Help! Damsel drops dead when sees a specific damsel

[Stacyvamp]

Hello everyone! I have a question about two damsel fish I have. My three striped damsel fish seems to always drop and swim sideways whenever he interacts with my Yellow tail damsel. Whenever he is near, he just seems to stop moving fins and allow himself to turn sideways and start sinking.... As soon as the yellow tail damsel swims away, the three striped damsel comes back to normal within a second. Swims around like nothing is wrong, until he meets the yellow tail again...i have 4 other fish and he doesn't act that way with anyone else. yesterday I caught him twitching like almost having a seizure for no reason, lasted a few seconds and then everything was fine. Should I be worried?
Thanks in advance

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Any chance of a video of the fish?
If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube.

If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

 

[Stacyvamp]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Any chance of a video of the fish?
If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube.

If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

https://www.facebook.com/100005040213073/posts/1719548414889816

I attached it. Please help. If you can also see, the striped damsel started to have some kind of rash on one side...what can it be??

 

[Stacyvamp]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Any chance of a video of the fish?
If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube.

If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

Hi and welcome to the forum

Any chance of a video of the fish?
If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube.

If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

 

[Colin_T]

Don't take this the wrong way but whoever let you buy those fish and put them together is not your friend. You have a heap of damselfish and all damselfish are territorial. As they mature the fighting will get worse.

--------------------
Three clownfish is bad. They pair up and two of them will bully the third. You need to remove the third fish but make sure you get rid of the one that is subordinate.

--------------------
The black & white striped fish is a white tail humbug damsel. There is also a black tail humbug damsel that has a black tail instead of white. Both species are extremely territorial.

The humbug damsel is bullying the yellow tail damsel and trying to intimidate it.

The damage to the side of the humbug damsel is probably from fighting.
Get rid of this fish.

--------------------
You have a neon devil/ blue streak damsel (Abudefduf oxyodon), and while they are pretty when young, they are a problem when they mature. Get rid of this fish.

--------------------
Keep the six line wrasse, 2 anemone fish (clownfish) and the yellow tail damsel. Get rid of the other damsels and spare anemone fish.

--------------------
How long has the tank been set up for?
Was the tank/ filter cycled before you added fish?

 

[Stacyvamp]

Don't take this the wrong way but whoever let you buy those fish and put them together is not your friend. You have a heap of damselfish and all damselfish are territorial. As they mature the fighting will get worse.

--------------------
Three clownfish is bad. They pair up and two of them will bully the third. You need to remove the third fish but make sure you get rid of the one that is subordinate.

--------------------
The black & white striped fish is a white tail humbug damsel. There is also a black tail humbug damsel that has a black tail instead of white. Both species are extremely territorial.

The humbug damsel is bullying the yellow tail damsel and trying to intimidate it.

The damage to the side of the humbug damsel is probably from fighting.
Get rid of this fish.

--------------------
You have a neon devil/ blue streak damsel (Abudefduf oxyodon), and while they are pretty when young, they are a problem when they mature. Get rid of this fish.

--------------------
Keep the six line wrasse, 2 anemone fish (clownfish) and the yellow tail damsel. Get rid of the other damsels and spare anemone fish.

--------------------
How long has the tank been set up for?
Was the tank/ filter cycled before you added fish?

Oh wow.... Are you sure about all this? I've never seen them fight that hard. No biting, just chasing around the tank for a few seconds that's it...can I use a tank divider or something? Instead of giving them all away?

 

[Stacyvamp]

And honestly...i am very new at this and i was dumb enough to listen to the fish store..... I didn't let my tank cycle and i just put fish in....it's been almost three weeks.... I did my research and i know now that the tank needs to cycle first prior to adding fish...... I don't really know what I can do at this point....

 

[Colin_T]

Are you sure about all this?

Yes. They are bullying and intimidating each other currently, but the fighting will get worse in a few months when they are mature.

A divider won't work because the tank is small and confining the fish into little areas will simply stress them. And having other fish trying to kill them, separated only by a piece of glass or Perspex, doesn't reduce the stress at all.

---------------------
If you reduce feeding to a couple of times a week, and monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels, the fish might survive the cycling process.

The fact it's been nearly 3 weeks would suggest you are hopefully half way through the cycle and the ammonia levels have gone up and come down. If this is the case, then the fish should be ok. However, you will need to monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a big (80-90%) water change if the levels go up above 0ppm. When the tank has finished cycling, you can do a 75% water change every couple of weeks.

If you are using artificial marine salts, you need to make the salt water up 24 hours (and aerate it) before you use it so you can get the salinity correct and so all the minerals are completely dissolved in the water.

If you are using natural sea water from the ocean, get it up to tank temperature and then water change the tank.

Try to increase the aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen levels in the water.

---------------------
You can add some beneficial filter bacteria. It is sold as a liquid in bottles at most pet shops. Get one for marine tanks and add a double dose every day for a week, then pour the rest in the tank. Try to add the bacteria near the filter intake so it gets drawn into the filter where it lives.

If you can find some Caulerpa (marine algae), it usually does well in aquariums and can use some of the ammonia and nitrite and make the water safer for the fish. Bubble Caulerpa and Feather Caulerpa are two types that do well.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

 

[Stacyvamp]

Yes. They are bullying and intimidating each other currently, but the fighting will get worse in a few months when they are mature.

A divider won't work because the tank is small and confining the fish into little areas will simply stress them. And having other fish trying to kill them, separated only by a piece of glass or Perspex, doesn't reduce the stress at all.

---------------------
If you reduce feeding to a couple of times a week, and monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels, the fish might survive the cycling process.

The fact it's been nearly 3 weeks would suggest you are hopefully half way through the cycle and the ammonia levels have gone up and come down. If this is the case, then the fish should be ok. However, you will need to monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a big (80-90%) water change if the levels go up above 0ppm. When the tank has finished cycling, you can do a 75% water change every couple of weeks.

If you are using artificial marine salts, you need to make the salt water up 24 hours (and aerate it) before you use it so you can get the salinity correct and so all the minerals are completely dissolved in the water.

If you are using natural sea water from the ocean, get it up to tank temperature and then water change the tank.

Try to increase the aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen levels in the water.

---------------------
You can add some beneficial filter bacteria. It is sold as a liquid in bottles at most pet shops. Get one for marine tanks and add a double dose every day for a week, then pour the rest in the tank. Try to add the bacteria near the filter intake so it gets drawn into the filter where it lives.

If you can find some Caulerpa (marine algae), it usually does well in aquariums and can use some of the ammonia and nitrite and make the water safer for the fish. Bubble Caulerpa and Feather Caulerpa are two types that do well.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Thank you so much for all the info!!!!!!!