Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've got a blue spotted puffer and a yellow tail damsel in my 29 gallon tank right now, and I'm considering adding another fish. My main concern is how the damsel will react - it's generally pretty shy, but when I had a sixline wrasse in the tank, it did seem to pick on it a bit. The puffer and damsel coexist just fine, though. If I do get another fish, I'm not sure what would be the best choice in terms of temperament. Since the damsel seems to get along with the puffer, maybe something similar would work? I recall reading that adding a pair of clownfish wouldn't be a good idea - is that right? Would rearranging the tank and creating new territories help? I'm not looking to get rid of the damsel, as I don't know anyone who could take it and I don't want it to end up in a pet store. I'm okay with just keeping the two I have if need be. And just to confirm, two puffers or tobies wouldn't be a good idea in a tank this size, right? I saw a beautiful leopard puffer recently, only about 2 inches long.

I've found that damsels can be a bit of a gamble when it comes to compatibility. One thing you could try is re-arranging the tank to create some new territories, see if that helps ease any tension. Do you have a sump on your setup? If so, you could consider temporarily relocating the damsel there while a new fish settles in, might make the transition smoother.

I recently made a purchase, and I'm not entirely sure if my thought process will pan out. I picked up two baby maroon clowns, one's about an inch in length, and the other's slightly larger. My reasoning was that they'd be aggressive enough to coexist with the damsel, and with two of them, the aggression would be more evenly distributed. I plan on rearranging the tank tonight - adding more rocks and some additional macro algae. Given the tank's 29-gallon capacity, I'm concerned that the two maroons might become too much once they grow. I know mixing clowns and damsels isn't typically recommended, but the guy at my LFS thought my approach was feasible. The larger maroon is currently asserting dominance over the smaller one, but it appears to be normal territorial behavior. So far, my established damsel has been keeping a low profile - she chased the smaller maroon out of her cave once, but that's been the extent of it. My other concern is that I don't want the smaller maroon to be bullied by both the damsel and the larger maroon.

I recently added a pair of percs to my son's nano tank with a blue devil already in there, and it took about 20 minutes for the damsel to learn its place. Now they all get along just fine. I'm not surprised to hear that your larger maroon is asserting dominance over the smaller one - that's typical behavior for clowns, and the larger one will likely become the female of the pair. This kind of behavior will continue even when they're paired off, but it's completely normal. As for your yellow tail damsel, I think you're right to be cautious, but it's also one of the more laid-back damsels out there, so I wouldn't worry too much.