# Aggressive Damselfish in new tank



## dloehrs (Aug 7, 2009)

Hi there, I am almost two weeks into cycling a 125 salt. We introduced 2 chromis and 2 damsels after day three. They got along great and everyone was happy. Suddenly 2 days ago one damsel became very aggressive, a bully. We found one chromi stuck in the filter intake and he didn't make it. We believe he was already weak and the aggressive damsel stressed him too much. The second chromi gets chased but not much and not often. The second damsel is constantly in hiding and the second he peeks his head out he is attacked. The poor guy can't get a break. I tried to net the bully to trade in but the tank is way too packed with rocks and corals. Anything i can do here? Will adding a few chromis to make a small school intimidate the aggressor? Thanks in advance


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

Damsels are like that, especially with new fish added to the tank. Most likely have to try catch him. What kind of damsel is it? Some are much more aggressive than others.


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## dloehrs (Aug 7, 2009)

Electric Blue


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

dloehrs said:


> Electric Blue


Also known as the (aptly named) "Blue Devil".

Netting a damsel in a reef tank can be extremely difficult. I extracted damsels from a reef tank using a (loaned) device called 'The Trap' (baited and utilized after about 3 or 4 days of fasting the tank). Caught the first (and worst) one in about a minute. The other two saw what happened to the first one so it took over an hour to remove them.

In a FOWLR tank I had to remove ALL of the live rock (and that pesky damsel wedged itself deep into the crevice of very last piece of live rock so I didn't even need the net in that instance, just placed that rock into a different tank while the damsel was still in it).

Switching topics: What kind of corals are currently in your tank?


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## dloehrs (Aug 7, 2009)

I added another small chromi and a yellow-tail damsel. At first the experiment failed, but now the fish are all happy together. The yellow-tail took all the heat for a day but now ALL the fish are out and swimming together. The bully still shows his dominance but it is brief and not near as aggressive


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

good to hear


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

unfortunately this is probably only temporary as damsels mature they get much more aggressive.


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