FallenMonkey Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I'm kinda new to these forums and saw Sandeep (who has a damn nice tank 5.5g) and el fabuloso (another very nice tank 3g) have yellow-tail damsels in their picos? I dont have any fish in my 5.5g yet, but I definitely want either a yasha or clown goby, but they'll by perching on either the ground or a rock/coral 75% of the time and a yellow-tail damsel will provide a lot of nice movement and color to my tank. So how long will they stay the right size for such a small tank and do you think they would be aggressive with a yasha goby/pistol pair or a clown goby? Link to comment
iFISTmoose Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 stick with one fish. as long as you buy a small damsel you should be good. Link to comment
FallenMonkey Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 stick with one fish. as long as you buy a small damsel you should be good. I was asking how long would a damsel be fine in a 5.5g before it got too big and if it would be aggressive to a yasha goby or clown, thank for not answering my question though. Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I love my yellowtail damsel. They do well in pico tanks but like Moose said, stick to just one fish and make sure your tank is fairly established and ready to take on the extra bio load. I've gone through a couple of clown gobies and I would even recommend yellowtail damsels over them. They're active, colorful, non-destructive, peaceful and will get along with all inverts and will not touch or harrass corals. The best part is unlike gobies they're not jumpers. I wanted to get the smallest yellowtail at the store but the smallest one had some missing fins so I got the second smallest one instead and he's grown some since I got him over a month ago but not by much and I don't foresee him outgrowing my tank anytime soon. I feed him flakes every other day and with frozen food once a week when I feed the whole tank. Link to comment
Aeridne Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I love my yellowtail damsel. They do well in pico tanks but like Moose said, stick to just one fish and make sure your tank is fairly established and ready to take on the extra bio load. I've gone through a couple of clown gobies and I would even recommend yellowtail damsels over them. They're active, colorful, non-destructive, peaceful and will get along with all inverts and will not touch or harrass corals. The best part is unlike gobies they're not jumpers. I wanted to get the smallest yellowtail at the store but the smallest one had some missing fins so I got the second smallest one instead and he's grown some since I got him over a month ago but not by much and I don't foresee him outgrowing my tank anytime soon. I feed him flakes every other day and with frozen food once a week when I feed the whole tank. OO I was wondering if I could get a small damsel in a 3g pico... they have really cute black and white striped ones that are only about half an inch long at my lfs. Link to comment
maverick Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 my experience with yellow-tails is that they can be terrirorial, but if there is not too much compention for space then it should be fine. and by the way they can outgrow a 5.5g i have one in my 55g that is about 4in. long Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I'm more concerned right now about adding corals. Obviously, I didn't buy a 3-gal. pico so I could worry abut what kind of fish I could get. But I think when the time comes, I'll definitely get a damsel. Link to comment
Aeridne Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I'm more concerned right now about adding corals. Obviously, I didn't buy a 3-gal. pico so I could worry abut what kind of fish I could get. But I think when the time comes, I'll definitely get a damsel. Yeah, I get ya. I knew going into a 3g pico that I wouldn't be able to have lots of fish, or even one fish. I'm also just concerned about getting nice corals in my tank. Though I can't decide between the gobys or a damsel. Goby might be a better choice for me, because I wouldn't want to give my damsel back after it outgrew my tank Link to comment
Kraylen Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 1 damsel in a pico will be fine. Link to comment
Qwank Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 wait... damsels are ok in 3g picos also? dont they need room to swim? just asking because i was going to go with a clown goby in mine, but i'd rather have a damsel. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I think it depends on what species of damsel...? I know there are a handful of species in this category of fish that can get fairly large. But there are a few that will remain less than 3.5" even as full grown adults, from what I've read? Link to comment
Qwank Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I think it depends on what species of damsel...? I know there are a handful of species in this category of fish that can get fairly large. But there are a few that will remain less than 3.5" even as full grown adults, from what I've read? even 3.5" seems kinda large for a picotank dont you think? if that was the case you could get away with a perc. and yes i've seen picos with a pair of small clowns in them. i would never do it though. Link to comment
