I want a Orchid Dottyback...lets go ahead and nail me to the cross

[Jeremy1988]

Okay everyone...so I know I probably SHOULD not get this fish. Lets do a run down. I have a VERY successful 90 gallon REEF tank. Its more of a slightly taller than usual tank and a cube like (36*24*24). Moving on. My current fish ARE as follows in ORDER of when placed into the tank. Scissortail dartfish, Tanaka Pygmy Wrasse, pink skunk clownfish, Blue Assessor, Tomini Tang, Swales Basslet, Bi Color Chromis, and Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish. Okay, so everyone does well. I will admit the bi color chromis or black and white chromis is the worst offender by far! He really seems to try and keep the Blue assessor pinned down to one location of the tank. PLEASE read the details ppl...and do not stop here. The blue assessor has the right side of the tank. He does at times...although pretty rare get nipped fins from SOMEONE...however they grow back fast! He stays on the right side in his little area...which ranges from the back to the front...every once in a while he kind skates towards the center, HOWEVER the bi color chromis chases him off. Personally I believe it has something to do with there colors. Anyways...so the scissortail and Tomini are TOP dawg. No one F**ks with the scissortail or tomini at all! The pink skunk clown and sometimes the bi color will chase each other off but its very hit or miss when this happens. The tomini also seems to have some sort of weird partnership with the pink skunk...they can tolerate one another very closely....especially when the tomini is taking a crap in the bottom right corner of the tank! Its always that part of the tank, weird. The Swalse basslet, wrasse, AND hawkfish are there own thing and no one cares about what they do. So my question is...would a Orchid dottyback MAYBE....and this is wishful thinking, maybe help with aggression between the bi color and the blue assessor? Ming you all these fish have been together well over a year. ALSO worth noting...as much as I dont like it...would a captive raised ORCHID be less aggressive in this situation? I do have a fancy dancy fish trap...so if the Orchid got out of hand...eventually I could get him. I'm trying to find something to take the Bi color chromisis mind of the assessor...BUT I have ALWAYS wanted an orchid dottyback...ugh! I feel like I'm pretty "attuned" with my tank, but this is definitely IMO a gamble...

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Might work but good chance both your basslets and possum Wrasse will become more timid.

 

[ThRoewer]

I would suggest that you get 2 orchid dottybacks, one smaller than the other. They will become a pair which in turn keeps the more aggressive male busy with guarding nests and harrasing his female(s). The females are nosy but generally not overly aggressive towards other species.

I had a single male before and he was a jerk who tried to pick fights with everyone, especially my percula clowns. But once I added a female his sole focus shifted to her. Once they started spawning he was rarely to be seen anymore, and if, it was either for food or to "chase" the female.

One word of warning though: these guys are among the nosiest fish I know and they like in particular to explore small crevices and cavities - especially turned off pumps! I lost all of my Orchids to pump accidents (I had a tidal simulation where the pumps would be off for a while every 6 hours) before I fully realized what was going on.


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[Half Vaped]

Okay everyone...so I know I probably SHOULD not get this fish. Lets do a run down. I have a VERY successful 90 gallon REEF tank. Its more of a slightly taller than usual tank and a cube like (36*24*24). Moving on. My current fish ARE as follows in ORDER of when placed into the tank. Scissortail dartfish, Tanaka Pygmy Wrasse, pink skunk clownfish, Blue Assessor, Tomini Tang, Swales Basslet, Bi Color Chromis, and Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish. Okay, so everyone does well. I will admit the bi color chromis or black and white chromis is the worst offender by far! He really seems to try and keep the Blue assessor pinned down to one location of the tank. PLEASE read the details ppl...and do not stop here. The blue assessor has the right side of the tank. He does at times...although pretty rare get nipped fins from SOMEONE...however they grow back fast! He stays on the right side in his little area...which ranges from the back to the front...every once in a while he kind skates towards the center, HOWEVER the bi color chromis chases him off. Personally I believe it has something to do with there colors. Anyways...so the scissortail and Tomini are TOP dawg. No one F**ks with the scissortail or tomini at all! The pink skunk clown and sometimes the bi color will chase each other off but its very hit or miss when this happens. The tomini also seems to have some sort of weird partnership with the pink skunk...they can tolerate one another very closely....especially when the tomini is taking a crap in the bottom right corner of the tank! Its always that part of the tank, weird. The Swalse basslet, wrasse, AND hawkfish are there own thing and no one cares about what they do. So my question is...would a Orchid dottyback MAYBE....and this is wishful thinking, maybe help with aggression between the bi color and the blue assessor? Ming you all these fish have been together well over a year. ALSO worth noting...as much as I dont like it...would a captive raised ORCHID be less aggressive in this situation? I do have a fancy dancy fish trap...so if the Orchid got out of hand...eventually I could get him. I'm trying to find something to take the Bi color chromisis mind of the assessor...BUT I have ALWAYS wanted an orchid dottyback...ugh! I feel like I'm pretty "attuned" with my tank, but this is definitely IMO a gamble...

I've had two Orchid Dottybacks, both captive bread and both fairly friendly. The only aggression I ever saw was towards a Firefish added afterwards and it only lasted maybe the first three days. I have a feeling captive bred ones are less aggressive than wild-caught, but I don't have the experience to know for sure.

By the way, can you see about breaking your post into paragraphs in the future, please? It'll make it a lot easier to comprehend.

 

[insaneDynamix]

Sorry I'm bringing an old thread up. But wanted to share my experience.

Orchid Dottys are some of the most beautiful fish one can keep in a reef. They are absolutely stunning.

Mine made a home in a rock towards the front of the tank and would keep darting in and out of it ... Very active, especially during feeding time. Such a cool personality

Another thing to note is that the Orchid (Fridmani) dottyback is probably one of the least aggressive dottys. Never once did it bother any of the other fish, it would get chased down by the Yellow tang every now and then but could hold its own ... It was not intimidated by the bigger fish

Mine had a Yellow Tang, Purple Tang, Hippo Tang, Ocellaris pair, Rusty angel, watchman goby and a pair of cleaners as tankmates in a 120.

I would recommend this fish to anybody ... it is hardy, peaceful and such an awesome personality + fantastic color.