You know, clownfish get all the attention when it comes to domesticated strains – and angelfish get all the praise and attention when a new species is bred in captivity for the first time. But there’s one group of fish which have been integral to the captive breeding of marine fish since the early days. I’m speaking of course of the dottybacks.
If it wasn’t for dottybacks, marine fish breeders would have been stuck breeding only clownfish for the first couple of decades. The many different species of Pseudochromis were no doubt an important addition to the bottom line of captive fish breeding operations which sustained them before we had so many more species to work with.
ORA Announces Limited Availability of Captive-Bred Blackmargin Dottybacks
Today I just wanted to highlight the few species of dottybacks that have been captive bred and led to many new and interesting fish being offered to the hobby. Some of these have been sporadically available from wild collected fish but, several of them are quite rare. Then there’s the beautiful hybrids and even one albino strain which prove that albino marine fish actually do exist.
There’s so many cool species of Pseudochromis and Pictichromis which mostly make perfect saltwater aquarium fish to keep and enjoy. Next time you’re shopping for a neat addition to your nano or jumbo reef tank, definitely give the dottybacks a consideration and do keep an eye out for some of the unique species coming out of captive breeding efforts.
Elongate Dottyback (Pseudochromis elongatus) now available from ORA
The Mysterious Albino Dottyback, Pseudochromis sankeyi “Albino”
Black neon dottyback product review: a really sweet hybrid from Sea & Reef Aquaculture
