I recently set up a 20g SW tank, and everything has been going very smoothly. i bought 2 domnio damsels [i know they grow big, i'm returning them once my tank is cycled] but my question is, when i turn the lights on they dart to behind the berlin skimmer and heater. are they doing this because they're just shy? the water quality is to be expected with a new tank, so i went with same hardy fish. it doesn't really matter if they are shy or not, i was just wondering if this is normal. also, the fish seem to lay on their side a little when the light is off. am i secretly torturing the fish, or do they need more places to hide?
shy damsels?
- Thread starter valdok
- Start date
dominoes dont get that big, but they do get agressive...
i'd say you could keep one and return the other once cycled?
or I guess 20g would be a fair size for a pair of clowns? fair, but probably even bigger would be better for them.
good luck!
oh, and by the way, most saltwater fish i've seen run and hide when spooked...
i'd say you could keep one and return the other once cycled?
or I guess 20g would be a fair size for a pair of clowns? fair, but probably even bigger would be better for them.
good luck!
oh, and by the way, most saltwater fish i've seen run and hide when spooked...
Well damsels are fish that lurk near cover, and in many ways they are a little shy without cover, so if you only have a bare tank with a skimmer and heater things are aren't ideal for many fish at all.
What's your final filtration plan - are you going to have a live rock based system, or have your lfs advised something else. If they've told you to cycle the system then add live rock, then they are not to be trusted.
I'd argue with damsels only getting 3.5 inches, I've just been o the Kattegat Aquarium in Denmark, and they had some dominos in their 50000 litre shark tank that looked closer to 6 inches to me.
What's your final filtration plan - are you going to have a live rock based system, or have your lfs advised something else. If they've told you to cycle the system then add live rock, then they are not to be trusted.
I'd argue with damsels only getting 3.5 inches, I've just been o the Kattegat Aquarium in Denmark, and they had some dominos in their 50000 litre shark tank that looked closer to 6 inches to me.
yeah, dominos can get huge in the wild, they stay slighly smaller in closed systems. i returned the dominos and bought a maroon clownfish instead... he's an awesome little bugger, the tank is fully cycled now, and it isn't the way i wanted to go with it, but it's going ok. i still need to buy live rock, i'm contemplating whether or not i should buy it all at once (online) or in small quantities. I'm leaning towards small quantities, since if i put all the LR in there uncured there would be massive amounts of die off and it might kill the fish. a pair of clowns is too much for the tank, unfortunately, especially maroon clowns. Perculas might be ok, a little cramped, but i always liked maroons more. i do have a peice of coral the fish can hide in (it's not a living coral, looks like branch coral and it's obviously fake) so he has someplace to hide when scared. Right now i'm running an Ehiem filter in there, with no protein skimmer. I skim water off the top every few days and that works. Ideally i'd get a protein skimmer, but these things cost money 
and right now paying for classes comes first (Bah!). i took the berlin skimmer off because it got in the way of the lights and it wasn't skimming like it should. i would like the LR to be a filtration device at some point, not anywhere in the near future, but it's always been kind of a dream of mine to have a thick bed of sand and just LR to filter. I'll let you all know when i get the LR and tell you how the maroon is doin'.
and right now paying for classes comes first (Bah!). i took the berlin skimmer off because it got in the way of the lights and it wasn't skimming like it should. i would like the LR to be a filtration device at some point, not anywhere in the near future, but it's always been kind of a dream of mine to have a thick bed of sand and just LR to filter. I'll let you all know when i get the LR and tell you how the maroon is doin'.As your tank is only a 20 I think you should just buy the LR piece by piece from an LFS near you. You're not buying enough online for the cost saving to be worth it. The advantages of buying locally are it's going to likely have less die off, you see what you're getting therefore you get shapes sizes andfauna you want. I frequently plead with my LFS for discount, trade in deals, 2nd hand stuff and such - I suggest you try this too!