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Talbot damsel bully
<Hi Nicole, Mich here.>
We just purchased our two damsels to cycle our 20 gallon tank. We had our tank
up and running for a couple weeks with live sand, had all the correct levels for
the water quality, added live rock before the damsels, made lots of hiding
places, then put the damsels in after letting them get used to the temperature.
<It is not enough to just acclimate for temperature. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimat.htm>
My boyfriend and I tried to pick the healthiest, liveliest damsels from the
store...and it would appear that the one I picked is perhaps a bit too lively.
She's taken to completely bullying the other fish- to the point where she's
taken over basically the entire tank. Which probably isn't that hard considering
it's only 20 gallons.
<Yes, too small for two fish of this species. This species should only be
kept together if a much larger system.>
The staff at the store told me to turn off the lights, rearrange the rocks and
destroy the existing territories, and I did that and it seemed to help a bit,
temporarily. Now there are more hiding spaces and the smaller damsel has a
"home" of it's own...but the bigger damsel (even though she has her own little
spot that she likes) still sometimes rushes out and just chases the other damsel
for no reason!
<Yes as previous noted your tank is too small.>
I'm quite concerned- we were told to get two damsels of the same type and I'm
starting to think that maybe wasn't the best idea.
<No.>
Should we take the bully back? I hate to give up on her but I really don't want
the other fish to suffer.
<Should get rid of one.>
What could we get as an alternative?
<Many options, but you don't have room in your system for many fish so you
should do a good deal of research before making your final choices.>
The little damsel seems quite good natured but could just be completely
terrorized. Also, my boyfriend is referring to the bully as "my fish" so
naturally, this is my fault. I didn't realize how much this would make us into
"parents"!
<Ah! The joys!>
Thanks so much,
<Welcome! -Mich>
Nicole
Talbot's Damsel Disease ID w/Pics
11/5/06
Hi,
I'm really new... just started Mid August. I do a ton of research on
the web and your site has been extremely helpful with solving problems
and feeding me with much needed info. I just bought this little Talbot
Damsel on Saturday, 10/28.
<One of my fave Pomacentrid species... stays small, peaceful, and a
real-looker>
I didn't notice this until I guess Tuesday where she/he has a small
white spot just behind the gill and right above the pectoral fin. I
hope the pictures are helpful.
<Yes... appears to be a sort of protozoan infestation (likely a
microsporidean)>
It seems too large for Ich, it does protrude a bit. I sit in front of
the tank with a magnifying glass (she's gotten used to me doing it) and
even though I can get a good look, I'm still pretty clueless.
I thought to treat with Pimafix alone or with Melafix.
<Mmm, no... these leaf extracts are not efficacious here, or most
anywhere>
I have Cerith snail eggs everywhere and clear little baby snails all
over as well. I put in some Pimafix last night and almost immediately
ended up with I estimate about 15-25 small clear snails floating belly
up. I netted what I could and did an immediate 50% water change. I saw
some small snails on the glass later so I guess the immediate water
change helped. Those seemed to be the only things affected. Copepods
still on the glass, sandbed & rock, a small mollusk of some sort
attached under a rock seems fine and so do the synoid sponges.
So now I'm thinking should I start a hospital tank... but think cycling
would be another issue to have to deal with. Should I just watch this
spot see if it gets bigger... spreads? Or treat before it does. If I
was able to set up a tank using rubble, small rocks from my 20 gal and
water from there as well and treat her there... would the fungus or
bacteria still be in the main tank and just reinfect the fish when it's
moved back?
<Mmm...>
It's a 5.5 gal with live sand & live rock. Started it about 2 1/2 -3
months ago. Had some baby pupfish in there for a few weeks and moved
them to a small breeder tank inside my 20 gallon with the other bigger
pupfish. So it's pretty much just been maturing with only a few snails
and one hermit crab. I have an AC70 converted to hold some rubble and
Chaeto and there's a mini 404 for additional water circulation. After
reading about digging damsels on another part of your site, I'm planning
to pull all the rock and put an eggcrate into the sand as she has one
crater she's dug but I'm concerned the rocks may get unbalanced and
topple. I could move her then... she'll be much easier to catch.
She's pretty active... runs around picking copepods off the glass, sand
& rock. On occasion nips at the hermit crab, just gives her something to
pick on. Appetite is good, seems picky about which copepods she'll
eat. I work from home, the tank is 2 feet to my left and I sit by it
all day long as I do my transcription work. So I have plenty of opps for
observation. Any advice is extremely appreciated.
Thanks,
Debbie
<Well, this system is pretty small... but I would go the purposeful
cleaner organism route here... Either a Gobiosoma species or Lysmata
shrimp species. You can read on WWM re these. Bob Fenner> |
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Valentini Puffer & Talbot's Damsel 9/27/05
Hi! <Hi There!>
I have a Valentini Puffer. We've had him (or her) for about 2 weeks. He lives in
a 90L (Sorry I'm from Australia!! I have no idea what it is in gallons... maybe
near 30 - 40g??) The tank is @ 24 degrees Celsius (again no idea ... actually
wait I converted it online and its 75.2F) The ammonia levels are a little high
(but we're doing water changes every 3 - 4 days to correct it and it’s lowering
pretty well) We take the water for a weekly water check at the LFS and they told
us the water is great. (Better than theirs), except the carbonate hardiness is
too low, so we are using Coral Success to fix this up).
<The ammonia should be zero, so a little high would not be considered great
water quality. I would like to see daily water changes until the ammonia is 0.>
He is kept with a Pajama Cardinal, Ocellaris Clown, Banded Damsel, Domino
Damsel, Green Chromis and 2 Talbot Damsels. He's very peaceful and just seems to
pick at the rocks very often, no worry to me, I don't mind him doing it. We feed
him a multi-vitamin frozen food and sometimes frozen brine. He also gets fed
live brine.
