Need a mean fish for a 46
 

Well maybe not mean, but definitely tough. Several months ago my daughter picked out a fish that I thought was a royal Gramma... it turned out to be a royal dottyback. It had been a very nice tank mate for many months with an ocell clown, and a Val puffer. Then I added a 6-line wrasse...that did not go well.

Now I need to replace the wrasse. Is there anything that might work for this situation or is it a death sentence for anything I put in?

46 bow, with a few frags of zoas, 1 mushroom, and 1 hammer. and some cerith snails.

IMHO, the dottyback owns the tank at this point. Perhaps it's time for it to "Jump"?

I'm surprised to hear you need to replace the wrasse, usually six lines are the aggressor not the other way around.

How about a Falco Hawkfish? would be the perfect size for a 46 bow...

It doesn't bother anyone else at all. I thought maybe it had something to do with a long skinny body type being too similar.

I'm sure that's part of it. Dottybacks in general are more than a little ornery. So are 6-lines. Especially in a small tank like that your options are very limited.

I agree that the dotty will make it really tough to add something.

Dottys hate wrasses, too. Really, the aggressive dottys are best off with big/aggressive fishes like tangs, triggers, angels.

Is there anything I can fit in a 46?

Maybe a small dwarf angel. I say this only because I had one that was the meanest fish I've ever owned. I don't know how it would do any a tank of that size with an established mean fish that already 'owns' the tank.

I would say lose the dottyback. Why go down the road of escalating meanness to make tank additions?

Matt

No tang or trigger.

There are a couple of the dwarf angels that would fit in a 46 (bow, I assume): flameback, cherub.

I wouldn't risk the dotty killing the new fish though. I would just stick with the 4 you have, or trap the dotty and replace with your original royal gramma plan.

I would dismantle and take the fish out. No reason in getting another you may not want just to appease the issue. Root cause is that fish is the problem. Then you can be happy knowing it's not doing that to any fish in the future.

I had a purple pseudochromis (dottyback) in my DT only because my wife insisted even after my warnings. It was a model citizen for a month or two. Then it started randomly taking out anything with legs, and fish several times it's size. Luckily, it was very easy to catch with a simple trap. It went to live with my 4' Undulated Moray, where it was able to hold it's own for a couple years. Then it just disappeared, either eaten, jumped, or whatever. Never again in any tank of mine.

There are only 3 fish now. The clown, the puffer and the dottyback. Yes it is a 46 bow. I like dwarf angles (I've had some before), but I read they wouldn't really fit in a 46; and wouldn't they eat my fledgling coral collection? Is there a link to how to build a fish trap? I can try to get him out but a good % of the aquascape is attached to a pvc "arch" and not really moveable (at least easily).

All angels can be coral eaters. Actually so can your Valentini puffer. African flamebacks are generally pretty coral safe if you keep them well fed, but similar colors to the royal dottyback so you may want to put something different in there. They’re also kind of pricey. I would personally switch the dottyback out for a gramma. They are easy to tell the difference. The dottyback’s colors separate in a distinct line and the gramma is more blurred between the purple and yellow. Kind of hard to explain, but if you see them side by side you won’t misidentify one again.

Have you thought about a Mccosker’s flasher wrasse? It won’t work with the dottyback, but if you switch it out for a gramma they’re shouldn’t be any issues.

Also, try putting mysis in a net or deep cup when you feed for a few days and seeing if the dottyback will swim in. It’s actually amazing how often this can work if they don’t recognize the net as dangerous.

Sorry, I read the "clown" as a clown pair.

There are a couple dwarf angels that would work, but yes it's always possible that it would pick at corals.

Google "diy bottle fish trap." That's a good way to do it. You can also use a small hook with the barb cut off. Or the high and dry method works well too.

what's high and dry?

Drain almost all the water from the tank. The fish is trapped in the low spots. It doesn't take as long as you might think, and it works great, especially in a smaller tank like yours.

a dottyback will likely hide in the sand or rock if you drain the tank

Yep, that's possible. A trap or hook and line might be the best choices here.

perhaps this weekend I'll shoot for the bottle method.

Update: Well, after most of Saturday was spent watching the murderous little ***** taunt me by constantly looking in the bottle but never actually going in it, then chasing him around with a net...then finally taking down the whole tank...

...I got him out. He's back at the LFS, likely helping cycle some coral racks or something (probably thinking of a way to shiv a damsel or something).

So now I've got room for maybe 2 more fish, there are some good suggestions in here already but I'd like something that won't break the bank, has some color, will get along with a clown and a puffer and is, at least, slightly less likely to eat my few corals.

Lot of beautiful wrasses out there that should be a good fit.

Royal Grammas have the same coloration but almost none of the attitude. Just make sure the line between purple and yellow fades gradually. If it's a sharp line it's a Dottyback. It's easy to tell the difference after looking at a few pictures of the two. Oh, and like wrasses, the Gramma may eat small shrimp if you plan on adding them in the future.

I also highly recommend Banggai Cardinals. I bought a captive bred pair from Diver's Den. Always out in the open and doesn't bug or get bugged by anything else.

Second that

Dwarf flame angel is always nice too and beautiful coloration