Kupang Damsels....to add or not to add

[Willbiker]

I have an 170 gallon tank which currently has just a single yellow tang in it and 2x 2 inch clowns. I currently have 3 green chromis and 4 yellow belly kupang damsels in QT which look absolutely fantastic however I have read many horror stories about damels and it has made me question whether I should add these fish. Once in they will be a pain to get out....but I love them!

Who here has kupang damsels with success? Should I add them to my DT or not? Maybe just add 1 or 2? What do you think?

Here is my tank, not a huge amount of rock work for hiding...or should I be ok?

 

[NJDragonet]

they will kill the chormis I cannot say for sure because every fish is different but you can put then in a mini aquabox and see how they will react to the chormis if they do not care you can add them if they do you can add them and take out the chormis or leave the chormis and return the damsels it is really give or take

 

[Mattg023]

I added a trio of azure damsels (kupang) and they are awesome. Love them. Super peaceful in my tank.

 

[Willbiker]

I picked up the damels and chromis together from a guy off ebay. They have been cohabiting together so he says and are currently in QT together without any obvious issues. They seem to just chase each other a little..

I should have researched the damsels a little better but went for the chromis and the damsels were included. I can easily move them on but they look epic! Head says move them on, heart says try it :S I thought I would get some expert opinions and ask you guys

 

[Willbiker]

What else do you have in your tanks and what size? Thanks!

 

[Larry L]

I have a trio of Kupang damsels in an 80 gallon tank along with ORA lemon damsels, Talbot's damsel, a foxface, and a flame angel. They bicker amongst themselves a little and sometimes chase around but never bother their other tankmates. I think the trick is to make sure you have plenty of places in the rockwork where they can stake out territories and hide from each other if needed. Separate rock bommies work really well for them to claim as territory, as opposed to a single rock wall. Also helps to have visual cues that divide up territory like tall branching corals.

 

[Algaewarrior]

I would rather have a Wutang damsel

 

[Willbiker]

I have a trio of Kupang damsels in an 80 gallon tank along with ORA lemon damsels, Talbot's damsel, a foxface, and a flame angel. They bicker amongst themselves a little and sometimes chase around but never bother their other tankmates. I think the trick is to make sure you have plenty of places in the rockwork where they can stake out territories and hide from each other if needed. Separate rock bommies work really well for them to claim as territory, as opposed to a single rock wall. Also helps to have visual cues that divide up territory like tall branching corals.

Interesting and good to hear. I have a lot more rock in my sump, I could add a few pieces each side for them to claim. Do they need caves or just socks to be near?

 

[Mattg023]

What else do you have in your tanks and what size? Thanks!

I have a trio in a 75 gallon with clownfish pair, royal gramma, melanarus wrasse, leopard wrasse, coral beauty, tomini tang. And they are extremely timid and wonderful additions to a reef tank. They really make it look like a more natural reef environment. In regards to the chromis, I don’t have any experience with them. But I went with azure instead of chromis and have no regrets

 

[Willbiker]

Interesting and good to hear. I have a lot more rock in my sump, I could add a few pieces each side for them to claim. Do they need caves or just socks to be near?

ROCKS NOT SOCKS HAHA!

 

[Mattg023]

I also have 80 Lbs of live rock in my tank. So there’s plenty of territory for everyone

 

[Willbiker]

Thanks matt...another success story. I think there must be more successes than failures

 

[ca1ore]

Most of the Chrysiptera damsels are fine. Add them as a group and provide places for them to establish their micro territories. I have 60 odd damsels in my 450. About five azure’s. They do bicker amongst themselves, but that’s about it.

 

[Willbiker]

Most of the Chrysiptera damsels are fine. Add them as a group and provide places for them to establish their micro territories. I have 60 odd damsels in my 450. About five azure’s. They do bicker amongst themselves, but that’s about it.

Thanks ca1ore. If you take a look at the pic I added to the first post...Do I need to add more rockwork? I'm not sure if I have enough or not