Yellow-Tail Blue Damsel

Chromis xanthurus

A very cute little fish is hardy as anything. They are typical damsels in that they will stick to a small territory and defend it, but less aggressive than other related blue damsels, such as my Fiji sunshine damsel who lives in my reef tank. Damsels should still only be put together with caution, as some are worse than others, and if there is an incompatibility issue, they are close to impossible to catch.

Trust me, I know; when I bought my 55gal tank used, it came with the damsel, and I only was able to get him out when the time came to set up my 60gal tank. He currently is actually in the octopus tank--I was actually *hoping* he would get killed as a feeder, and he is still very much alive and kicking. Oh well, he is a fun little guy, so I don't mind keeping him around as a pet, since he doesn't disturbe my octopus. As I said from the beginning, these guys are tough as nails, I'd be surprised if they ever *do* die, LOL.

But in all seriousness though, many people do use them for cycling, which I'm still not a fan of, because even these tough little fish can sometimes suffer as a result. On this site, I advocate the fishless method of cycling with live rock and shrimp.