Atlantic Jewel Damsel (Microspathodon chrysurus)

The Atlantic Jewel Damsel (Microspathodon chrysurus) is the jewel of the Caribbean reef flats, a deep midnight-blue juvenile sprinkled with electric blue spots that seem to glow under reef lighting. It is tough as nails and easy to feed, but it has a big personality to match: bold, territorial, and best kept as the only damsel in a tank of equally robust fish. Pick one up for a fish-only or mixed reef system built around larger tankmates, and browse the rest of our saltwater livestock and fish while you are here.

Care Guide

• Tank size: 50 gallons minimum, 75 gallons or more for an adult. It roams and defends a good stretch of rock.
• Aquascape: plenty of boulder-style rockwork with caves and overhangs. It will claim a cave as home base, and extra hiding spots take pressure off its tankmates.
• Water parameters: 72 to 78°F, pH 8.1 to 8.4, specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025, dKH 8 to 12. Moderate to strong flow.
• Feeding: an omnivore that leans herbivore. In the wild it grazes algae, so build the diet around greens like SeaVeggies seaweed sheets, Vitalis Marine Grazing Pellets and Rod's Food Herbivore Blend, plus meaty frozen foods such as PE Mysis. Feed small portions two or three times a day.
• Stocking order: add it last. A damsel that settles in first tends to treat the whole tank as its territory.

Specifications

Compatibility

Keep it with fish that can hold their own: tangs like the Naso Tang and Powder Brown Tang, a Humu Picasso Trigger, a Striped Dogface Puffer or an Arc Eye Hawkfish. Skip small, shy or slow fish such as chromis, gobies, firefish and grammas, and never add a second damsel. It usually ignores corals and larger cleanup crew, but it can pick at stony coral polyps now and then, and juveniles in the wild nibble fire coral.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Two Little Fishies SeaVeggies Green Seaweed, daily grazing
• Vitalis Marine Grazing Pellets, algae-based staple
• Rod's Food Frozen Herbivore Blend
• Piscine Energetics PE Mysis, meaty frozen food
• Browse all fish food

FAQ

Will it keep its blue spots?
Not forever. The jewel pattern is the juvenile look. As it grows the body darkens to a dusky brown, the spots fade, and the tail turns bright yellow, which is where the name Yellowtail Damselfish comes from.

Can I keep two together?
No. Keep one per tank. Two will fight, and it does not get along with other damsels or chromis.

Is it reef safe?
Mostly. It leaves most corals alone, but it may pick at stony coral polyps from time to time, so watch it around prized LPS and skip fire coral.

Is it a good beginner fish?
It is very hardy and eats almost anything, so it is easy to keep alive. The challenge is its attitude, so plan the tank around it and pick tough tankmates.