Fun Orchid Dottyback Facts For Kids

The Orchid Dottyback is a small saltwater fish. Although its origin is in the Red Sea, it currently graces its presence in many aquarium tanks across the world.

The deep purple skin of an Orchid Dottyback leaves its viewers awestruck. The fish is just three inches long so it can be accommodated even in minimum tank size.

The Orchid Dottyback is considered reef safe but can show aggression to the timid tank mates, particularly when they disturb it in its hiding places. If you are thinking of adding this radiant fish to your aquarium, be sure to add it in the last so that other fish claim their province first.

Also, learn more about some other aquarium fish, including peacock cichlid facts and midas blenny facts.

Orchid Dottyback Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an Orchid Dottyback?

The Orchid Dottyback is a tiny marine fish. It is well-known for its bright purple pigmented skin, making it stand out from other species in a reef tank.

What class of animal does an Orchid Dottyback belong to?

The Orchid Dottyback belongs to the ray-finned fish class, Actinopterygii.

How many Orchid Dottybacks are there in the world?

The Orchid Dottyback is a species from the Psuedochromidae family consisting of about 100 species of brightly colored fish. The exact population size of the Orchid Dottyback is unknown.

Where does an Orchid Dottyback live?

The Orchid Dottyback, also known as Fridman's Dottyback, lives in saltwater bodies, mainly shallow reefs. Because of its semi-aggressive nature, the Orchid Dottyback fish can be captive-bred and easily spotted in an aquarium.

What is an Orchid Dottyback's habitat?

The most suitable habitat for an Orchid Dottyback is a marine ecosystem. It is a proud inhabitant of the highly saline-potent Red Sea.

Who do Orchid Dottybacks live with?

The Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is classified as a semi-aggressive species. The fish lives peacefully with other members of its species until its tank mates invade its hiding places. It can also coexist with fish like clownfish, hawkfish, wrasses, and damsels.

How long does an Orchid Dottyback live?

The average life span of an Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is 5-7 years when it is captive-bred. However, they can live for longer with optimum care.

How do they reproduce?

Male and female Orchid Dottybacks reproduce sexually. First, the male fertilizes hundreds of eggs laid by the female. Then, the male protects the eggs before they hatch in 4-5 days. Finally, the larvae metamorphose into fry (young fish) after four weeks.

What is their conservation status?

Orchid Dottyback's conservation status is Least Concern; They are found in marine habitats and many aquarists and hobbyists breed it today for aquariums.

Orchid Dottyback Fun Facts

What do Orchid Dottybacks look like?

Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is a bright purple-colored fish. It has a uniform purple color throughout its body, including the dorsal fins. Another striking feature is a black stripe running from the nose through to the eye. It is often confused with Pseudochromis porphyreus, Magenta Dottyback. However, Pseudochromis porphyreus does not have a black stripe running through its face.

How cute are they?

You could not miss a Dottyback in a school of fish; that is how eye-catching and attractive it is. Its small size and vivid purple skin are what make it adorable.

How do they communicate?

The Orchid Dottyback is known to be an introvert during the initial days, but it opens up with fellow tank mates and its owner in 2-3 weeks. The fish gets attached to their owner, and it follows them around the tank like a genie follows his master.

How big is an Orchid Dottyback?

Unlike other animals of the Red Sea, the Orchid Dottyback is relatively small, this tiny vertebrate is not longer than three inches. A lionfish is six times as long as the Orchid Dottyback.

How fast can an Orchid Dottyback swim?

The Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is a very active fish; it keeps swimming in the aquarium and follows its master like a faithful servant. Although we know that it is agile, little is known about the exact velocity of its motion.

How much does an Orchid Dottyback weigh?

The exact weight of an Orchid Dottyback is not known, but the average weight of Dottybacks could be 0.04 lb.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) is a Protogynous hermaphrodite; this is an animal born female and at some point changes its sex to male. There are no specific names for the females and males of the species, but they can be distinguished by their looks.

What would you call a baby Orchid Dottyback

A baby Orchid Dottyback is called a fry.

What do they eat?

When it comes to food, the Orchid Dottyback has minimum requirements. It will eat any flake food you serve it. Due to its carnivorous nature, it also preys on small brine shrimp, krill, and other docile fish in the tank.

Are they dangerous?

The Dottyback or Pseudochromis fridmani will not harm other fish in an aquarium unless its privacy is invaded. However, this fish poses a threat to ornamental shrimp and other docile fish in the tank, which will most likely land in Dottyback's intestine.

Would they make a good pet?

The Orchid Dottyback (reef-safe) can add a pop of color to your aquarium. These are the favorites of aquarists. It is a hardy fish, so you can consider it when buying your next pet.

Did you know...

It was costly to acquire an Orchid Dottyback earlier (about $100 per fish). Thanks to aquarists and hobbyists, the fish can now be captive-bred and is available at a reasonable price of $25-$30. As we know, fish requires privacy, so the minimum tank size of the aquarium should be about 30 gallons.

Orchid Dottybacks with other fish

This hardy fish can coexist with most tank mates like clownfish, hawkfish, wrasses, and damsels. However, the addition of Dottybacks to an aquarium tank should always be last because they are very protective of their hiding places.

They should not be paired with small brine shrimp and other meek fish that are doomed to land in the intestine of Orchid Dottyback (aggressive). Also, they should not be put in an aquarium with eels, triggers, lionfish, and other predatory fish that can ingest them.

Breeding Orchid Dottybacks

Breeding an Orchid Dottyback is pretty easy; all you require is a male and female pair in the tank and wait for spawning events. Even in an aquarium, the fish should be given privacy while mating.  In addition, the water quality needs to be maintained for the proper growth of the fry.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish including milkfish facts, or codfish facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Orchid Dottyback coloring pages.