Description
Blue Damsels are considered an easy, beginner fish. They are hardy, small, and accepting of most food delivery methods.
Quick Stats:
| Care Level |
Easy |
| Temperament |
Semi Aggressive |
| Diet |
Omnivore |
| Reef Compatibility |
Yes |
| Min Tank Size |
30 gallons |
Max Size
|
Approx. 3" |
Diet
Aquarium kept Blue Damsels readily eat most foods including flakes, pellets, frozen preparations like mysis, plankton, brine, live foods, and small amounts of algae. In the wild, they are observed to eat plankton, tunicates, and copepods.
Here at Aqua SD, we feed a mixture of Hikari Mysis Shrimp enriched in Selcon and Brightwell Garlic Power, a variation of pellets, Selcon enriched live brine, and small pieces of algae. In general, we recommend feeding vitamin enriched shrimp and providing several food options.
We also recommend LRS Reef Frenzy and Reef Frenzy Nano for a high quality diverse feed.
Reef Compatibility and Temperament
The Blue Damsel is regarded as reef safe. They are not known to predate on coral or most invertebrates.
Blue damsels are generally regarded as peaceful, but territorial. In the wild, they inhabit branching coral and/or live among the rubble of their shallow habitats. In a home aquarium it is best to provide them ample live rock to establish their territories.
Because they display high levels of territorialism, it is best to introduce them last to mitigate aggression. This technique has good success because it allows previous fish additions to establish their territories and places this feisty fish at the bottom of the fish hierarchy.
It is best to pair this fish with other similar sized, semi-aggressive or larger fish such as
Bottom dwelling fish tend to be good tank mates for Blue Damsel as they don’t often occupy the same tank level as each other. In general, it is best to avoid docile, slow swimming fish. If kept in mated pairs, the Blue Damsel is known to display higher levels of territorialism and aggression.
Size, Lifespan, and Minimum Tank Size
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Blue Damsels have been recorded to reach sizes of 2.5 inches to 3 inches.
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They usually display lifespans of 5+ years in captivity.
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The minimum recommended size for Blue Damsels is 30 gallons. Although small, their territorialism makes them unsuitable tankmates for smaller aquariums.
Water Parameters
The standard recommended parameters for mixed reefs applies to the Blue Damsel.
Salinity: 1.020-1.025 s.g.
Temperature: 74ºF to 80ºF or 24ºC to 27ºC
Alkalinity: 8-12 dKh
pH: 8.1 to 8.4
Origin
Chrysiptera cyanea can be found widely in the Indo-Pacific region. They inhabit lagoons and reef flats and other shallow habitats where many use the rubble and rock to branching coral like Acropora as shelter.
Family
Blue Damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea) belong to the family of Pomacentridae. Pomacentridae’s two subfamilies, Chrominae and Pomacentrinae contain most of the aquarium hobby species. Some common genera available for purchase in the Chrominae subfamily include Chromis and Dascyllus. The Pomacentrinae subfamily additionally contains Amphiprion, which includes clownfish, Chrysiptera, Abudefduf, Pomacentrus among others.
Fun fact: Aqua SD’s state fish (California) hails from this family, the glorious Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicunda).
Sexual Dimorphism
Chrysiptera cyanea females are all blue. The males often display yellow coloration around the mouth and their tails. The males are often sold as Orange Tail Blue Damselfish.
Common Names
Blue Demosille, Blue Devil Damselfish, Sapphire Damselfish, Orange Tail Blue Damselfish (Male), Cornflower Sergeant-Major
