Do you think I'll have luck with my neon dottyback?

[Andreas' Reef]

I have a neon dottyback. He's about 2 inches in size and he is pretty mild tempered for a dottyback. He is in with a pair on bangaii cardinalfish, a clownfish, and a watchman goby. I'm worried that when he grows another inch, he might snap. he is the last addition to my tank and I am hoping he is content with every other fish's territories. Do you think I'll have luck with him not being aggresive? And, if he does become aggressive, what are some good ways to combat it?

 

[blaxsun]

I think he'll be fine. I have a striped that's barely 2", so while they do grow it's not super fast.

 

[Zionas]

Which other Dottybacks have you tried? Are Orchids the only peaceful ones for the most part and how well do different species mix with each other?

 

[Lavey29]

I have a big indigo blue that is a model citizen but he digs sand like a goby. He moves a ton of sand around.

 

[jpark457]

I had a neon and it did not go well trying to add any new fish after he arrived. He seemed fine at first then became shockingly aggressive for such a small fish.

 

[DCR]

The issue will be if/when you try to add a new fish. That is where they can get really aggressive in my experience.

 

[jfoahs04]

How big's the tank? For the most part, as long as it's a large enough tank, I don't think there should be issues between the dotty and the clown or the cardinals. They have different shapes and generally occupy different areas of the tank. The goby and dotty may have issues in a smaller tank if their turfs overlap at all considering the similar body shapes and territories. But again, if they both have room, it should be OK.

As others have said, adding new fish later on could be an issue. Once established, the dottyback will be aggressive to almost anything that is similar shape or comes near its territory.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

How big's the tank? For the most part, as long as it's a large enough tank, I don't think there should be issues between the dotty and the clown or the cardinals. They have different shapes and generally occupy different areas of the tank. The goby and dotty may have issues in a smaller tank if their turfs overlap at all considering the similar body shapes and territories. But again, if they both have room, it should be OK.

As others have said, adding new fish later on could be an issue. Once established, the dottyback will be aggressive to almost anything that is similar shape or comes near its territory.

You're a little late. I recently removed it due to its aggression towards the cleaner shrimp