Coral Beauty?

[oozi]

Does anyone know what this guy is called? My friend gave it to me and keeps calling a coral beauty but it doesn't look anything like what I find when I google that name. 

 

He's gotten aggressive lately...

 

[Break]

That is definitely not a Coral Beauty! Looks like a Talbots Damselfish to me. They tend to be one of the more peaceful damsels, but are very active and become territorial once settled in, generally need a good amount of space if housed with others.

 

What size is the tank and what else is he housed with?

 

Talbot's Damselfish

 

Coral Beauty

[Matteo]

ur friend is silly 

[oozi]

Ya its def a "Talbot's Damselfish" .  It originally came with a goby which was larger than it. The goby later swallowed a rock and died. Now it is only "Violet" and a small clown fish. Tank size is 13.5gal. 

 

He was super peaceful when it was the 3 of them. Once the Goby died I think he took over as alpha fish and has been agressive since. He like to burrow out the sand between rocks to build a safe space. 

[Break]

9 minutes ago, Matteo said:

ur friend is silly 

Yeah, it almost sounds like they're playing a prank on you 😅

6 minutes ago, oozi said:

Ya its def a "Talbot's Damselfish" .  It originally came with a goby which was larger than it. The goby later swallowed a rock and died. Now it is only "Violet" and a small clown fish. Tank size is 13.5gal. 

 

He was super peaceful when it was the 3 of them. Once the Goby died I think he took over as alpha fish and has been agressive since. He like to burrow out the sand between rocks to build a safe space. 

That makes sense. In my limited experience with Talbot's, I found they like little caves or other easy-to-defend spots, like the one you described him digging; you might be able to adjust the scape to naturally section off his territory a bit. Clown's can get territorial as well, so I'd keep an eye out.

 

[oozi]

The clown is very passive. Kind of just hangs out in its anemone and comes out to swim around. The Talbot will cross the tank to chase him down. Had the clown,talbot, and goby in the tank for months and it never did that.

 

In the market for another Goby to replace the last guy - Was thinking getting a fish larger than the talbot should help its aggression? 

[Break]

9 minutes ago, oozi said:

The clown is very passive. Kind of just hangs out in its anemone and comes out to swim around. The Talbot will cross the tank to chase him down. Had the clown,talbot, and goby in the tank for months and it never did that.

 

In the market for another Goby to replace the last guy - Was thinking getting a fish larger than the talbot should help its aggression? 

Being bigger doesn't always help, but is a good idea. Some species attack whatever shape looks similar to themselves while others will attack just about anything that moves. Talbot's only get more aggressive as they mature (especially breeding pairs) and it isn't unusual to see them defend their territory against fish three times their size.

 

 In this case, I might get something a bit more aggressive and willing to defend itself, possibly some type of blenny?

[Matteo]

I would ditch the damsel. How big is your tank again? 

[Break]

1 minute ago, Matteo said:

I would ditch the damsel. How big is your tank again? 

Seconded. Probably the best solution for the well-being of the fish

 

[oozi]

Take is only 13.5Gal. Friend gave her to me so maybe  ill give her back. 

 

How do blenny's compare to goby for sand cleaners?

[Tired]

Don't get any fish to clean your sand. The fish that actively sift the sandbed a lot need a huge tank to get enough food from it. You want small burrowing snails (dwarf ceriths can be good) to turn it over and clean it a bit. 

 

Tell your friend what the fish actually is, and rehome it. It'll do best with more space than that.

[oozi]

Thanks @Tired . I'm new to all of this so your insight is appreciated! Ill shop around to see if I can get any of those locally. I need some sort of something to be sifting the sand. Its the only part of the tank that is off balance. How many would you recommend I get in a 13.5Gal tank?