Shredded pectoral fin

[Reefkeeper]

I just noticed that one of my damsels pectorals fins looks like it was ripped a bit. The other two fish in the tank are suddenly becoming much more aggressive to him and although he is having no trouble swimming, I am trying to figure out what to do with him. He had been the aggressor which is why I find it so interesting that he is the one who was bit.

Traditionally I would have tossed him into another one of my tanks or placed him in a cordoned off area. Unfortunately I only have this 10 gallon tank here and dont have a fuge.

Any ideas? Its only a Blue damsel but I dont like losing anything even cheap fish..plus its my wife's favorite fish. Apparently its being beaten up by a yellow tail and a three line damsel.

[Dannyboy]

Apparently its being beaten up by a yellow tail and a three line damsel. Yeah, I wonder what would cause damsels to fight?:confused:

[MarLooney]

in case you're wondering what he's hinting at...

damsels are aggressive to begin with, so bad choice there as a nano reefer. furthermore, three of 'em on a 10gal w/ no fuge... even bigger mistake there. you gotta get rid of him, or better yet, atleast two of 'em... maybe the two that aren't your "wife's favorite fish."

LiveAquaria's list of Nano Fish (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=2124)
i'd have to disagree w/ all the clown gobies for the fact that they almost always do better in large tanks w/ large Acro colonies & plenty of natural foods.
the Catalina Goby is at high risk of dying if you do not have perfectly stable temp and the lower the better, 68-75°F according to the site... which is not a good temp for a reef tank.
the firefish are at a high risk of jumping if they get freaked out and don't have enough space to hide.
*notice no damsels on the list ;).

[Reefkeeper]

/sarcasm/ No really? I would never have known that Damsels are considered to be aggressive. /sarcasm/

As I said, these were starter fish to push the cycle even more. They are not going to be the permanent residents of the tank but give a bit of color and movement during an otherwise unstable period. I would rather put in a few $3 fish than $40 fish when the tank is still in a state of flux.

My point about which one was beating him up is because the yellow tails are considered to be less aggressive than the other two species, yet it appears that in this scenario that he is the key aggressor. It had nothing to do with the fact that gee, a damsel is being aggressive.

My issue was more of a way to cordone off the injured fish when I dont have an extra tank/fuge up and running.

Another point is that if you do a species overload of more aggressive species you can actually diminish their aggressive tendencies. Its done in stores all the time and people have used it successfully for many years. For years it was the preferred method of keeping more ornary species from killing each other.

I may not have been on this forum for that long but I have many many many years of experience. Most of my issues that I am running into recently are more about the fact that I took a few year hiatus when I moved from Florida to here for law school. I didnt stay on top of the hobby and so there have been a number of changes, in terms of lighting of choice, filtration methods, and the number and species of corals people are attempting.

[socalkris29]

If your cycle's complete, you could try to get 2 of them out (like suggested). They're a b$tch to catch though. I know you probably already know this.

If you can get the blue one (I have one too in a sump and he's pretty cool), maybe you could put him in a breeder box (or some other type of acrylic box that could hang onto the side of the tank) temporarily until you get your situation figured out.

When I moved here from NC (5 day trip in a U-haul :eek: ) I had 2 of my Clark clowns in a small acrylic box w/lid -- like the ones you see for sale for land (hermit) crabs/mice, etc. There are slits in the cover so the water gets into the box. Then I put the box into the main tank I used to transport my other fish. All connected to a power inverter through the truck... You can find these at Petsmart/Petco I bet.

One of the newer methods of cycling tanks omits the use of fish altogether by using live rock to get the bacteria going. I've done this a few times now and it takes no longer than the older fish method.

Stick around! The people on this forum are really cool and very helpful (I just found this site a few weeks ago...).

Cheers,
Kristin