Will they fight?

[Angela Short]

I am condensing a few tanks and have a Fridmani Pseudochromis already established in my 270 and a black cap basslet in another tank I would like to add to the 270. They look almost just alike with the black cap haveing a black cap as pretty much the only difference :) I pretty much know the answer but by chance is there anyone who has thease 2 together in a big tank? I just hate to get rid of the black cap as he is awsome but naturally I love my Fridmani also and would not want to loose either one to a death fight.... Just trying to get everything to one tank! Thanks for your advise!

[lynn53]

I'm no expert, but I can't imagine not being able to house both those fish in that size of tank. The basslet should be considerably larger then the pseudochromis...maybe when you put him in ...put him in a spot that is farthest away from the chromis. With any luck he'll find a nice little cranny and hole up in it.

[Navyblue]

I don't have two pseudochromis.

But FWIW, I have a flasher wrasse in my 120G for a week or so, then I added a batch of fishes which include a strawberry pseudochromis. The pseudochromis hid for a few days, and then he found himself a hole. Now whenever the wrasse swims near that hole he would chase the wrasse away.

I had this in mind when I bought them, so I intentionally pick the largest and the most dominant wrasse that flashes and beat the others of his kind in the same tank, and I introduced him first. the wrasse is bigger than the pseudochromis by 1/3 or so. Still, today I saw some torn fin on the wrasse, I bet the pseudochromis did it.

I also have a four stripes damsel that was in the tank for about a month earlier, the damsel sort of don't like the pseudochromis, and they don't seem to be afraid of each other.

All in all, my pseudochromis is on par with damsel as far as nastiness goes. But fridmani is said to be milder than strawberry. It seems that most aggression occurs in their territory, at least in this aspect, your tank seems large enough to me. But as with all fishes, it all depend on individual. But if you have seen how they react to the presence of similar looking fishes like wrasses it should give you a clue. I am rethinking the possibility of adding firefishes now.

[Angela Short]

The black cap is conciderably smaller than the fridmani now but will in time out grow him by a lot. My fridmani is very shy and non agressive but he is the smallest fish in there by a long shot dealing with 4 tangs as tank mates. I do have 3 varieties of clowns keeping to there respective host corals with no problems at all but they are spaced evenly across the tank from each other which is ideal. The fridmani lives in the middle of the tank. If his home was more to one side I wouldn't worry so much about them crossing paths.... Thanks for the thoughts!

[wantsalotta]

fridmani is one of the nicer pseudo's. A blackc ap is mildly territorial. I don't think you will have too much of a problem.

[scarter]

go for it. in a 270, I could not imagine that they would not find their own place to swim

[Angela Short]

Its a 31 tall so there is not as much side to side room. Its only 7' long but plenty big enouph. I did some reaserch on them and I think I will give it a try. They both seem extreamly mild natured with the tank mates they have now. I just hope they accept each other and be nice! They are both very pretty.

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9239757#post9239757 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wantsalotta
fridmani is one of the nicer pseudo's. A blackc ap is mildly territorial. I don't think you will have too much of a problem.

Based on personal experience, Orchid Dottybacks are one of the meaner dottybacks. I have found only the Steeni and blueline to be meaner. Orchids have been know to disembowel larger fish if they are threatened. As far as housing these two fish in a 270, you may be able to get away with it because both fish generally stake out small areas of the tank and usually stay in there general area. They look similar and have similar swimming and eating habits so if they do cross paths in the tank then there may be problems. Both fish are fairly hardy and fiesty so if they do decide to go at it they will probably beat each other up as apposed to one dominating the other. If you put them together I would put the Basslet in some sort of clear container for the first few days and see how they interact. Given that the dottyback is already established, it will help with the accimilation of the new fish.

[wantsalotta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9242719#post9242719 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by triggerfish1976
Based on personal experience, Orchid Dottybacks are one of the meaner dottybacks. I have found only the Steeni and blueline to be meaner. Orchids have been know to disembowel larger fish if they are threatened. .

I know this to be true for Pseudochromis porphyreus, but fridmani, I have never seen, nor heard of much aggression from. Not arguing, or saying your wrong, just is news to me. May come in useful to know in the future.

[A sea K]

This is my 2 cents; The only thing in your favor as already stated is these fish stake out small territorries, and you have large tank.

