Having the un-reversable aberrant Coral Beauty Angelfish and the trio of super hot White-Bar Anthias in his collection, Jimmy Ma is certainly no stranger to rare fish. If you think his aberrant C. bispinosa is something to shout about, what till you check out his amazing collection of dottybacks.
Most dottybacks are notorious for being nefarious and absolute terrors in the aquarium, and taking one out after regrettably putting them in in the first place is next to impossible. Jimmy’s careful collection of dottybacks in the same tank is already a feat on its own.
Most of the dottybacks in Jimmy’s collection are actually manageable and can co-exist without much problems in a large enough tank with ample amount of liverock to claim their own. Both the Pseudoplesiops rosae and Lubbockichthys multisquamatus that he has are actually very peaceful dottybacks and can be kept with other slightly more aggressive species such as the P. tapeinosoma, P. marshallensis and the Pictichromis diadema. Granted, these fish are still dottybacks and they will find an excuse to pick a fight so a large tank is pivotal.
Every single dottyback in Jimmy’s collection can be classified as very uncommon, if not rare. We’ve featured articles on all of them before, and perhaps the most desired species in his arsenal would be the very handsome male Pseudochromis tapeinosoma. Having owned one specimen of P. tapeinosoma before, it’s safe to say that the aggressiveness of this species is much less compared to some of the other notorious members of the dottyback clan, and is tolerable.
Jimmy’s tank also play host to the Pseudochromis marshallensis and an aberrant Pictichromis diadema. Contrary to its species name, P. marshallensis is not a Marshall Island endemic. It is however, very seldom seen in the trade. The aberrant diadem dottyback is just as unusual, sporting a large purple area over the body where the yellow should be. Thank you Jimmy for once again, sharing with us pictures of these rare fishes.