Orchid Dottyback

Facts about the Orchid Dottyback, they are species of fish that originated from the Red Sea. The Orchid Dottyback are also known as Purple Dottyback, Strawberry Dottyback, and Magenta. The Orchid Dottyback belong to the Dottyback family and their scientific name is Pseudochromis fridmani

Description
It is easy to identify the male Orchid Dottyback from the female Orchid Dottyback from an early age. This is because their tails have very different shape. The female’s tails are round whereas the male's tail has an arch which meets at a sharp point.
The Orchid Dottyback are deep purple in color and the color is more visible with the females than the males. You cannot fail to recognize them when in an aquarium because of their beauty. On each side of their head, there is a black line which runs from the tip of the nose to the eye. The males’ caudal fin is elongated and is very recognizable.

Growth
The Orchid Dottyback grow up to 7.5 cm which is equivalent 2-3 inches.

Habitat
The Orchid Dottyback are found in depth of 1-60 m and they make small holes in their caves when in the wild. The Orchid Dottyback generally do not dive deep in the ocean but are found on shallow reefs. Normally the Orchid Dottyback love vertical rocks and plate coral which they hide in. But something interesting is that they do not hide for long because when they become bolder or familiar with their territory they come out.

Social behavior
You can keep Orchid Dottyback Fish in aquariums because they are generally small in nature. The Orchid Dottyback can be aggressive if kept with similar species with the same coloration but generally they are peaceful. There are some people who report that after keeping them together for a while they come to accept one another and stop fighting. But it is good to observe their behavior first before keeping them in pairs to avoid accidents.

Reproductive
The Orchid Dottyback are protogynous hermaphrodites. This is means that they are born as females but can change to males. It is interesting to note that the large fish typically changes to a male and a pair is formed. The eggs are guarded by the male fish and it goes to hiding during this process.

Feeding
The Orchid Dottyback love eating foods with meat. Their favorite meal is Mysis Shrimp, krill, brine shrimp, and other frozen meat. When these are not available, the Orchid Dottyback can also feed on flake and pellets. When they are kept in tanks they tend to feed on spine worms and this is visible because at times you can see the bristle worms protruding from their faces. The spine worms disappear sometimes so do not worry because it does not seem to bother them.
If they are held in captive, the smaller Orchid Dottyback needs 840 cm of squared water. For the large Orchid Dottyback you can raise this amount to around 700 liters so that they can swim.
Gravity should be between 1,020 and the temperature between 23 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius. The pH levels should be 8 – 8.3 because this is the temperature they are used to swimming in the wild.