Yellowtail Blue Damsel FOTM - October '08

FOTM October 2008 – Yellowtail Damselfish

Well, Since Casey stole my thunder with the rare and exciting FOTM for September ( I had a Leopard Wrasse first :disappoin), I figured I'd post an even more rare and even more exciting FOTM for October – The Yellowtail Damselfish.

Ok, so not so rare and exciting, I admit. But, as colder weather approaches, the outdoor activities are shifted indoors, and many hobbyists will set up new saltwater tanks in the fall and winter months. As part of the initial cycling process, many choose the tried and true "toss a damsel in there" approach when the nitrite levels drop. Sure a hunk of rotting shrimp would provide a good bioload to start, but a damsel will provide a small steady supply of bioload. It's also more fun to watch a damsel swim around than look at a piece of rotting shrimp :laughings. That's the exciting part about them, I guess.

A good choice for a cycling a tank is ONE yellowtail damsel. Not two, not three, just one. A yellowtail damselfish is generally the least aggressive member of the damselfish family, but with more than one in a tank, territorial aggression is more common. They are brightly colored, hardy, easy to care for, reef safe, don't need more than a 30 gallon aquarium, and can be bought for about $4 to $5. They also like to have a decent amount of live rock with hiding places.

I won't bother to describe the colors, since a picture is worth a thousand words.
Here's the best one I can get of mine:




The science part: (Compliments of Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums)
Family: Pomacentridae
Genus/Species: Chrysiptera parasema
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Diet: Omnivorous
Size: 2-14 inches (typically max of 3 inches in captivity, but found larger in the wild)
PH: 8.1 – 8.4
Temp: 74-82

 

I just bought my first fish yesterday and it's a Yellowtail.
He's been out of the rocks a couple of times. The guy at the LFS thought it was weird that I was only buying one for a 180G tank. True it would be a slow cycle, but like you said territorial aggression is something I was keeping in mind.
Rare or not I think it's a beautiful fish.

 

VERY NICE BOGIE! Well said! Damsels are way underrated! Colorful always moving, playful, ok sometimes the can be "Satan's Spawn", but all in all, a good multi purpose fish!

Good Job my friend! Karma




p.s. I smell a badge a'comin your way...Mr Contributor!

 

its odd when i first go into the hobby i used to like all the exotic fish like morish idol and triggers. ok i still like moorish idols lol. but anyway now im starting to see the beauty of the more common fish.

 

Nice work on FOTM bogie i have bin wanting to get one of these to add to my tank. :thumbs_up

 

My yellowtail damsel is a b%#$ to my velvet damsel! I totally don't believe this "least aggressive" nonsense :-/

 

Size: 2-14 inches Man a 14 incher in one of these could be a demon spawn. LOL Good job.

 

The yellowtail is known to be generally less agressive than other types of damsels.
Of course a few here and there can be down right nasty and territorial, depending on the tank environment including, tank size, amount of rockwork and hiding places, tank mates, etc... Yours might be fine with most all other fish, but he just might have it out for your velvet damsel in his territory. Maybe they need more space or those two individuals are just incompatible :-/?
Fish can have individual personalities just as humans or dogs do.
You might come across a peaceful natured domino or three striped damsel once in a while, but that doesn't mean most of them are considered peaceful.

Thanks guys and Linda.

 

read the first line of my sig lol