Bicolor Dottyback

1 Species Overview

The bicolor dottyback, also called the false gramma, has a very special color: the front half is purple, the rear half bright yellow, vividly. It is strongly territorial and will fight fish two to three times its size.

English name: Bicolor dottyback

Type: Tropical marine fish

Origin: Coral reef waters from the western Pacific to the eastern Indian Ocean

Reproduction: Egg-laying

Water: pH 8.0 to 8.5

Difficulty: Moderate

Temperature: 27 to 28 C

2 Appearance and Physical Traits

The bicolor dottyback looks very special, as seen in photos. Because it is so territorial, it often fights for territory with fish two to three times its size.

The juvenile bicolor dottyback is graceful and bright, with a spindle shape and colorful body. It looks much like a damselfish, but differs clearly in that the sexes differ strongly, mainly in color, and it is not as lively as damselfish; otherwise similar. Most in this family are hermaphroditic (sequential).

The bicolor dottyback is 4 to 5 cm, with blue eyes near the front. The caudal fin is bright yellow, the other fins transparent and colorless. The front half is purple, the rear half bright yellow; purple and yellow set each other off, very beautiful.

3 Habitat and Living Environment

In captivity attend to water and environment. In the wild it is mainly in the South China Sea, Philippines, Indian Ocean, and Pacific coral reefs.

In the tank the bicolor dottyback is a very pretty species, the best accent for a plain aquascape. But do not keep too many, or the tank looks too loud and loses its natural feel. It is also fairly easy to keep. It suits a tank of specific gravity 1.022, temperature 26 C, seawater pH 8.0 to 8.5, hardness 7 to 9 dH.

4 Feeding Guidelines

From photos the bicolor dottyback looks very special and is loved. It is strongly territorial and will fight even fish two to three times its size to defend territory. How to feed scientifically?

Its food is animal matter and prepared foods; in captivity feed brine shrimp, daphnia, marine pellets, and it also eats ornamental shrimp and nuisance bristleworms. It can be mixed with live coral and other invertebrates.