Spawning Orchid Dottybacks!!

[bues0022]

I know - this thread is worthless without pics. I tried for about 30 minutes last night, but the light, angle, and fish weren't agreeing with taking a good picture.

 

I bought my Orchid Dottybacks from Blue Ribbon Koi about 6 months ago. They came in really healthy, and they were able to get a bunch in so there was already a size difference between the two fish. (like clownfish, you need one larger than the other, however, for Dottybacks, the bigger is the male). I did not QT them, I took a PaulB approach - tossed them in the tank and fed a bunch. They both went through spats of ich and some other topical thing on them (cysts maybe?), and got beat up a little from my female clown. I kept feeding heavy throughout - a healthy fish can fend off many sicknesses. I feed my own homemade blend of fish food. I also really like to feed masago - can't hardly get any more nutritious than an egg! 

 

The last few days, I noticed the smaller (female) one looking quite rotund and hanging around one particular hole in the rocks. Last night while I was feeding, I looked in the hole, and there's an egg ball about the size of a shooter marble in there! Woot!! I guess that means I must be doing something right if I have fish spawning, right?!?! No, I do not have plans at this time to even attempt to raise any fish, just think it's fun to have a successful habitat and breeding going on in my tank!

[treesprite]

Awesome!

 

Are your dottys the captive bred ones or wild?

 

I really wanted a pair, but was afraid of getting two same-sex fish and ending up with just one.

[bues0022]

These are captive bred. 

 

I was also worried about that. Through a lot of reading, I’ve figured out that the captive bred fish are more likely to be better for you that wild. This is because captive fish are sold as soon as they are big enough, which means their sex may not be determined yet. So, similar to clowns, you can get two at the same size, and they will figure out who’s male and who’s female. BUT, I had talked with Jon at BRK, and waited until he placed an order that included a bunch of these fish so I could go pick out the two with the biggest size difference. I’d say it worked out well!

[Hilary]

That is so cool - congrats!

 

[Jon Lazar]

Firstly, congratulations!

 

Orchid dottybacks are prototgynous hermaphprodites: born female and the dominant one turns male.  Sort of the opposite of clownfish.

 

Get two young ones and they'll pair up.  Or get a large and small.