Adding Chromis

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shua71

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2009
933
0
46
Los Angeles
Hey Guys. I currently have a super aggressive damsel in my 20 gallon, it pretty much tries to kill anything put in the tank. If I put a school of green chromis, (6-9) would this prevent the damsel from attacking them?
And also 2 of my cleaner shrimps went MIA.. Didn't add any new live rock either. Any idea why they would've gone missing?
 
I think your tank might be a bit small for one damsel much less a school of chromis. At least tell us it's a 20L.

If you must, I guess the school idea might work.

I would seriously consider some different fish altogether. Just my opinion though, I am certainly no expert.
 
well id have to agree with adjusting your stock. In all honesty, a 20 gallon tank is just not going to be able to support very many fish. Marine animals exspecially a school of 6-9 chromis is going to require some swimming room. Without this the chromis will turn on themselves. Id take the damsel back to the store and get yourself a pair of clows or something, and then you may be able to add a couple firefish or some smaller gobies. Again, it sucks saying this but thats about all that will fit in the tank.

as for the shrimp. Ive noticed that spot feeding them some squid chunks, go a long way in keeping them alive. the fish you have, do not use the skunks as cleaners, so the skunks are left fending for themselves on food. Another option could be your damsel is snacking on them. its unlikely that this would be the cause, but you can never rule it out.
 
Agreed, most chromis require 30gal by themselves a school requires much more, I would say bare minimum 50-75gal. As for the damsel sorry to say but there is nothing you can do, except put a bigger fish or remove him. Sometimes rearanging the tank (like moving the live rock around just before adding new fish) can help but thats not a definite either.
 
Well I'm actually in a dorm right now so we all know the size limitations :irked:
I was actually just wondering if a school would prevent aggression from the damsel? I have a 40 at home and will upgrade it to it when I'm out of school. And the shrimps have been missing for weeks... no body or anything left of it? Could a damsel have really killed and eaten them?
 
damsels are one of the most agressive fish you can add, so no nothing will stop them from being agressive haha, and yes its entirely possible your damsel at the shrimp, though its also possible they have dissapeared into your rocks.
 
I find a lot of the time, that shrimp just plain die due to water conditions. Being an invertabrate there are chemicals that can lead to deaths. We dont even know the history of your tank, yet alone what type of water your using. There are a lot of things that "could be" but i would speculate that the shrimp died due to water. Id say that damsel needs to go. if your only allowed so many gallons, it makes no sense to buy fish that should be in there, in the hopes that an upgrade will soon follow. Lets face it, were all human, and S*** happens, whos to say your even going to be able to upgrade. I like to see everybody stock with what they can now, and worry about then, then!!
 
get a qt tank, put the damsel in that for awhile.

introduce the new fish you want into the tank and let them be for about a week then add back the damsel to the tank.

its just a territorial issue. once your damsel becomes un-familiarized with the main tank he'll become less aggressive because its like its a new tank that already has inhabitants in it.

but keep in mind that damsel's are still aggressive fish.
 
sweeTang21;4080801; said:
I find a lot of the time, that shrimp just plain die due to water conditions. Being an invertabrate there are chemicals that can lead to deaths. We dont even know the history of your tank, yet alone what type of water your using. There are a lot of things that "could be" but i would speculate that the shrimp died due to water. Id say that damsel needs to go. if your only allowed so many gallons, it makes no sense to buy fish that should be in there, in the hopes that an upgrade will soon follow. Lets face it, were all human, and S*** happens, whos to say your even going to be able to upgrade. I like to see everybody stock with what they can now, and worry about then, then!!
Click to expand...

Thats no fun.
 
sell the damsel?

seems like the obvious choice to me...
 
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