Dottyback

[shiladitya1991]

What are your experiences regarding Orchid and Sunrise dottyback.? Are they peaceful? Last time I had a Purple Stripe dottyback which was fine at first but later turned aggressive towards my firefish and purple flame goby eventually killing em both.

 

[Rapide]

I don't have those species, but some others. Not that many fish are actually aggressive in the nature. That bahaviour is something that comes when fish are kept in a closed environment such as an aquarium is. Dottybacks are good examples with other small "aggressive" fishes such as the Sixline wrasse. They are pretty, hardy and and easy to get so they are sold in to small tanks. Then they start to kill others and get a reputation as horror fish. Any fish can kill, small or big when it comes to surviving.
I have (and have had) many species that are concidered as "aggressive" - Sohal, Gaimard wrasse, Niger trigger, Dottybacks, Sixline, Clown tang - and they seldom have shown any aggression when they have enough space. The smaller ones have never been aggressive...
IMO it's a common mistake to label some fish as aggressive - they are just kept in a wrong kind of environment

 

[HumbleFish]

What are your experiences regarding Orchid and Sunrise dottyback.? Are they peaceful? Last time I had a Purple Stripe dottyback which was fine at first but later turned aggressive towards my firefish and purple flame goby eventually killing em both.

IME, most dottybacks tend to be on the feisty side. It doesn't seem to matter what size tank you put them in. They find a hole in a rock and will defend it fiercely. IMO, they are best kept with damsels, clowns and larger fish capable of defending themselves. I wouldn't recommend housing one with a firefish, goby, or any other small peaceful fish.

 

[shiladitya1991]

I understand it completely, I have kept Pictichromis and Pseudochromis species before, they happen to be very territorial and mean. My LFS guy was recommending me a Sunrise Dottyback saying that it is very peaceful and very few people have complained about it being aggressive. I think I will take the plunge. Thank You guys.

 

[saltyair]

my dottyback (orchid) swims the full aquarium fun to watch. only gets nutty if going to sleep in her spot.

with tangs,clowns,2 wrasses,2anthias,blenny,chromis,mandarin

 

[Rapide]

IME, most dottybacks tend to be on the feisty side. It doesn't seem to matter what size tank you put them in. They find a hole in a rock and will defend it fiercely. IMO, they are best kept with damsels, clowns and larger fish capable of defending themselves. I wouldn't recommend housing one with a firefish, goby, or any other small peaceful fish.

I could say that same about Clownfish. They are extremely territorial and aggressive fish, that should not be kept with other fish.

...if there isn't enough space for them.
Am I an aggressive person, if I protect my home from strangers??

 

[HumbleFish]

I could say that same about Clownfish. They are extremely territorial and aggressive fish, that should not be kept with other fish.

...if there isn't enough space for them.
Am I an aggressive person, if I protect my home from strangers??

I don't think comparing fish to people really applies here. Fish don't live by the same morals/rules of society that civilized humans are expected to observe. IME, aggressive fish will often bully passive species to no end. It doesn't matter how big the tank is or if invading their home is the issue. Everything within sight is part of their territory and the sissy fish just needs to leave. I don't think they "get" the part about being in an aquarium or why the other fish still hangs around in defiance of their warnings. So, only the strong survive. Meaning fish tough enough to stand up to the aggressor. Either one kills the other, or a sort of mutual respect is established.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I could say that same about Clownfish. They are extremely territorial and aggressive fish, that should not be kept with other fish.

Not always the case. I have a large female perc that isn't the least bit aggressive. Very docile, in fact.

My experiences with dottybacks on the other hand...vicious little monsters. Beautiful fish, but best kept with other aggresive species.

 

[Moort82]

I've kept and bred both of these species and i would say for dotties they aren't overly aggressive. Fridmani's are peaceful normally and the sunrise were slightly more aggressive but i do agree with the above in that you need to consider the amount of space you give them and tankmates. The pairs i have are captive raised and this is reputed to make them less aggressive. The fridmani's are in with nothing that would act as competition for territory or food, so appear laidback. They also have plenty of rockwork with caves and holes in which to hide and the greatest scraping you see is between the two. If you added really docile species then yes i think you could be in for a harder time but i don't think its the dotties which would be to blame. You would also likely run into trouble if you add fish with a similar niche like small wrasse as they are both micro predators.