Yellow tailed damsel attacking my new Royal gramma

[lilly.hall]

I just bought my dream fish today, a Royal gramma. But unfortunately one of my yellowtailed damsels went absolutely livid when it went into the tank. The Royal grammas tail is now slightly damaged and they won’t stop fighting. How do I make this stop??

 

[vtecintegra]

Remove the damsel.

 

[lilly.hall]

Remove the damsel.

What should I do with it? I’m not sure my lfs will take it back.

 

[Goaway]

Call lfs and ask if they will offer store credit.

Or was damsel bought from petco? They wont do anything but take freebies.

Oh last time I did that, petco sales the freebies as $dollar donations to help shelters. I don't know if that is a thing anymore.

 

[vtecintegra]

What should I do with it? I’m not sure my lfs will take it back.

Try to give it back where it came from. Don't bother asking for any credit. It's not worth anything. Or try to give it to someone close by. Worse case, euthanize with clove oil. I had one I gave back. I'll never buy another damsel.

 

[wtdenk]

I just bought my dream fish today, a Royal gramma. But unfortunately one of my yellowtailed damsels went absolutely livid when it went into the tank. The Royal grammas tail is now slightly damaged and they won’t stop fighting. How do I make this stop??

Can you try putting the damsel in a temporary quarantine tank giving the RG time to establish itself before reintroducing the damsel?

 

[i cant think]

Can you try putting the damsel in a temporary quarantine tank giving the RG time to establish itself before reintroducing the damsel?

+1 to this, try separate the damsel first then rescape the tank (You want absolutely no old territories) then once the RG is established reintroduce the damsel.

 

[Waters]

If you have a sump, I would put him in there and maybe try reintroducing in a couple of weeks.

 

[nereefpat]

What's the tank size?

 

[bruno3047]

I just bought my dream fish today, a Royal gramma. But unfortunately one of my yellowtailed damsels went absolutely livid when it went into the tank. The Royal grammas tail is now slightly damaged and they won’t stop fighting. How do I make this stop??

You can’t. The yellowtail blue damsel is a killer. I would remove him and give the gramma a chance to adjust. Otherwise, you could probably say goodbye to the gramma.

 

[JumboShrimp]

What size tank?

 

[bnord]

+1 to this, try separate the damsel first then rescape the tank (You want absolutely no old territories) then once the RG is established reintroduce the damsel.

I would catch and return (for free) to the LFS as your surest bet - 2nd is to do the above, place in a holding tank and rearrange the rocks and let the gramma settle in - they are among my favorites too!

anyone see the cuban basslets on the Biota site? oh my...

 

[bruno3047]

If you don’t have a separate tank or place to put the damsel, I would mix 10 gallons of water, put the damsel in a 1 gallon container, and change at least 50% of the water every day, if not 100 %. Feed him sparingly, live food if possible. Use tank water for the damsel, and replace the tank water with your new water.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

If you don’t have a separate tank or place to put the damsel, I would mix 10 gallons of water, put the damsel in a 1 gallon container, and change at least 50% of the water every day, if not 100 %. Feed him sparingly, live food if possible. Use tank water for the damsel, and replace the tank water with your new water.

What are you thinking this will accomplish?

Water changes do about nothing for aggression and 50-100% water changes daily are ill advised, feeding it sparingly will also only Increase aggression.

I'm quite confused as to the logic here.

 

[bruno3047]

What are you thinking this will accomplish?

Water changes do about nothing for aggression and 50-100% water changes daily are ill advised, feeding it sparingly will also only Increase aggression.

I'm quite confused as to the logic here.

The idea is to get that damsel out of the tank so the gramma has a chance to establish itself. Since the OP doesn’t have a QT, the idea is to put the damsel in a small container and keep changing the water so it doesn’t succumb to ammonia poisoning.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

The idea is to get that damsel out of the tank so the gramma has a chance to establish itself. Since the OP doesn’t have a QT, the idea is to put the damsel in a small container and keep changing the water so it doesn’t succumb to ammonia poisoning.

Gotcha! I was reading that as changing the water in the display daily and I'm like... WHAT???


Given the fish and specifically that they are colored up way too similar + it's a YT Damsel, the chances of a timeout working are very slim. Even if the Gramma gets settled, chances are upon reintroduction the damsel will take back over the entire tank and relegate the grandma into a small hole.

 

[bruno3047]

Gotcha! I was reading that as changing the water in the display daily and I'm like... WHAT???


Given the fish and specifically that they are colored up way too similar + it's a YT Damsel, the chances of a timeout working are very slim. Even if the Gramma gets settled, chances are upon reintroduction the damsel will take back over the entire tank and relegate the grandma into a small hole.

There’s a chance that might happen, but you could never tell. On the other hand, what are his alternatives?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

There’s a chance that might happen, but you could never tell. On the other hand, what are his alternatives?

Easy. Get rid of the generally poor tempered fish being Aggressive to the Dream Fish.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Damsels are a swimming nightmare. A fish you learn to love and soon hate. There are exceptions, but few