TankBud

Talbot's damsel

Chrysiptera talboti

Also known as Talbot's Demoiselle

SaltwaterFish

Talbot's damsel (Chrysiptera talboti)
Cedricguppy - Loury Cédric · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
2.4 in
6 cm
Minimum tank
29 gal
110 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Substrate spawner · Medium
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pomacentridae
Origin
Western Pacific reefs

Overview

Talbot's damsel is an easy reef damselfish for the middle of the tank. It is a good pick for reef keepers who want damsel color without constant squabbling.

Did you know

Talbot's damsel belongs to a genus with some notoriously hot-tempered species. Reef keepers still single it out as one of the few damsels calm enough for a peaceful community tank.

Caring for the Talbot's damsel

Give Talbot's damsel a reef tank of at least 29 gal (110 L), which comfortably suits a pair or a small group. Build plenty of caves and overhangs into the live rock. It spends more time tucked near the rockwork than patrolling open water or squaring off with tank mates.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed a varied diet of small frozen meaty foods and marine pellets, with some algae-based food.

Talbot's damsel can still defend a favorite hiding spot from other damsels or similarly sized fish. It rarely bothers peaceful reef tank mates the way its Dascyllus relatives do. It is completely safe with coral and invertebrates.

Like other damsels, it lays demersal eggs, and the male guards them. Breeding is moderately difficult, though commercial marine fish farms have managed small-scale captive breeding.

Good to know

Talbot's damsel, Chrysiptera talboti, is also called Talbot's demoiselle, and it belongs to the family Pomacentridae. It is named for Frank Talbot, the fisheries scientist and former director of the Australian Museum who collected the original specimen. It has a pale blue-white body, a yellow face and a dark spot at the back of the dorsal fin. That two-tone pattern separates it from other Chrysiptera species.

In the wild

Talbot's damsel lives on Western Pacific reefs from the Andaman Sea to Fiji, and south to the Great Barrier Reef. It is usually found on rubble slopes and reef flats with scattered coral outcrops, and it relies heavily on that structure for cover.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Talbot's damsel is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Talbot's damsel need?

A Talbot's damsel needs at least 29 gal (110 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Talbot's damsel need?

A Talbot's damsel is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a Talbot's damsel eat?

A Talbot's damsel eats a varied diet of small frozen meaty foods and marine pellets, along with some algae-based food.

How big does a Talbot's damsel get?

An adult Talbot's damsel reaches about 2.4 in (6 cm).

How does a Talbot's damsel breed?

A Talbot's damsel lays demersal eggs, and the male guards them. Commercial marine fish farms have bred it on a small scale, but breeding is moderately difficult.

Related species