Pseudochromis

• Orchid Dottyback
• Purple Dottyback
• Splendid Dottyback

While members of the family Pseudochromis can range from two to up to eight inches in length, most that come into the marine aquarium trade are from smaller varieties. Pseudochromis are commonly known as the dottybacks. They are usually long and somewhat slender fish that are quite common in the trade. Unfortunately, they are also some of the most aggressive and territorial fish despite their usually small stature.

By far the most treasured within the family are a group of fish that are known as the Red Sea dottybacks. These include the orchid dottyback, sunrise dottyback and the neon dottyback. These three command pretty high prices compared to the regular run of the mill dottybacks.

But their prices pale in comparison with the stunning and rare oblique lined dottyback (Cypho purpurascens) that hails from Australian waters. From the indo pacific waters we have the popular splendid dottyback complex which is made up of a few fishes such as M.Alleni and M.splendens. These fish are somewhat in demand in the west as well. On the whole, dottybacks are great additions to large or smaller aquariums. They are usually some of the hardiest fish in the industry.

They have also been captive bred en masse. Those from the red sea are bred on a large scale particularly by ORA farms. I believe they were one of the first to make such breeding possible. ORA was also the first to create a new hybrid called he indigo dottyback, which is a hybrid between the Orchid dottyback and the Striped dottyback.

These fish do best alone or as a mated pair. Mated pairs are difficult to come across and produce as they are very aggressive towards similar species in captivity. Putting two adults into a small aquarium will doom one of the fish to certain death. If you are hell bent on mixing species, ensure you have a large enough aquarium so they can avoid each other for long periods of time.

Pseudochromis will eat almost anything and are some of the easiest fish to feed in captivity. They will even eat sheets of algae over time. They also have a preference for frozen foods compared to dry pellet of flake foods.