Elongate Dottyback (Pseudochromis elongatus)

[klepto]

Anyone keeping an Elongate Dottyback?

One just popped up on DD yesterday. It looked like quite a beautiful little fish. I have been on the look out for a colorful aquacultured fish.. I think this species fits the ticket..

Here is ORA's blurb on it..
"The Elongate Dottyback is a rarely imported species known only from Sulawesi and the Molucca islands of Indonesia. This small 2 inch Dottyback is hardy and feeds easily on pellet and frozen foods. They have a black body with a red to orange head and tail, and are sometimes called the floppy-tail Dottyback. This coveted species appears to be considerably less aggressive than most of the other Dottyback species that ORA raises. Their diminutive size coupled with an agreeable attitude makes them a perfect addition to today's popular Nano-Reef systems. Now aquacultured by ORA, this uncommon species is now available to all."

 

[steelersfan]

IMO, these guys are an awesome little fish. I had one in my last tank for over a year. He was the last fish added to that tank. When I moved him to my new Elos tank, he would go after any fish that came into his area. They will defend their area, no matter the size of the other fish. As a result, I had to pull him out.

 

[Myles]

I have one in a 40g. Very entertaining the way he darts in and out of the rockwork but aggressive. I was not successful trying to add a talbots damsel so I decided to leave him as the only fish in that tank. That said it might be different in a larger tank or if he were not the first fish.
Myles

 

[klepto]

Reza and Myles- thanks for the replies.
I was curious about the aggression claims.. It sounded too good to be true, I should have known!

Reza, what other fishes were you stocking when you added your P. elongatus? Are you saying that only after the upgrade it got aggressive?

Myles, have you only attempted to add damsels? or other fishes?

Do either of you have any pictures for us? And what foods were/are you offering this fish?

 

[velvetelvis]

You can see a few brief clips of one here (search under Stock Footage):

http://www.underseaproductions.com/sf/index.php

 

[steelersfan]

Reza and Myles- thanks for the replies.
I was curious about the aggression claims.. It sounded too good to be true, I should have known!

Reza, what other fishes were you stocking when you added your P. elongatus? Are you saying that only after the upgrade it got aggressive?

Myles, have you only attempted to add damsels? or other fishes?

Do either of you have any pictures for us? And what foods were/are you offering this fish?

In my case, he was fine when he was the last fish added to my 90 gallon tank. In that tank, I had a Swissguard Basslet, Mystery Wrasse, Flame Angel, Blackcap Basslet, and a Longnose Hawkfish. When I setup my Elos 120XL, he was the only fish that I kept from the 90 gallon tank. As a result, he was the first fish added to the new tank. After I added the Yellow Assessor Basslet and a small Mystery Wrasse, he became very aggressive towards them. They are an awesome little fish, but they will defend their territory. As far as food, he was not picky. Mysis and small NLS pellets worked for him.

 

[Myles]

Klepto,
I only made the one attempt. It might be possible to combine with a damsel more aggressive than the Talbots, a hawkfish, or a pigmy angel in a small tank but I decided to just leave it be. It is a beautiful fish with interesting behaviors and to me it is worth the tank space. Mine is wild caught and not tank raised so I don't know if that affects aggression.
Myles

 

[velvetelvis]

Myles, I've been looking at getting one of the ORA-bred elongates myself. The rockwork in my tank has tons of nooks and crannies and I would like a fish that could take advantage of them; also, I keep colorful soft corals (photosynthetic Stereonephthya sp.) and think the elongate would complement them well. I hesitate a little to get a fish that would pretty much limit me to a species tank, but if it's entertaining to watch it might be worth it.

Is yours aggressive towards shrimps? I have a pair of skunk cleaners. I also have a green clown goby--do you think he would be a target for the pseudo? Because of the type of rock I have ("angel" rock from Jakarta, which is a lot like Tonga rock) and the amount there is in the tank, there are lots of hiding places. I don't know if that might help.