Least Aggressive Dotty back questions

[guapstacker2009]

Hey there!

I have a 20-gallon Innovative Marine Drop off tank. I own a Harp tail Blenny and two bonded Clownfish. Recently in the last month, I had purchased an Indigo Dotty back that I had ultimately ended up bringing back to my LFS.

He was such a gorgeous fish and was super bold and fun to watch swim around. He got along perfectly with both of my clownfish, but he would charge my Harp tail Blenny if he cruised too close to his spot. It never got to the point of fin nipping and both of them were perfectly civil at feeding time and had full bellies. The chasing ended up becoming more frequent and I assumed it wasn't going to get any better, so I decided to call it quits and take him back to the store.

I REALLY want to try another one and have been looking into different species, but I'm not sure if the next one will behave better than this last one, or if this is as good as I can hope for in terms of this fish.

Please share any experiences with Dotty backs in small tanks, or in general! I want to hear good and bad experiences to get a better picture!

 

[KrisReef]

I quit Dottybacks so many years ago I can't recall what specific evil traits they were possessed with, but they were not good.

What I can see is a pair of clownfish in a twenty gallon, a small space for these two and while they may not care about the harptail at the moment, that could easily change given time. HEck, given time those two clownfish might not be a pair that was made in Atlantis and the war will break out.

This small of a tank is going to have challenges for too many fishes if you are thinking about getting more. I have a pair of tomato clowns (true mates!) that have eliminated everything else that had fins in their 4'X4' X 20" of living space. They are quite efficient at this.

 

[guapstacker2009]

I quit Dottybacks so many years ago I can't recall what specific evil traits they were possessed with, but they were not good.

What I can see is a pair of clownfish in a twenty gallon, a small space for these two and while they may not care about the harptail at the moment, that could easily change given time. HEck, given time those two clownfish might not be a pair that was made in Atlantis and the war will break out.

This small of a tank is going to have challenges for too many fishes if you are thinking about getting more. I have a pair of tomato clowns (true mates!) that have eliminated everything else that had fins in their 4'X4' X 20" of living space. They are quite efficient at this.

Thank you for the reply! I have definitely had experience with my clownfish not liking each other and just other fish in general haha! I'm planning in about a year's time to invest in a 45-50~ long tank for my current livestock and possibly something else since I know that they'll get cramped. I was hoping that I could get away with keeping a small Dottyback in there with them until it was time to upgrade, but I'm seeing that its very rare.

 

[NanoSteam]

I have an Orchid Dottyback and it's the most timid thing in the tank. It stays in it's hole and only darts out and back in to grab food. It gets pushed around by everyone else in the tank.

YMMV though and this could just be one example.

 

[JGT]

Have a neon dottyback. Doesn’t bother anyone but it’s in a 240 gallon with a lot of bigger fish although there are also some smaller damsels, clowns and wrasses. Think like any fish it’s luck of the draw.

 

[guapstacker2009]

I have an Orchid Dottyback and it's the most timid thing in the tank. It stays in it's hole and only darts out and back in to grab food. It gets pushed around by everyone else in the tank.

YMMV though and this could just be one example.

Thanks for the reply! I've been hearing that people really like the Orchids for their calmer attitude! I'll keep this in mind!

 

[guapstacker2009]

Have a neon dottyback. Doesn’t bother anyone but it’s in a 240 gallon with a lot of bigger fish although there are also some smaller damsels, clowns and wrasses. Think like any fish it’s luck of the draw.

Yep that's what I'm thinking too. I'm willing to try a few more times until I feel like it just isn't worth it anymore haha. Thank you for your reply!

 

[RobertK]

I second the recommendation for orchid dottyback. I had one once and it was very docile. Try to get a captive bred juvenile if you can.

 

[Naekuh]

Your asking for a boxer that can't do an uppercut.

The most "peaceful" if there is a thing, is the orchid dotty, aka Pseudochromis fridmani.
Ever other dotty i have had... would kill the new guy.

But even then a peaceful orchid is like saying a peaceful Klingon.
So u will never know when that orchid decides to flip out and go on a terrorizing spree.

Have a neon dottyback

Oh you got super lucky..
Ive had these guys a couple of times.

It took a 6 line wrasse to end its terror... but then i introduced the demon lord itself in the 6 line trying to get rid of a simple devil.

