Yellowtail Damselfish

 Quick Care Facts

• Care Level: Easy   • Temperament: Semi-aggressive   • Maximum Size: 3"
• Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons   • Water Conditions: 74-82° F, dKH 8-12, sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4
• Diet: Omnivore   • Origin: Indo-Pacific
• Family: Pomacentridae   • Species: Damselfish   • Aquarium Type: Reef Compatible

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The Yellowtail Damsel is a very popular species within the marine aquarium hobby, as it has very attractive coloration, is very hardy, easy to keep in most aquarium environments and is very inexpensive. While this is a very popular fish with beginning marine aquarists, it is also popular with advanced aquarists as it is an excellent schooling fish and can add a lot of color and movement to large aquariums and reef aquariums. The Yellowtail Damselfish is also very popular because its temperament is much better than most damsels, with a temperament somewhere between an electric blue damsel and a green Chromis.

The Yellowtail Damsel is also referred to as the Yellowtail Blue Damselfish, Yellowtail Demoiselle, or Azure Damselfish within the aquarium hobby. This species is truly one of the most hardy species available within the marine aquarium hobby, so much so that it is often used to cycle new aquariums as it can withstand large variations in aquarium water chemistry. However, there are much better and more humane ways to cycle a new aquarium, but none the less it does demonstrate the extremely hardy nature of the Yellowtail Damselfish.

Yellowtail Damselfish are same bright blue color as the Electric Blue Damsel, but they have bright yellow on the end of their body and their tail fin. The body of the Yellowtail Damselfish tends to be a little shorter and taller than that of the Electric Blue Damsel. With the exception of the tail fin, the rest of the finnage is the same azure blue color as the body.

The Yellowtail Damsel is a great choice for beginners since it is extremely hardy, easy to keep and is less aggressive and does not need as large of a tank as many of the other Damselfish. It is naturally a schooling fish and can be kept in small groups, where it will often school with other species of damsels or Chromis. It is important to provide plenty of hiding places for this species to retreat to when it feels threatened; however, it will generally swim out in the open areas of the aquarium.

The Yellowtail Damselfish is considered semi-aggressive as it may nib at fins of similar sized fish from time to time, but it should be kept with peaceful tank mates. It will ignore invertebrates and corals within the aquarium, thus making it suitable for both community fish aquariums and some reef aquariums as well.

The Yellowtail Damsel is a very bold feeder and will readily consume a varied diet of meaty items such as mysid shrimp, brine shrimp, frozen or flake meaty foods and vegetable matter preparations. This species is a true omnivore and is not picky with its diet, thus it will readily consume most any type of live, frozen or flake preparation.