Pink Smith Damsel Behavior

[RubyU235]

Hi all,

No question here, I really just wanted to share.

I have had two pink smiths damsels in my tank for well over a year now. They have been an excellent addition to the tank and have mostly behaved themselves. The tang gang keeps them in check…

Recently, I upgraded my frag rack to multi tiered set. Previously it was a 3D printed single level sheet that I made which worked until my Zoas outgrew it. The damsel always hovered around it.

When I put the new rack in I transferred everything to it and then about a month later it was time to frag again so I took everything out and went to propagating.

When I put everything back, I put like specimens together and carried on. I had just gotten a shipment from WWC. In that shipment was a Grand Master Krakatoa.

The next day I started noticing some of my plugs were out of place… one on the sand, another laying outside the plug hole next to/on top of another frag plug. I didn’t think anything of it, thought an urchin might have done it… nope.

I put the frag plugs back where they should go and what do I watch? The damsel swims over to the plug and tail whips it out into the sand. The audacity. A week later it whipped the GMKs into the sand and was eaten overnight by sand critters.

I’m not designing and 3D printing plug keepers to put into the rack.

Here they are looking smug…

 

[Joj]

Wow - interesting. I had 3 pink smith's before...now down to 1 left. Still love it though as it's an unusual color fish. Keeps to itself and fiends off a cloudy damsel, 3 strip damsels, and yellow tail damsel.

 

[argiBK]

Pink Smiths are great damsels, but like all damsels they get territorial when they reach breeding age.

Had 4 juveniles, ended up with a pair that mostly minded their own business, but wouldn’t let any fish come within 6 inches of their nesting site. They also hated my old Rhomboid wrasse and caused him to jump while I was doing a WC, so they had to go. Can’t have a $4 fish killing a $200 fish, lol.