<He needs a variety of meaty seafood as well as some greens.>
I have read your Puffer dentistry article and could not see anything specific
about Valentini Puffer teeth. I have printed out your General Puffer info but I
haven't read it yet. (I will after writing this but its 17 pages long!!) I was
wondering how am I supposed to know when his teeth get too big?
<It would be preferable to prevent his teeth from over growing by feeding him
some seafood in the shell so he can keep them in check himself.>
I read your other responses about Puffers and couldn't see anything specific to
the Canthigaster Valentini.
<The information should be similar and applicable to your puffer.>
Also I read that some people are concerned about the size of their puffers
stomach.
<Their bellies do have quite a capacity for expansion, which can be witnessed
after a good meal.>
My puffer has got a bit of a big tummy, but since we've had him he's only puffed
up once and eats all day long.
<Most of them do like to eat.>
(The tank has only been set up with fish for about 4-6 weeks) How will I know if
its a fat stomach or an air filled stomach?
<If he has taken air into his stomach you may notice the pocket of air as a
bulge and his orientation in the water will be off, in other words he most
likely will be off balance and have difficulty remaining in his normal swimming
position. The area containing the air will be directed towards the surface and
he may possibly even be floating near the surface if there is a good amount of
air trapped. This is often referred to as positive buoyancy.>
Also he's very hard to catch and the tank has a lot of
live rock and coral that all the fishes have hiding-holes and caves to jump in
as soon as my hand goes in the tank. So I can't really grab him to touch his
stomach, (like you've told others to do) how else would I know? And wouldn't it
hurt him if I were to press on his stomach?
<This is really not necessary unless you suspect that there is a problem. It is
preferable to keep your hands out of the tank and off the fish. Every time you
touch your fish you disturb their slime coat which serves a protective function
for the skin.>
My puffer is so beautiful and loves to make faces at the glass and run up and
down to show off to me.
<Yes they are very pretty and have quite endearing personalities. I find them
irresistible to say the least. Puffers are one of my favorites.>
Thanks for all the great info, I've learned a lot
about him, just by reading some Q&A's on your site.
<That’s great keep up the reading. Educating yourself is one of the best things
you can do for your fish!>
Also I have 2 Talbot Damsels in the tank, they are pretty aggressive towards all
the other fish (except the Pajama Cardinal and Valentini puffer, I think because
they're bigger than the Talbot's)
<Very possibly. I am not familiar with that particular Damsel species but the
family as a whole is fairly aggressive. The PJ Cardinalfish should really be
kept in a peaceful community tank. The Damsels and Puffer are really not
appropriate tankmates. Please do keep a close eye on these fish for any signs of
harassing the Cardinalfish.>
If I took one of them out (if I can catch them) would this fix the problem?
<No I don’t think so.>
My LFS said that if I keep my tank around 34C (75F) then it will stop them being
so aggressive because it will keep their metabolism low, making them less
hungry. Is this true?
<In theory I guess it is a possibility but my best guess is that it would not
work to your advantage. If it were my tank and fish I would not want to wait to
find out. I would remove the aggressors as soon as possible. The fish that are
being harassed are at risk for an injury and are definitely being stressed.
Stress is a precursor to disease. Elevated ammonia levels are also stressful.
Add the stress of being harassed to the increased ammonia levels and you have a
recipe for sick fish. Please do consider removing the Talbot Damsels as well as
doing more frequent water changes. >
Thanks for your help. Sincerely, Sarah
<You’re most welcome! Best of luck with your fish. HTH, Leslie>
Aggression and Compatibility 9/24/05
<Adam J with you.>
Two quick questions.
<Ok go for it.>
We've got a 120 Gal FOWLR with a purple tang,
dwarf zebra lion, H. ornatissimus wrasse, Forcipiger BF, and three or
four small asst. damsels. Water parameters are great. The issue is
between the purple tang and the BF. They got along great when they
were introduced. About a week or two later, the tang started
following around the BF and occasionally nipping.
<The purple tang and others in the Zebrasoma genus can be quite territorial.>
This calmed down quite a bit in a day or two. That was a few weeks ago. All of
a sudden, I noticed this morning that most of the BF's beautiful tail
was shredded! Must have been the tang -- it was also suddenly
chasing around the damsels, too (never seen that before). Could it
just be hungry? It attacked the Nori I put in, and seemed to calm
down a bit. Any suggestions? We love that tang.
<There are many methods suggested to quell fighting amongst tank mates, and you
can find those here on the FAQ’s at WWM, my favorite one is rearranging rockwork
and thus creating a new territory. However these methods are still not
guaranteed and it may be necessary to remove the victim or aggressor
permanently.>
Also, I was wondering if Talbot's damsel was "calm" enough to keep
with two clown gobies (yellow and green) in an 11 gal nano reef (15
lbs of live rock, lots of hiding places). I had a C. hemicyanea in
They’re previously, and had to remove it because it made the gobies
"nervous". Sounds like Talbot's is a more placid fish.
<They are much more social than most of their Damsel cousins, however they too
can be quite territorial at times. To increase your chances of pulling this off
I would add the gobies first (if you don’t already have them) allow them get
established before adding the damsel.>
Thanks,
Dan
<Anytime, Adam J.>
Re: Chrysiptera talboti
Hi guys I just saw your article and think its very informative. But just as
with any fish, sometimes you can get one that is a little bugger.
<Agreed>
I use to have a Talbot's that I have since gotten rid of. He would pester other
fish such as clownfish in my tank and dig non-stop. While I am sure not all
Talbot's are like that I would just like to let everyone be aware of that
caveat. In general great
fish though.
<Thanks for the input/data. Bob Fenner>
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