This is what I think is working against you; Also stated above thes fish are very similar.
The P. fridmani is already established and larger than the Blackcap.
The P. fridmani has staked his territory in the center of the tank effectively reducing available space for the Blackcap.
Usually both these fish are somewhat peacefull but have the ability to do severe damage to each other, If one does not kill the the other, the long term stress to both wont be good for either one.

I have tried several attempts in my 210 that did not work with smaller more docile fish. I had 2 Neon gobies that chased each other till one died followed by the next several days later. The same happened with 2 firefish that constantly harrassed each other. My last attempt was a Hectori and Rainford's goby, I moved the Rainfords after 4 days, He is now happy and healthy in a 65 gal w/ dissimalar tankmates.

It is a shame to have to part with a fish you are fond of but it is better than the outcome for both of your fish if it does'nt work out.

I wish you the best of luck no matter what you chose but I would not try it. Chris

[Angela Short]

I took it from Scott W. Michaels book that it "may" be OK from the way I read into the write up of my 2 fish.... I did read that one of the dottybacks could disembowl fish. I do think a clear container placed near the fridmanis home will be a good idea just to see how he reacts... Any recomendtions of a good container? I do not have a fish trap or anything. A 2 liter coke bottle maybe with holes drilled in? Thanks!

[Angela Short]

A sea K Thanks for the advise... I do wish the established one was on one extream of the tank. This is the reason I got away with the 2 types of clowns hosting 2 different bubbles. They are on opposite ends of the tank!

[A sea K]

I know how tempting it is to try to keep both, but you probably feel it wont work as well.
Stinks does'nt it. Wish I had a solution for you, Chris

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9244306#post9244306 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Angela Short
Any recomendtions of a good container?
I use old blastic jars with a lid and drill small holes in the sides to allow water to pass through but not big enough for the fish to escape. Some people also the clear plastic rodent cages (the ones with the grated tops) which can be bought in different sizes.

[Angela Short]

Great idea! I have a old hermit crab critter keeper that would work perfect. I would have never thought about that! I think I will just put him in that and see what happens. I have someone to take the fish but I can at least get a idea of the inital reaction from the fish. I can go from there I guess.
The black cap is always out looking at me and very sociable as the fridmani is always hiding but that could have something to do with tank mates also....

[kismetsh]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9242719#post9242719 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by triggerfish1976
Based on personal experience, Orchid Dottybacks are one of the meaner dottybacks. I have found only the Steeni and blueline to be meaner. Orchids have been know to disembowel larger fish if they are threatened.

Interesting, do you have a reference for this? I am doing a lot of research on fish right now and everything I've read has stated that the orchid (fridmani) is one of the mildest pseudochromis sp.

I have found several references though that state the neon (aldabraensis) is known to engage in such behavior.

[Navyblue]

If things get out of control, you can try putting a mirror in front of the fridmani's hole, he might be kept busy fighting himself with the mirror to keep him distracted from the new guy. But IMO, you have pretty good chances that they would work out.

[Amphiprion]

You may be ok in that size tank, but I would expect at least some aggression. I would be prepared in case there is a serious issue. We can really only give guidelines to most compatibility issues, since fish can vary so much from individual to individual. We used to have 2 Pseudochromis sankeyi in a 240 without any issues, but that doesn't mean it can work anywhere else or every single time.

[Angela Short]

Thanks for the advise guys!

[ruiny]

If you are planning any other fish similar size, or shape, or colour?
If so add them all at the same time. I have had luck with this strat with other types of fish. If you want a 6 line wrasse or royal gramma even things like a lawnmower blenny. It seems that with more for the existing resadents to look at and chace with help.
But on a negative note, having the 3 types of clowns and the pseudo will limit the number of left over spots. In my experence clowns sometimes defend against more than just other clowns. I had a perc that would bite me if I got to close to his home.

However if it were me I'd give it a go and hope for the best.

[Amphiprion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9249623#post9249623 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ruiny
However if it were me I'd give it a go and hope for the best.

That is pretty much all you can do. You can generalize, say "It shouldn't do that," or "It will do that" until hell freezes over, but that won't make one particular scenario the outcome in any given instance.

[Laura D]

My tank raised orchid dottyback was about the most peaceful fish I have ever had. He was just scared to death of my blue assessor, which is not how I would have predicted that to work out.

My husband recently added an TR orchid dottyback to his tank and it took the poor little fish quite a while to get over her fear of the banggai pair and small skunk clown.