Questions about a couple of fish species

[Zionas]

It’s really threads like these that are giving me hope. Seems it’s not hard at all to get these guys to live for over a decade.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2479621

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1501252

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786323

[A.m.P]

8 minutes ago, Zionas said:

It’s really threads like these that are giving me hope. Seems it’s not hard at all to get these guys to live for over a decade.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2479621

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1501252

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786323

If you look for something on google, you'll find it.
These animals have pretty decent lifespans, ymmv.

[Zionas]

13 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

If you look for something on google, you'll find it.
These animals have pretty decent lifespans, ymmv.

Yeah that’s right. Since they’re related to Clowns I wouldn’t expect them to be short lived.

 

    I’ve also switched out the Azures for Yellowtails because I like more blue on the body.

[RedCrow]

14 hours ago, Zionas said:

It’s really threads like these that are giving me hope. Seems it’s not hard at all to get these guys to live for over a decade.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2479621

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1501252

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786323

Keep in mind that we’re talking exclusively about chrysiptera damsels here. If we include all damsels (which includes clownfish), then yes, we’re looking at well over a decade for most. 
 I had a dascyllus for about 5 years that wasn’t even full grown yet when he was re-homed. 
 Most of the fish mentioned in the above threads are pomacentrus damsels, which are much larger (and therefore likely live longer) than chrysiptera. (Smaller body = smaller heart = faster heart rate = shorter lifespan)

 All that to say: yes, a chrysiptera could live over a decade. That doesn’t mean they will. 6-8 years would likely be a much more accurate assumption for your average chrysiptera. 

[Zionas]

15 hours ago, RedCrow said:

Keep in mind that we’re talking exclusively about chrysiptera damsels here. If we include all damsels (which includes clownfish), then yes, we’re looking at well over a decade for most. 
 I had a dascyllus for about 5 years that wasn’t even full grown yet when he was re-homed. 
 Most of the fish mentioned in the above threads are pomacentrus damsels, which are much larger (and therefore likely live longer) than chrysiptera. (Smaller body = smaller heart = faster heart rate = shorter lifespan)

 All that to say: yes, a chrysiptera could live over a decade. That doesn’t mean they will. 6-8 years would likely be a much more accurate assumption for your average chrysiptera. 

Yeah here’s to 10+ years hopefully! Lol. I’ve always been afraid of trying any Dascyllus due to their aggression but I have to admit some of them are decent looking, like the Three Stripe and Four Stripe. I wouldn’t say conventionally attractive looking but their black and white bodies do stand out.

 

   I know a guy who kept a Four Striped for 17 years before it passed away. Amazing how long some of these smaller fish can live.

 

    

[Tired]

I found a group of domino damselfish living in some kind of stony coral, last time I went to Hawaii. There was one big one and a bunch of little ones darting in and out of a basketball-sized colony of coral, with the big one so deep that I could barely see it. Most of them seemed pretty young, so I don't think it would work long-term, but it was an interesting thing to see at the time.

 

Those have so much attitude- might get one eventually, if I ever start up that "several medium crabs and a big hermit crab, with nothing for them to bother" tank. Things like a decorator crab, maybe a calico crab? Definitely a Halloween hermit. Don't think any of them would threaten a big ol' damsel. 

But I don't think Dascyllus are good fish for most tanks. They're just too mean. 

[Zionas]

3 minutes ago, Tired said:

I found a group of domino damselfish living in some kind of stony coral, last time I went to Hawaii. There was one big one and a bunch of little ones darting in and out of a basketball-sized colony of coral, with the big one so deep that I could barely see it. Most of them seemed pretty young, so I don't think it would work long-term, but it was an interesting thing to see at the time.

 

Those have so much attitude- might get one eventually, if I ever start up that "several medium crabs and a big hermit crab, with nothing for them to bother" tank. Things like a decorator crab, maybe a calico crab? Definitely a Halloween hermit. Don't think any of them would threaten a big ol' damsel. 

But I don't think Dascyllus are good fish for most tanks. They're just too mean. 

Yeah they look sort of exotic compared to other damsels, if only they had the mild temperament too. I like how some of them host anemones like Clowns.

[RedCrow]

6 hours ago, Zionas said:

I’ve always been afraid of trying any Dascyllus due to their aggression

Now I’ve only ever kept one, but the one I did have was a model citizen. He lived with a pink tail triggerfish who kept everybody in line. I’d say keeping them with other aggressive fish is a must though 

[Zionas]

1 hour ago, RedCrow said:

Now I’ve only ever kept one, but the one I did have was a model citizen. He lived with a pink tail triggerfish who kept everybody in line. I’d say keeping them with other aggressive fish is a must though 

Yeah unfortunately the rest of my stocking list is quite peaceful for the most part. 😞

[Leo_ian]

Other shoaling fishes that are good are pacific blue eyes

[Crys]

Hi, just thought I'd chime in, I don't hear much about springeri damsels.  I have one and it's beautiful, glows under the blue lights. It's always active and begging for food. How do they compare with yellow tails or others?  Why are they not as popular?

[Tired]

Probably just not for sale as often.

[Leo_ian]

I have a sprigeri, they are honestly the best damselfish you can get, and I will confidently say that they are more peaceful than chromis

[UpsideDownPumpkin]

I’ve seen them (Springeri, that is) once in my LFS, back in Feb. Asked the guy about them and he refused sale because he said they were a shoal fish needing 75G+ and would only sell all of them at once (at least 5). But he also sold me a predatory snail as a peaceful one (turned out it was well behaved but still, I specifically asked “is this peaceful?”) and every so often will undercharge me/forget to charge me for my water. He nearly sold me a gold indo torch for £39 once until his boss saw him. I don’t ask him fish or coral care questions anymore. 
 

I’m keeping my eyes open for one to go in my 30g but I’m not holding my breath. I’ll 100% get one if I see one though, now that I’ve done my own research and learned that damsels are a-ok on their own. 

[Leo_ian]

On 9/18/2020 at 2:01 AM, Zionas said:

Yeah unfortunately the rest of my stocking list is quite peaceful for the most part. 😞

Maybe if you want something "aggressive" a chromis would be good. 😬

seriously my chromis is f***ing aggressive. 

dwarf angels?

[Zionas]

8 hours ago, Leo_ian said:

Maybe if you want something "aggressive" a chromis would be good. 😬

seriously my chromis is f***ing aggressive. 

dwarf angels?

Yeah xD Which dwarf angels do you find the hardiest?