. I keep the Starkii damsel, and have since I got my first pair way back in 1992. I have never had them fight or be vicious with other fish. I currently have one that lives with a clownfish with no aggression whatsoever. They're gorgeous damsels. They are rather difficult to obtain (most vendors that list them are usually out of stock and it's difficult to find one that has been collected without drugs, which greatly shorten their lifespan). Here's what they look like from a vendor's site:
http://www.petsolutions.com/storefront/fish/live-fish/saltwater-fish-corals-invertebrates-plants/saltwater-fish/damsels/starki-damsel/prodStarkiDamsel.html

Good luck to you on your new tank!

[jello]

I personally have kept talbots. They stay pretty small and are very hardy and docile. Should also look at the "princess" damsel. They are very pretty and similar in size and temperament as the Talbot. A school of these would be cool. O know DNA caries both regularly for like $5 each.

[satyra]

after a little research on the 3 i mentioned, looks like the yellow back is out. they get too big and too aggressive, and they dont keep the juvie color according to what i read.

looked up the princess damsel, that looks like it would be a much better choice than the yellow back :) so far i think the talboti and princess/ocellate are definitely in. you think a pair or trio of each is ok?

Oowl, i do like the starki too, but what you said about some of them dieing easily kinda scares me lol. im not very experienced with SW just yet and i need something thats pretty easy. If you know of a vendor that always sells starki's that are not drugged, please let me know which one they are and ill give them a shot too :)

another thing...these damsels are supposed to be reef safe. my current sw tank is one im trying to keep corals in, and theres barely anything in there right now fish-wise, just a pair of yellowtail blue damsels and a six line wrasse, who im confident can take care of himself in a damsel tank....little bastard is fearless LOL. we had a naso tang in it but i guess he was too small to acclimate well into captivity, and he would barely eat anything at all no matter what i tried. so....i had been trying to get him to eat something, anything, and i know i definitely overfed the tank...ended up with some slime and water quality issues, didnt have a skimmer for a few weeks, blah blah blah. i finally found a really good skimmer and got that working, and i got the water quality fixed and im looking for something easy to go in there, nothing right away though. since that is the tank i would like to keep corals in, i think the damsel tank idea would fit best in there, and ill still be able to get some non-reef safe fish for the new sw tank. found a pretty decent skimmer (i think, judging by the reviews) for a great price, ordering that today or tomorrow for the new tank. after that i should just need some sand, and figure out what kinda filtration ill be using, and some lights, and it should be ready to go :)

after battling wtih my current sw tank and being so frustrated with it, im just so happy to see it (and the water tests) look good again! i dont remember being this frustrated with FW LOL

satyra added 4 Minutes and 23 Seconds later...

oh one more thing for now, how well have the anthias done for you? ive briefly looked into those as well, but have read very conflicting info on them, everything from theyre very hardy and peaceful to, they die very easily and are very hard to keep. very beautiful fish though! definitely would love to try them if i thought i had a chance at keeping them alive long term

[OOwl]

I got my Starkii from Premium Aquatics. He is VERY reputable and has been in the business a LONG time so knows where to obtain non-drugged, healthy stock. They aren't inexpensive fish but I've had several together with no aggression issues (they also aren't as aggressive to other fish in the tank as other common damsels). He doesn't always have them in stock but they are definitely worth the wait. Mine is going on three years old and the picture of health, no changes in color at all.

LFSs can sometimes order Starkiis for you but the ones I obtained locally whithered away and died (a result of the drugs used to collect them easily). Cheap isn't always economical. . . .

Anthias are usually quite delicate. They do better in a school in a very large tank and get sick when stressed. I love them, but my tank is way too small.

I admire your research before obtaining a fish. You are a noble fishkeeper. Kudos to you.

[satyra]

LOL thanks Oowl! Sometimes my research doesnt seem to do me any good! the lfs owner told me today to come check out these damsels she got. they came from someone elses tank....included was a big, beautiful jewel damsel. i bought it (for only $6!) and put it in the tank. good thing is it looks healthy and well fed, and its been in captivity for a while already. its been swimming around my tank and ate some flake for me today. bad news is, despite everything saying it is reef safe, little bastard tore my kenya tree off the rock! i had to move my kenya tree and my little zoa frags and my mushroom down into the fuge :mad: he hasnt bothered the other fish yet, but im not too worried about them, they seem to be able to take care of themselves even though the jewel is bigger....but time will tell....

[OOwl]

Uh, no worries on that Kenya Tree. Those are the weeds of the ocean! That WILL grow back if there's even a slime trace of where it once was. TRUST me! And if it doesn't for some reason, let me know because I will give you ALL you want, for FREE! :)

Congrats on your new fish. Would love to see picture!

[satyra]

this is him/her:

http://pics.boasbysatyra.com/assets/galleries/53/DSC04116.JPG

http://pics.boasbysatyra.com/assets/galleries/53/DSC04120.JPG

http://pics.boasbysatyra.com/assets/galleries/53/DSC04131.JPG

Hahaha thanks for the offer, i might have to take you up on that offer if it dies! i think the kenya trees gonna be fine, the whole trunk part is missing but the branches are fine, still a little pissed off but its not all scrunched in anymore at least lol. This is the kenya tree that survived when the old ac in the house broke this summer, the room was about 115deg for about 3 days :eek:

[OOwl]

What a pretty fish! I don't think I've seen one grow that large! Hope she learns to behave herself. I doubt she was actually trying to EAT that coral, more likely just going on a rampage because she was checking out her new territory.

I'm totally serious about that Kenya tree. I'm about to move my tank and I'd be happy to give you all you'd ever want. It's a nice, easy, fail-safe soft coral but it sure will take over a tank. A lot of people won't keep it anymore because of that. However, they are pretty movement wise once they grow large.

[satyra]

LOL its a fairly large damsel, it looked smaller at the store but when i set it loose in the tank it looked huge :eek:

Let me know when your gonna move that tank, id actually like a few more trees. i know they can take over but when its kept under control i think it looks really nice the way it moves around in the current. only thing i dont like about it is the color, wish it was a little brighter.

[stephen.scott]

The Talbot's damsel we have is aggressive towards our mystery wrasse. Other than tail fin biting it is very active as swims all over. We are going to get rid of this fish soon, interested let me know!

[OOwl]

satyra, just PM me next time you're in the area. I will snip you several large stalks of Kenya tree, no problem. We moved last weekend but the tanks are not moving for a new more weeks. I don't mind trimming those back any time, though. They grow fast. Mine are more pink than tan. Good luck with that damsel. Good thing about being that large is that they're not AS fast. :)

[satyra]

The Talbot's damsel we have is aggressive towards our mystery wrasse. Other than tail fin biting it is very active as swims all over. We are going to get rid of this fish soon, interested let me know!

Is it aggressive towards any other fish or it just doesnt like your wrasse?

Oowl thats what mine looks like, more pink than tan :D Ill PM both of you guys a few days before i make it up there ;)

[stephen.scott]

Yes just towards the wrasse. Does not bother the clown but the tomato clown holds it's own. Those are the only fish we have at the moment.