TankBud

Diadem dottyback

Pseudochromis diadema

Also known as Purple Stripe Dottyback, Diadema Dottyback, Flashback Pygmy Basslet

SaltwaterFish

Diadem dottyback (Pseudochromis diadema)
Mrbrefast · CC BY 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
73–81°F
23–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
2.8 in
7 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pseudochromidae
Origin
Western Central Pacific (Coral Triangle), from the Philippines and Malaysia through Indonesia to Palau

Overview

Diadem dottybacks are counted among the calmer members of a famously feisty family: they hold a territory and will chase off damsels, gobies, grammas, and other small fish that get too close, but they are less relentless about it than a bicolor or neon dottyback. Keep one per tank and give it a crevice to call its own. It is completely reef safe around corals and clams, and it will pick off small bristleworms as a bonus. It is an eager eater, taking frozen mysis, brine shrimp, and marine pellets two or three times a day without any coaxing.

In the wild

Found on shallow reefs across the Coral Triangle, from the Philippines and Malaysia through Indonesia to Palau, sheltering in holes and crevices in coral rubble and reef rock between about 5 and 25 meters down. It holds a small home range around its chosen crevice and rarely wanders far from cover. A reef tank of 75 liters or more with plenty of live rock broken into nooks suits it well.

Good to know

Pseudochromis diadema carries the sharp two-tone look, a bright yellow body crowned with a purple stripe over the head, typical of the small dottybacks; some sources now place it in Pictichromis alongside its closest relatives, though Pseudochromis diadema remains in wide use in the trade. As with the rest of the family it is a protogynous hermaphrodite, changing from female to male as the dominant fish in a pairing. It is produced in reasonable numbers by marine fish farms, so captive-bred stock is easier to find for this species than for many dottybacks.

Did you know

The bold purple band running back from its eye over the top of the head looks enough like a jeweled headband to have earned the fish its name, diadem, the classical word for a crown.

Common questions

What size tank does a Diadem dottyback need?

A Diadem dottyback needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Diadem dottyback need?

A Diadem dottyback is comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

How big does a Diadem dottyback get?

An adult Diadem dottyback reaches about 2.8 in (7 cm).

Related species