Shyest fish in your tank

[Costareefer]

My male blue throat trigger seems the most shy of all the fish I have

 

[TWYOUNG]

My White Tail Bristletooth Tang heads for his cave if he spots me
20' away.

 

[OlafsReef]

Banded Possum Wrasses are the most cryptic fish Ive ever had.
Cute, great temperament, interesting swimming, but almost never see them. Still one of the few nano wrasses you can get with how hard it is to come by pink-streaked these days.

 

[tydeck]

Well I finally saw why he’s still hiding so much. The 6 line is being a bully. Maybe in time. RG is healthy. Eats greats.

 

[Houdinijosh]

My Hi Fin goby, him and my candy cane pistol only come out for feeding and even then are skiddish.

 

[Jasongtr]

YWG, hardly ever see him

 

[Lester Verano]

Dottyback behaviour is pretty interesting; they seem to either be on display all the time, or very cryptic. I never see my yellow dottyback (now transitioning to an "overripe banana dottyback") except during feeding time, and don't see my elongate dottyback for weeks at a time.

This is about the only post I've found on this whole forum that talks about length of time the dottyback will go out of site. I have an Orchid Dottyback that for the first 2 months was always in the display or under the rock where I could see her. Over the last couple of days she disappeared, and all of a sudden I thought she might be gone. The only thing in my whole tank that might have a chance to consume the dotty without a trace is a large snail I have. other than that she gets alone with my kole tang and clown. she wasn't sick or showing signs of sickness, but just started to be undetectable in the tank. about a day and Half went by and she finally peeked her head out of a cave I think she now calls home, and that's fine, but since then I've not seen her in 3 days straight, which is a record, and I'm getting worried. she was not out to feed last night either. not sure this is normal. couldn't jump doesn't jump, plus I checked around the tank. hope she turns up eventually in my 35 gallon tank....

 

[davidcalgary29]

This is about the only post I've found on this whole forum that talks about length of time the dottyback will go out of site. I have an Orchid Dottyback that for the first 2 months was always in the display or under the rock where I could see her. Over the last couple of days she disappeared, and all of a sudden I thought she might be gone. The only thing in my whole tank that might have a chance to consume the dotty without a trace is a large snail I have. other than that she gets alone with my kole tang and clown. she wasn't sick or showing signs of sickness, but just started to be undetectable in the tank. about a day and Half went by and she finally peeked her head out of a cave I think she now calls home, and that's fine, but since then I've not seen her in 3 days straight, which is a record, and I'm getting worried. she was not out to feed last night either. not sure this is normal. couldn't jump doesn't jump, plus I checked around the tank. hope she turns up eventually in my 35 gallon tank....

I moved my 65g at work last December. I managed to capture all of the fish but one orchid dottyback; I couldn't figure what had happened to it, and figured that it must have escaped from an open bucket. Two days later, after everyone had settled in, the missing dottyback reappeared, swimming around as if nothing had happened. I decided that it must have hidden in one of the rocks that I moved -- and that rock was emergent for more than an hour. Dottybacks are the ultimate survivalists.

I've also had springeri dottybacks disappear for a week at a time -- in an Evo. They can be very stealthy.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

My one spot foxface, but all I have to do is sit in front of the tank for 5 minutes and he will come out and test the waters and then act like I'm not there. And starts grazing the rocks

 

[Lester Verano]

I moved my 65g at work last December. I managed to capture all of the fish but one orchid dottyback; I couldn't figure what had happened to it, and figured that it must have escaped from an open bucket. Two days later, after everyone had settled in, the missing dottyback reappeared, swimming around as if nothing had happened. I decided that it must have hidden in one of the rocks that I moved -- and that rock was emergent for more than an hour. Dottybacks are the ultimate survivalists.

I've also had springeri dottybacks disappear for a week at a time -- in an Evo. They can be very stealthy.

It's now been a full week. I am afraid dotty is lost at sea,but you give me hope...

 

[Propane]

My green clown goby found a little cave within15 seconds of being put in the tank. He changes position so I know he’s alive but I’ve never even seen him eat.

 

[Tchung23]

Flaming prawn goby. See him once every few days for a few seconds

 

[davidcalgary29]

It's now been a full week. I am afraid dotty is lost at sea,but you give me hope...

Fingers crossed that yours turns up; if it's any consolation, there are a ton of other threads on the subject on this site: if you include the terms "missing dottyback", you'll turn up a ton of threads.

If your dottyback has, sadly, gone carpet-surfing (or has died), I'd recommend getting a pair of captive-bred fish next time. They're much more social in pairs or groups, and tend to work out a social order on their own -- as long as you add them at the same time.

 

[i cant think]

My shyest in my nano has to be my griessinger goby, that guy is a rare sight. He comes out every so often but in 9 months I’ve only seen him twice;
Once when he was going into the tank and then again 7-8 months on (just a couple months ago) he popped out to say hi. The only decent photos I have are from when he used to be front and centre in a goby dominated 20G tank.

In my 4’ tank it’s got to be my CBB. He’s so reclusive but at the same time incredibly bold and can even be aggressive to newbies. I would’ve said my YWG but he’s only reclusive because he’s round the back of the tank and not the front like everyone else.

 

[Dave1993]

Rubre basslet

 

[apb03]

My White Tail Bristletooth tang is incredibly shy. He won't come out if strangers are in the house and usually hides when I'm too close. He tends to pick at rocks for a few seconds, hides in his hole for a little bit, then repeats.

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

CBB... it didn't make it long after QT

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Got a poor quality pic of 1 of my shyest peeking out from a burrow tonight. I usually only spot 1 at a time (I have a male/female pair), but actually spotted both tonight! Spotting them usually involves a flashlight about 3 hours after dark. Dark room, dark tank, no other nearby lights on. They are yellow brotulids (Brotulina fusca). Pic from tonight, and a pic of the male when first put into quarantine.

 

[GeneralWrassement]

My Hi Fin goby, him and my candy cane pistol only come out for feeding and even then are skiddish.

One of my fave!!! And you’re right definitely shy

 

[GeneralWrassement]

My Catalina goby she and circus goby spend 93% of their time upside down in the darks in my tank. The circus is so cryptic pictures are impossible but he’s gorgeous when he does appear for feedings but he’s a bullet so again pics are impossible.