 

[DexterKarin]

My orchid is peaceful and a little timid. But comes out at feeding. I think maybe she would get aggressive with similar shaped fish. My two clowns are mellow with all others except they were hunting maliciously the clown goby I got. Looked too much like them. Rehomed goby. I suspect the orchid is capable of something similar.

 

[twentyleagues]

My orchid was a terror any similar sized fish was toast and most inverts. The only thing it left alone was a mandarin. Even larger fish were harassed.

 

[guapstacker2009]

Your asking for a boxer that can't do an uppercut.

The most "peaceful" if there is a thing, is the orchid dotty, aka Pseudochromis fridmani.
Ever other dotty i have had... would kill the new guy.

But even then a peaceful orchid is like saying a peaceful Klingon.
So u will never know when that orchid decides to flip out and go on a terrorizing spree.

Have a neon dottyback

Oh you got super lucky..
Ive had these guys a couple of times.

It took a 6 line wrasse to end its terror... but then i introduced the demon lord itself in the 6 line trying to get rid of a simple devil.

I love this analogy. Thanks for the reply!

 

[guapstacker2009]

I second the recommendation for orchid dottyback. I had one once and it was very docile. Try to get a captive bred juvenile if you can.

I had the idea of asking my LFS to get the smallest Dottybacks they could to see if maturing around it's tankmates might let it be calmer, or so that the blenny would feel like it could assert itself more against it

 

[RobertK]

It is possible that the similarity in body shape between the blenny and the dottyback promoted aggression in your dottyback, and it is possible that the same could occur with an orchid dottyback despite its reputation as a less aggressive dottyback, especially in a small tank like yours (mine was in a larger tank). If you decide to try another dotty I'd make sure you have plenty of hiding places and make sure you get a captive bred specimen.

 

[kevgib67]

Have you considered a royal gramma as a substitute?

 

[guapstacker2009]

It is possible that the similarity in body shape between the blenny and the dottyback promoted aggression in your dottyback, and it is possible that the same could occur with an orchid dottyback despite its reputation as a less aggressive dottyback, especially in a small tank like yours (mine was in a larger tank). If you decide to try another dotty I'd make sure you have plenty of hiding places and make sure you get a captive bred specimen.

Noted on the requirements for another dottyback. I agree with the likely reason for the aggression since he had virtually no problem with the clownfish, just the blenny.

 

[guapstacker2009]

Have you considered a royal gramma as a substitute?

Yes! I've been thinking that if another dottyback doesn't work out, a Black Cap or Royal Gramma could be cool to try!

 

[guapstacker2009]

Hey there!

I have a 20-gallon Innovative Marine Drop off tank. I own a Harp tail Blenny and two bonded Clownfish. Recently in the last month, I had purchased an Indigo Dotty back that I had ultimately ended up bringing back to my LFS.

He was such a gorgeous fish and was super bold and fun to watch swim around. He got along perfectly with both of my clownfish, but he would charge my Harp tail Blenny if he cruised too close to his spot. It never got to the point of fin nipping and both of them were perfectly civil at feeding time and had full bellies. The chasing ended up becoming more frequent and I assumed it wasn't going to get any better, so I decided to call it quits and take him back to the store.

I REALLY want to try another one and have been looking into different species, but I'm not sure if the next one will behave better than this last one, or if this is as good as I can hope for in terms of this fish.

Please share any experiences with Dotty backs in small tanks, or in general! I want to hear good and bad experiences to get a better picture!

Update (11/24/25) :

Thank you all for the replies! This is my first Reef2Reef post and I'm blown away by how many people were willing to share their experiences and advice. You guys are awesome! I'm most likely going to try a small, captive bred Orchid dotty back. From reading the replies and looking through web sources, I think this fish should have the best chance of tolerating/ignoring my blenny cruising over its area. I added a set of narrow, t shaped pvc pipes away from the blenny's sleeping area to hopefully help a new dotty back feel more secure. I will share what happens in about a month or two depending on what happens!

Thanks again!

 

[RobertK]

Another thing that might help is to put the new fish in an acclimation box inside your tank when you first introduce it. If you leave it in there for a couple days before releasing it into the tank that will give your other fish a chance to get used to it and vice versa.

 

[guapstacker2009]

Another thing that might help is to put the new fish in an acclimation box inside your tank when you first introduce it. If you leave it in there for a couple days before releasing it into the tank that will give your other fish a chance to get used to it and vice versa.

I'll keep this in mind too, thank you!!