Neon Dottyback shipped in live rock

IdahoGuy

New member
Pretty surprising to say the least, don't know how the little guy survived with virtually no water. I was ticked because the rock was almost bone dry when I received it due to a FedEx screw up. Wasn't planning on getting one, but I just can't get rid of him now. Was planning on having a single pair of one of the oddball clowns that are now bred, but do you think it's a problem with this guy already established? It's a Red Sea Max 250. Not sure if the display is 65 gallons, or if that includes the back of the tank with the pumps/skimmer/etc..
 
I wouldn't be too worried about it...so long as it's still a fairly small one, the clownfish should be able to hold their own without much difficulty.

It sounds like you're going with a pair of ocellaris/percula clownfish - those should be able to share the tank with the dottyback without much fuss.

Some of the larger clownfish species could kill the dottyback when they have a clutch in that size aquarium. Fish like grammas, blennies, rock-dwelling wrasses and mandarins are unlikely to be tolerated by the dottyback. They are also likely to eat ornamental shrimp as they get larger. It doesn't sound like any of those are in your plans, so you should be just fine.
 
No, I think just the clowns.. I like the look of tanks that aren't stocked to the gills. I would like to get some fire shrimp, maybe I should do that soon before this guy grows up. He's pretty small, maybe a little over an inch. I used to have a sunrise dottyback years ago that wasn't aggressive to other fish or shrimp, but I've read neons are the most aggressive of the DB's.
 
I would agree that putting the fire shrimp in sooner rather than later is a good plan...still no guarantees the dottyback won't kill them after it grows up, but letting them grow out together is probably your best chance of success.

I'd also agree that the neons are quite a bit more aggressive than your sunrise. The biggest difference in my opinion is the added size...and that extra inch or two can make quite a bit of a difference in terms of how much damage they can do and the size of the territory they claim.
 
Added the Fire Shrimp, they're pretty big and Napolean(little fish, big attitude) hasn't bothered them. So far a model citizen, he hides in the hole he was shipped in mostly unless it's feeding time.
 
Ya.. It was meant to be. He's a little small and skinny, but I'll slowly fatten him up. They're pretty fish, kind of glad I was forced into one. They have a little personality to them.
 
I have a Springri Dottyback, with two clowns and two blennies... nobody bothers anyone... in a 56G with 120-130 lbs of rock...
 
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