Damsels - Anemonefish Goldbelly DamselsPhoto © Animal-World courtesy David BroughDamsels are very colorful, but are also very hardy and adapt easily to captivity.Anemonefish - Damsels Contents Because they are so hardy and they are inexpensive, damselfish are often used to "break-in" new aquariums to establish the nitrification cycle. It takes about one fish for every 10 gallons of water to do this. Damsels belong to the same family as clownfish but usually the two are separated into anemonefish (clownfish), and damselfish. Some damsels live in a comensal relationship with anemones as do the clownfish. This means they live together, with both the damsel and the anemone benefiting from each others' company. Damsels can be kept in an aquarium with or without an anemone but if you try to keep an anemone you should make sure and meet its special needs. Most of the fish in the family Pomacentridae can become territorial (aggressive) when they get older. Among the exceptions to this are the Green Chromis, the Blue reef chromis, and the skunk clown. Damselfish are known to live about 10 years in captivity and 20 years in their natural habitats. For more Information on keeping marine fish see:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genus: Abudefduf | |
| Sergeant Major | |
|---|---|
![]() Abudefduf saxatilis | |
| Genus: Chromis | |
| Black-bar Chromis | Blue-green Chromis |
|---|---|
![]() Chromis retrofasciata | ![]() Chromis viridis |
| Yellowtail Blue Damsel | |
![]() Chrysiptera parasema | |
| Genus: Chrysiptera | |
| Azure Demoiselle | Blue Devil Damsel |
|---|---|
![]() Chrysiptera hemicyanea | ![]() Chrysiptera cyanea |
| Canary Damsel | Fiji Blue Devil Damselfish |
![]() Chrysiptera galba | ![]() Chrysiptera taupou |
| Rolland's Demoiselle | Starck's Demoiselle |
![]() Chrysiptera rollandi | ![]() Chrysiptera starcki |
| Talbot's Damsel | |
![]() Chrysiptera talboti | |
| Genus: Dascyllus | |
| Domino Damsel | Four-striped Damsel |
|---|---|
![]() Dascyllus trimaculatus | ![]() Dascyllus melanurus |
| Striped Damsel | Three Striped Damsel |
![]() Dascyllus carneus | ![]() Dascyllus aruanus |
| Genus: Neoglyphidodon | |
| Black-and-gold Chromis | Neon Velvet Damsel |
|---|---|
![]() Neoglyphidodon nigroris | ![]() Neoglyphidodon oxyodon |
| Genus: Pomacentris | |
| Goldbelly Damsel | |
|---|---|
![]() Pomacentrus auriventris | |
Care and feeding: In captivity these fish will eat almost everything that is offered and should be fed everything like live foods (brine shrimp), algae, frozen foods, and flakes. Some damsels are herbivores so vegetarian foods should be included in the mix.
Anemones: Anemones need lots of light (2 to 5 watts per gallon) preferably with some blue spectrum provided by actinic light bulbs or higher temperature metal halide lighting. In nature many clownfish will live with the same anemone. Only one clown will be a dominant female and the rest will be male. Usually in the aquarium though, there will be only one pair per anemone.
For information on which anemones should be purchased,
please read the section on Anemones.
References Fautin, D. G. and Allen, Dr. G.R. , Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones, Voyageur Press, 1994
|
|
|||||
|
International Index Pages |
|||||
| Join Dr. Jungle on Facebook - People Talking About Their Pets | |||||