All fish / Pseudochromidae

Oblique-lined Dottyback

Cypho purpurascens

Also known as oblique-lined dottyback, oblique lined dottyback, purple dottyback, carnation dottyback, red-tailed dottyback, cypho dottyback, purple cypho, pinstriped dottyback, ニセモチノウオ, 斜带拟雀鲷, 紫红拟雀鲷

This is a small, slim dottyback. Males are orange-red to purplish with fine oblique lines and blue spots, while females are duller purple-grey with a dark eyespot near the tail. Aquarists like it for its bright colour, toughness and the way it darts through live rock.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Aggressive

Adult size

7 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

115 litres

Keep as

Keep singly, or as a single male and female pair in a larger tank

Diet

Carnivore: mysis and brine shrimp, chopped seafood, quality marine pellets and flakes

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 7 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific: Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea to Fiji, New Caledonia, Indonesia and the Philippines

Breeding

Pairs spawn a ball of eggs in a cave and the male guards them until they hatch after a few days. Spawning is fairly common in captivity, but rearing the tiny larvae requires rotifers and copepods and is challenging.

Good to know

It is territorial and can bully small, timid or similar-shaped fish such as other dottybacks, gobies and basslets, so add it last and give it plenty of rockwork. It may eat small ornamental shrimp.