Want to Keep a Beautiful Fish in Your Tank-Try the Dottyback

Bicolor Pseudochromis (Pseudochromis paccagnellae), also known as the Bicolor Dottyback or Royal Dottyback, this fish is loved for its vibrant colors of purple (front) and yellow (back). It is also one of the hardiest fish to keep in your salt-water tank, and requires very little care once established.

To create a perfect biotope for this fish, you may need to give it a lot of grazing room as well as several spots to hide in. It may take in miniatures as hiding places, but crevices in rocks are much more suitable for it resembles more of its natural habitat. It is about 2-3 inches in length, and prefers high lighting conditions. Your tank should be kept about 75-78 degrees with a pH of 8.1-8.4 (alkaline). It loves to swim so your tank should have a minimum size of 30 gallons. Corrals and plants can also be added in your biotope to provide places for your fish to lay its eggs along with your rock formation.

The Bicolor Pseudochromis has a semi-aggressive temperament, and can be highly territorial. It will not tolerate meek, mild-mannered, slow-moving fish in the tank. It is a bottom-dweller, and targets most of the shrimp in your tank (anemone shrimp. If you love your shrimp, you may want to reconsider if you are considering on adding this in your tank.

The color of your Bicolor Pseudochromis will fade in captivity because of lack of food variety. Give them a selection of food to promote their colors such as mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp, seafood, or other frozen preparations designed to care for marine fish. This fish is relatively cheap. It is advised that the fish be quarantined for 2 weeks before being added to the tank.