Mixing ORA Dottybacks

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JaaxReef

JaaxReef

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So, LiveAquaria, through ORA, recently shipped me the wrong dottyback. I ordered and electric indigo and got an elongate. Both beautiful, but I wanted that stripe with the blue color to contrast and mix with my clown. They let me keep the elongate and will ship a replacement electric indigo.

I’m trying to keep a mix of some interesting semi aggressive small fish in my 30 gallon frag tank and wondering if the existing elongate dottyback (which seems super tame and small), could mix with the electric indigo. They are both on the tame side for dottybacks and look very different, so part of my thinks it is possible. Just want to know if I can get both in the same tank, or if there have been no success stories doing so. Either way I wouldn’t try it without a few days in an acclimation box.

Thanks for the input!
 
elongate dottybacks apparently are one of the more docile dottys around. if you have a lot of rock work and hiding places i believe aggression would be minimal. all depends on the personality of the one you’re getting soon
 
shakacuz said:
elongate dottybacks apparently are one of the more docile dottys around. if you have a lot of rock work and hiding places i believe aggression would be minimal. all depends on the personality of the one you’re getting soon
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The electric indigo is 75% Sankeyi and 25% Fridmani which also works out to be a pretty chill fish since the Sankeyi have similar temperaments to the elongate. I had one before in my frag tank and it was a little skittish and very chill with my other fish. I think I’m going to try an acclimation box and see how they react to each other.
 
WWC
Even if you have chosen the more peaceful species, I do not think a 30 gallon will ultimately be big enough for more than one. This is because although the species you’re mentioning aren’t too bad compared to many of the others, they’re still territorial and will defend their territories quite vigorously. I think it’s too much to risk in a small tank.
 
Zionas said:
Even if you have chosen the more peaceful species, I do not think a 30 gallon will ultimately be big enough for more than one. This is because although the species you’re mentioning aren’t too bad compared to many of the others, they’re still territorial and will defend their territories quite vigorously. I think it’s too much to risk in a small tank.
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I agree with your assessment, 30g is a little small for two pseudochromis to cohabitate. Maybe they’ll get along at first, but as they grow, so does their territory. Btw, sankeyi, springeri and fridmani are my favorites.
The one thing that might be in your favor is the difference in color?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
These three are all beautiful species. I think the Springeri is a bit more aggressive than the other two, although I could be wrong. It’s really down to color and personal preference IMO. Even if there’s a difference in color and they don’t look alike, I just think at the end of the day a 30’s on the small side. I would MAYBE do up to a pair Fridmani in a 40 breeder (a 3 foot tank) but some might even find that too small. However either way a 30 with 2 Dottybacks is just risky IMO.
 
Zionas said:
Even if you have chosen the more peaceful species, I do not think a 30 gallon will ultimately be big enough for more than one. This is because although the species you’re mentioning aren’t too bad compared to many of the others, they’re still territorial and will defend their territories quite vigorously. I think it’s too much to risk in a small tank.
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My 30 gallon is super weird dimensions and actually is 3ft long. All that said, I don’t want to risk it and have a massive dottyback fight and injured fish. I have a pico tank and a 4 ft reef I could probably put the elongate in.
 
Chewy.com
Zionas said:
These three are all beautiful species. I think the Springeri is a bit more aggressive than the other two, although I could be wrong. It’s really down to color and personal preference IMO. Even if there’s a difference in color and they don’t look alike, I just think at the end of the day a 30’s on the small side. I would MAYBE do up to a pair Fridmani in a 40 breeder (a 3 foot tank) but some might even find that too small. However either way a 30 with 2 Dottybacks is just risky IMO.
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No Springeri in the mix here, but that is a cool fish too! A little more aggressive for sure!
 
Yeah but a beautiful one nonetheless! I’m not sure how much I like the hybrid Dottybacks, but I am a fan of the Fridmani, Sankeyi, Arabian (feisty little ****), Springer’s, and some of the lesser known ones like Elongatus and Tapeinosoma.
 
Probably won’t work long term. I had a ORA orchid which is also supposed to be more peaceful. It was pretty docile for about a year… once it obtained adult size… it was a monster.
 
Deltec
Zionas said:
Yeah but a beautiful one nonetheless! I’m not sure how much I like the hybrid Dottybacks, but I am a fan of the Fridmani, Sankeyi, Arabian (feisty little ****), Springer’s, and some of the lesser known ones like Elongatus and Tapeinosoma.
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Yeah, elongatus is the one I have now that they shipped by mistake. Beautiful little fish.
 
Tamberav said:
Probably won’t work long term. I had a ORA orchid which is also supposed to be more peaceful. It was pretty docile for about a year… once it obtained adult size… it was a monster.
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Yeah, one of them is hybrid of 25% orchid (Fridmani) and 75% Sankeyi. Heard similar things about the Orchid pure bred fish too. Never heard that about Sankeyi or Elongatus. Very different fish.
 
Zionas said:
That sucks because the Orchid is one of my favorites. How big was it as an adult? And did it pick on any fish or a few fish in particular?
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killed a starkii damsel and two cleaner shrimp before I got it out. Two inches I would guess.
 
Chewy.com
So, quick update:

Added the Electric Indigo in an acclimation box to the tank three days ago just out of curiosity. After one day of noticing absolutely no displaying or even interest in eachother I let them in the tank after reorganizing the rock structure with careful observation for several hours. So far they seem to not even care eachother exists and swim by eachother without any defensive posturing and just sleep under separate rocks/caves at lights out.

Maybe since they are still young, are captive bred, and some of the most mild species blends (Electric Indigo and Elongate) they just don’t care at the moment? But maybe that will change as time goes on and they mature…
 
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