Justin_Freebords Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 damsel in a 3gallon is pushing it i think. They can get "big" in terms of fish size for a 3 gallon pico Link to comment
FallenMonkey Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 damsel in a 3gallon is pushing it i think. They can get "big" in terms of fish size for a 3 gallon pico Well, there's no doubt they will eventually outgrow the tank, I wont keep a 3 inch beast in a 16 x 8 AGA, but I guess nobody really knows exactly how long it'll take for a yellow-tail to outgrow a 5.5g. I would really like to keep one in my tank, but I guess it might not be smart to push it (oh yea, sorry for acting like a douchebag moose, I just was doing my 8th page of Bio homework that my teacher assigned today due the next day), so I'll stick to a yasha/pistol pair, and maybe, just maybe get a clown goby with them if I keep my nitrates, etc stable. Either way, I dont really plan on upgrading past a 5.5 for at least a few years and I doubt I could have the heart to give a fish I had for probably at least 6-7 months back to my LFS and not know their fate. Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I wouldn't recommend just any damsel as most of them tend to get very large and very aggressive. Yellowtail damsels on the other hand are a lot smaller and a lot more peaceful than most damsels. Scott and Aer totally have the right approach. A fish should only be an afterthought in a pico. If you're setting up a pico with a fish in mind then you're better off getting a larger tank to accommodate that need. Link to comment
FallenMonkey Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 I wouldn't recommend just any damsel as most of them tend to get very large and very aggressive. Yellowtail damsels on the other hand are a lot smaller and a lot more peaceful than most damsels. Scott and Aer totally have the right approach. A fish should only be an afterthought in a pico. If you're setting up a pico with a fish in mind then you're better off getting a larger tank to accommodate that need. Oh yea, I know that other damsels are aggressive, the yellow-tails are my favorite anyway though. Link to comment
BlueAbyss Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'm thinking of eventually (like 6 months at least after the tank is established) adding a Talbot's Damoiselle to my pico. Apparently they only get 3" long and are reasonably colourful... my pico is pushing the limits of pico-ship though, at 6 gallons On that note... I might get a Cherub Angel. Link to comment
Sandeep Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 My yellowtail damsel has been doing great in my 5.5g tanks for over a year now and he's about the same size. He does not bother any of my crabs or corals and is nice and active. I too had gotten one of the smallest ones at the LFS and over the last year he's not really grown any larger and looks perfect in the tank, lots of room for him as you can see in the FTS below. Just be strict with your feeding to keep the bioload down. I only feed mine once or twice a week. Link to comment
FallenMonkey Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 Wow, thats a pretty small damsel, so since you only feed em once or twice a week, I take it you have a very low amount of nitrates, especially with that cheato huh? Link to comment
fallenlordz Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Nice pico - cute cheato container Link to comment
jonrx Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm thinking of eventually (like 6 months at least after the tank is established) adding a Talbot's Damoiselle to my pico. Apparently they only get 3" long and are reasonably colourful... my pico is pushing the limits of pico-ship though, at 6 gallons On that note... I might get a Cherub Angel. Go with a dottyback. Much better suited to picos, IMO. And much more interesting and with larger personalities. Link to comment
maverick Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 If you want to look at as a small, cheap, easy to care for fish then it is a good option. On the other hand it could be a little on the large side, but i think it would be ok if you are really set on it. Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Just be strict with your feeding to keep the bioload down. I only feed mine once or twice a week. Wow mine gets fed a lot more than yours! I feed my whole tank once a week so he gets a healthy helping during then. But I also target feed the inverts every other day (mainly to keep them from eating my corals) and he gets a small pinch of flake food during those days. Surprisingly with all that feeding he still haven't made a dent on the nutrient levels in my tank. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I think for me personally, I'm definitely going to go with a damsel when the time comes. I think they have more than enough personality for such a small and colorful fish. I think it looks really cool when you have that kind of color contrast happening in such a small tank. Link to comment
Aeridne Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm going to get a baby puffer fish!! JUST KIDDING!! Though, they do have those small 3/4 of an inch puffer fish that are freshwater. Too bad you can pop one or two of those little guys in a sw tank The yellowtail damsel does seem like a very nice fish to have in a pico for color and peacefulness. Anyone have any opinions about chromis fish? Link to comment
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