Allen's Damsel

Care at a glance

Overview

Allen's Damsel has a gentler reputation than most of its Pomacentridae relatives, often described as shy or even a bit skittish rather than pushy. It can still stake out a favorite piece of rock and act territorial toward its own kind or similarly sized fish, especially in a smaller tank, but it rarely bothers slower or more docile tankmates. It leaves coral and sessile invertebrates alone, making it a solid reef community choice, and does best kept in a small group with enough rockwork for each fish to claim a corner. Feed small meaty foods like mysis and brine shrimp along with marine pellets and some algae-based food.

In the wild

Native to a fairly narrow stretch of the eastern Indian Ocean around the Andaman Sea and Thailand, with additional records from Indonesia, where it shelters among branching coral and rocky reef. It wants dense live rock with small crevices in the aquarium, since it is shier than most damsels and retreats quickly when startled. A 110 liter (30 gallon) tank works well for a single fish, with more room needed to keep several together.

Good to know

Allen's Damsel is a small Pomacentrus species that tops out around 6 cm, named for ichthyologist Gerald Allen, who described hundreds of Indo-Pacific reef fish over his career. It follows the usual damsel breeding pattern, with the male clearing a nest site, courting a female to lay adhesive eggs, and then guarding and fanning the clutch alone until it hatches. Small numbers have been reared by commercial marine fish farms, though most specimens in the trade are still wild-caught.

Did you know

Its electric blue body and bright yellow belly make Allen's Damsel one of the more strikingly colored small damsels, a look it keeps for life instead of fading with age like many of its relatives.

Related species

• 

  Lemon Damsel

  Pomacentrus moluccensis

  3.5 in (9 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Neon Damselfish

  Pomacentrus coelestis

  3.5 in (9 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Talbot's Damsel

  Chrysiptera talboti

  2.4 in (6 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Azure Damsel

  Chrysiptera hemicyanea

  2.8 in (7 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Springer's Damsel

  Chrysiptera springeri

  2.8 in (7 cm)25 gal (95 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Yellowtail Damsel

  Chrysiptera parasema

  2.8 in (7 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)