Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01/10/2008, 10:38 PM
ACBlinky ACBlinky is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada
Posts: 3,804
Shy dottyback -- will I ever see my new fish?

I just purchased a beautiful Pseudochromis dilectus dottyback, and he's a painfully shy fish. I'm used to dottys being obnoxious, gutsy and even mean fish, but this guy seems really reserved. He's in robust health, really beautiful, but refuses to come out of hiding until I'm out of the room (I do see him come out when I watch him from around the corner where he can't see me).

In the LFS tank he was housed with some pretty tough customers; I figured he was staying in his PVC tube to avoid the vicious damsels that were trying to take pieces out of him, each other, and everyone passing the tank. Now that he's been here for a while (four days) I had hoped he would relax -- he's got a PVC tube in his QT and nobody else in there to bother him -- but his behaviour hasn't changed.

He seems incredibly intelligent, always watching movements outside the tank, and he's eating very well (he loves frozen blender mush) -- provided I put the food in the tank and then leave the room. I've been reading up on dilectus and they're supposed to be fairly aggressive as dottybacks go, but this one seems positively meek.

Does anyone have a dilectus dottyback? Has anyone seen this behaviour with this, or other species before? I really hope he'll warm up to me -- I want to see him more often, he's such a gorgeous fish!
__________________
"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea."
- Isak Dinesen
  #2  
Old 01/10/2008, 11:12 PM
JillNairn JillNairn is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Harker Heights, Tx (Fort Hood)
Posts: 23
How long have you had this fish? My brother had one and it came out quite a bit. not as much as a fridmani or such, but it still popped out and would come out to eat.
  #3  
Old 01/10/2008, 11:26 PM
camlov2 camlov2 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Northern California
Posts: 16
I have a Bicolor (royal) dottyback and an ocellaris clown. I feed the clown by dropping food piece by piece. He normally eats each piece before it hits the ground. Once a couple hit the ground I would stop. These pieces went to the quickest crab. Once the dottyback was introduced he hid when ever I was near (for about 2 days), I guess he learned quick that he needed to come out if he was going to get food before the clown. Now I see him out quite a bit.

I tried to add another fish to the tank (6 line wrasse), boy was that a mistake. The dottyback then came out in full force. Give him some time to set up his home, once he is comfortable you might see some changes in attitude.

Brian
  #4  
Old 01/10/2008, 11:53 PM
reefworm reefworm is offline
NGC 4414 [60million ly]
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Waxhaw, NC USA
Posts: 941
give it some time.
__________________
"Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle." - Malcolm Reynolds
  #5  
Old 01/11/2008, 12:23 AM
ACBlinky ACBlinky is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada
Posts: 3,804
Quote:
Originally posted by JillNairn
How long have you had this fish? My brother had one and it came out quite a bit. not as much as a fridmani or such, but it still popped out and would come out to eat.
Four days -- we bought him on Monday.

Thanks for the replies guys, I guess I just needed a little reassurance -- I had a neon dotty when I had my 65g up and running and he was quite bold right from day one (and a nasty little guy). I never thought I'd want another dotty but took one look at this guy in the LFS and decided if he ends up a shrimp-killer I can live with that -- he's just beautiful. Now I'm so disappointed because I know there's a stunning fish in the QT and all I can see is the end of his nose!
__________________
"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea."
- Isak Dinesen
  #6  
Old 01/11/2008, 03:24 PM
ahullsb ahullsb is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: sacramento, ca
Posts: 1,985
It can take them awhile to get adjusted and establish their territory. But there is a chance it will like to stay in caves quite often. I had a firefish that didn't like to swim around in the main water column very often.
  #7  
Old 01/11/2008, 04:05 PM
Pmolan Pmolan is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 1,779
Re: Shy dottyback -- will I ever see my new fish?

Quote:
Originally posted by ACBlinky
but refuses to come out of hiding until I'm out of the room (I do see him come out when I watch him from around the corner where he can't see me).
Can you please post a picture of yourself?
  #8  
Old 01/11/2008, 06:46 PM
DrBegalke DrBegalke is offline
IllegitimiNonCarborundum
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,481
I have not kept that species, but I have kept several other Pseudochromis.

Most will become increasingly bold, the only one I have kept that I rarely see is my P. mccullochi, which also happens to be one of my favorites.

If he is out and about when you are out of the room, I think he will learn to come out when you are there. Especially once he starts to associate you with feedings.
__________________
~Jason
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009