Orchid Dottyback

Care Summary

The Orchid Dottyback is a vivid purple, reef-safe fish that is hardy, captive-bred easily, and one of the best dottybacks for a community reef tank if you manage its aggression carefully. House it in 30+ gallons with rockwork for shelter; it establishes a cave as home territory and will defend it, but in a properly sized tank most fish learn to avoid its corner. Captive-bred specimens from ORA are the gold standard; they are raised on prepared foods, fully conditioned, and far more adaptable than wild fish from the Red Sea. Feed frozen mysis and meaty small foods twice daily; dottybacks are carnivores and the vivid purple coloration fades noticeably if they are fed an algae-heavy or protein-poor diet.