Anthias

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Hi All!

Does anybody have a preference over what anthias to purchase?

I would like to get 2-3 females and 1 male for my reef tank. I will be doing a major aquascaping and making more swim space with two islands and have always love these fish.

Any comments or experience greatly appreciated! Johnny

[Reefdude5]

I would get Lyretail Anthias, simply beautiful, although I've never kept them and don't know much about them! Hope it helps Johnny!

[rockstar]

threadfins are cool as well


good luck there sweet fish

[Geoff]

the info i will say is about the most common anthias the lyretail, Pseudanthias squamapinnis.

most anthias should be kept singly unless they are going in a tank of 180+ gallons. then they can be kept 1 male to 8+ females! if not then you run the risk of gender changing. they are very aggressive to their own kind. they are a harem species. you need to have the biggest baddest male you can find. then get a bunch of small females. the reason being that females will turn into males if the dominant male is missing. you do not want to accidentally get one in transition. you will then run the risk of the male not being stronger than the transitional female. at least one is going to lose.

BTW-Reef Fishes Vol. 1 rocks.

G~

[64Ivy]

I'd like to add a plug for both Bartletts and Bicolors. Both are beautifully colored and hardy. Bicolors tend to get a little larger than Bartletts and Bartletts seem to be a bit more active than Bicolors.

[Python73]

Your BEST bet is not to buy any males at all. There is no need, and they cost more. Buy as many as you are going to buy, all females. One of them will start changing to a male quickly, and then you'll have your male.

IME, these fish only do well long term in a tank that has lots of water movement and where they can feed as often as possible. In the wild these are reef crest fish that get bashed around in the waves as they impact the reef. They also feed constantly from the planktonic soup. In your tank 2 or 3 small feedings a day would be ideal.

S !

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Yeah thanks everyone for their input! I guess I was in a wishful thinking mood about getting these fish! I really don't think my tank is big enough(80 gallon). I could get one but rather liked the schooling effect.

Well will move on to other fish to go with my copperband butterfly and tomato clown! Johnny