Royal Dottyback VS Royal Gramma

[m12345y]

Hi bros,

I had never thought that there are actually two different species of fish that have half purple and half yellow, therefore, while i was think i bought a Royal Gramma, i actually bought a Royal Dottyback...

but anyway, Royal Dottyback also looks beautiful..now comes the question, will it fight with

1. other dottybacks as other dottyback?

2. Royal Gramma?

3. purplequeen/bartlett anthias?

thanks.

[Eniram]

Hi bros,

I had never thought that there are actually two different species of fish that have half purple and half yellow, therefore, while i was think i bought a Royal Gramma, i actually bought a Royal Dottyback...

but anyway, Royal Dottyback also looks beautiful..now comes the question, will it fight with

1. other dottybacks as other dottyback?

2. Royal Gramma?

3. purplequeen/bartlett anthias?

thanks.

I don't think its called a Royal Dottyback i believe it called Bicolor Pseudochromis. Once its established it will be a terror in the tank and its very hard to catch it unless you tear your whole rockscape

[yikai]

royal dottyback is another name for the bicolour pseudochromis bro. common names can be confusing...

anyway, back to topic.

it is an extremely common mistake by new reefers to mix up these two fishes. the bicolour pseudochromis (Pseudochromis paccagnellae), and royal gramma (Gramma Loreto).

although similar looking at first glance, they are actually very different when looked closer. the dotty back has a sudden dramatic change in colour from purple to yellow, represented by a clean line separating it. the gramma, however, has a smooth and gradual change in colour tone, with a pixellated mixture where the two colours meet. there is also a line across the eye of the gramma, where it is absent in the dottyback.

there is an occelated eye spot on the dorsal fin of the gramma which is absent in the dottyback. the best way to tell these two apart is from location. while the dottyback is commonly found in indonesia and phillipines, the gramma is only found in carribean shipments.

unlike the peaceful royal gramma, the royal/bicolour dottyback WILL fight and terrorize almost all small and even big fishes. ESPECIALLY royal grammas and other dottybacks. due to similar colouration and conspecifics.

[pokmingsheng]

I don't think its called a Royal Dottyback i believe it called Bicolor Pseudochromis. Once its established it will be a terror in the tank and its very hard to catch it unless you tear your whole rockscape

+1 on tearing down my whole rockscape..

real bad experience i had when i first started this hobby...

started chasing every fish which comes near to it...

thought i got Royal Gramma at a really good deal,

turned out to be Biocolor Pseudochromis...

[iskay]

My experience is that it'll fight any fish even those slightly bigger than itself that gets close enough to it's territory. Very territorial fish. Most Dottybacks are territorial.

[veliferium]

pengz ,i actually have a pretty nasty RG,though its not as nasty as the royal dottyback

[m12345y]

OMG, i just cleared all my big fishes and plan to have a mix of small, peaceful fishes, now that i got the royal dottyback, what can i do?!

can i still add in purplequeen/bartlett anthias? how about clown fishes like allardi?

[yikai]

all fishes smaller and/or bigger than the dottyback may be subjected to chasing and biting. dottybacks are really... the very definition of aggressive. especially once settled down. better trap it. a betta box with frozen mysis works well if it's desperate enough for the food... they do tend to express certain level of intelligence.... pretty hard to trap.. took me days of starving mine to remove it.

[m12345y]

all fishes smaller and/or bigger than the dottyback may be subjected to chasing and biting. dottybacks are really... the very definition of aggressive. especially once settled down. better trap it. a betta box with frozen mysis works well if it's desperate enough for the food... they do tend to express certain level of intelligence.... pretty hard to trap.. took me days of starving mine to remove it.

Thanks bro. this is really disheartening......

or should i be happy for not getting the Bartlett today? sigh....

alright, let me take this opportunity to ask further, so

what are the fishes i could possibly keep in a mixed reef tank, again the requirement is small and peaceful (and colorful, hardy, affordable )?

[FuEl]

If marine fish are colourful but cheap, there is usually a reason.

[TFMANIAC]

For those who need pictures to make sense of it all...

Royal Dottyback image from www.searchpictures.net

Royal Gramma image from www.glaxu.com

[m12345y]

yes, the two can be easily distinguished indeed.

the good thing now is that the dottyback is still small and seems not interested in chasing anyone yet and my purple queen anthias (also small) is feeding on BBS happily

and from the Marine Compatibility Chart, basslet & anthias are "Generally Compatible", any comments?

[MOssrope]

If marine fish are colourful but cheap, there is usually a reason.

nicely summarised statement.

dottyback has this evil eyes look its easy to tell

[FuEl]

Check out Brazilian gramma (now banned for export) and Lipogramma klayi.