Latin name | Pictichromis diadema - (Lubbock & Randall, 1978) |
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Local name | Diadem dottyback |
Family | Pseudochromidae - Pictichromis |
Origin | Indonesia, Central/West Pacific |
Max length | 6 cm (2.4") |
Minimum volume | 50 l (13 gal) |
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Hardiness | Average |
Suitable for aquarium | Suitable with care |
Reef safe | Reef safe with caution |
Aggressiveness | Aggressive towards other species |
Recommended |
Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia...) Zooplankton (Cyclops, pods...) |
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Mostly |
Larger crustaceans (Shrimp, crabs...) |
This species is known to jump out of open aquaria.
This species poses a threat towards shrimps and crabs etc., which are relatively small.
This species can be extremely aggressive towards other fish.
Be careful when keeping these fish together with peaceful or docile species. Regular feeding, plenty of hiding places and a lot of space can alleviate aggressive behavior to some degree.
This species must be fed with an appropriately varied diet.
In the aquarium the colour of this species can become matte.
Food with plenty of pigment and generally a varied diet of high quality can help alleviate colour loss.
This species needs good hiding places, for example, between live rocks.
This species can change gender from female to male.
When a male is needed, a female changes sex and takes on the role.
This species can be bred in captivity, one can therefore consider asking your local fish store for a captive bred specimen.
Dottybacks (Pseudochromidae) are often very colourful, rather hardy and relatively small, typically under 4 inch (10 cm). These fish can be distinguished from other fish by looking at the shape of the eye, see for example the picture of this: Hawkfish, Surgeonfish, Rabbitfish, Angelfish, Triggerfish, Clown/ Damselfish or Pufferfish.
Dottybacks will compete for food with other fish which eat zooplankton off the rocks. Mandarinfish and similar species can find it difficult to get enough food if kept together with Dottybacks.
One could consider the Gramma species, if one wishes a similar fish which is more peaceful.
Aquarium trade | Yes |
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Distribution | Western Central Pacific: Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines and northern Borneo. |
English common names |
Diadem dottyback |
Henry C. Schultz. 2002. The Dottybacks - Reefkeeping - (English)
Scott W. Michael. 2001. Basslets, Dottybacks & Hawkfishes: v. 2 (Reef Fishes) - TFH Publications / Microcosm Ltd. - (English)
Bob Fenner. The Dottybacks, Family Pseudochromidae - Wet Web Media - (English)
Collection of links to additional information - Wet Web Media - (English)
Minimum volume
"Minimum volume" indicates the size of the tank needed to house this species under optimal conditions.
This is based on a medium size animal, which you want to keep for several years.
It might be possible to keep smaller specimens for a limited period in a smaller tank. A larger tank might be needed for fully-grown specimens.
Hardiness
"Hardiness" indicates how resistant this species is to disease and how well i tolerates bad conditions in general.
Some species doesn't handle transportation very well, but that doesn't mean that the species isn't hardy under the right conditions.
Suitable for aquarium
In this case, a "normal" aquarium is a reef aquarium with mixed corals or a fish only aquarium with an approximately salinity of 1.026 (sg) and a temperature close to 26°C.
Species requiring more than a 4000-liter tank are considered not suitable for home aquarium.
Special aquariums may cover tanks with low salinity, sub-tropical temperature, deep sand bed, sea grass etc.
Reef safe
Always reef safe: No sources indicate that this species will harm corals or other invertebrates.
Often reef safe: Only a few aquarists has reported problems keeping this species with corals and other invertebrates.
Reef safe with caution: This species may be a threat to some types of invertebrates.
Reef safe with luck: Most specimens will harm corals and/or other invertebrates, but you might be lucky.
Not reef safe: This species is a threat to most corals and/or other invertebrates.