Bartlett's Anthias- more questions for those that keep them - Page 2

Gary Majchrzak · #26 10/06/2006, 07:24 PM

Thanks for all of the input so far. I feel much better for the safety of my shrimps.
I've had experience keeping several Anthias species (Cooper's, Lori's, Squarebacks and Lyretails) but not Bartlett's. IME Anthias will take food moving in the water column, but not any food floating in a feeder ring or sitting static on substrate.
My auto feeder dumps small size VibraGro (Saltwater Staple) pellets into a large funnel that's connected to a length of PVC leading directly down next to the intake of my Iwaki100 RLT in the downstairs sump. The food then sprays into the reef aquarium via water returns.
So far, I'm loving the results. My Midas Blenny is fat. So are my other fishes.
I've hand fed all my my fishes for many years, but it's very nice to
have an auto feeder take care of the task. I still manually feed some of the more "special" foods but I want my fishes to remain 'connected', if you know what I mean.

SDguy · #27 10/06/2006, 08:23 PM

Can I ask about your experiences with Lori's anthias? I don't hear much about them, but would love some in my new tank. I believe they are pretty fussy eaters?

Gary Majchrzak · #28 10/06/2006, 08:35 PM

(IME) more so than fussy eaters, Lori's are very shy if you have other (even mildly) boisterous fishes in the same aquarium. There's really no comparison to other Anthias species I've kept- Lori's are not bold at all, even in large groups. They should take small frozen mysids or HUFA enriched artemia, but feedings can be a problem if you have other fishes.
FWIW Lori's are sometimes mistakenly shipped as "Tiger Queens".

SDguy · #29 10/06/2006, 08:56 PM

Well, I'm planning to have a very timid tank (even avoiding bartlett anthias for fear of them being too bold) so perhaps I may give Lori's a try. And maybe some ventralis too.

And yes, Lori's are always sold as tiger queen anthias here in So Cal at least.

Thanks for the info Gary.

Gary Majchrzak · #30 10/06/2006, 09:04 PM

I've seen Bartlett's attack larger Anthias in the same aquarium.
There's no way I'd try and keep Lori's with Bartlett's. Good luck- Lori's are very beautiful.

jmaneyapanda · #31 10/07/2006, 08:47 AM

Gary- I would recommend keeping cleaner shrimp with your bartlett's- mine loved them. They would all congregate and take therir turns being cleaned. In fact, this was the only time I saw real scuffling between them, when one "skipped in line".

I dont wholeheartedly agree with the "spread the beating" theory of overloading females. There will ALWAYS be a low fish on the totem pole, and that one will get it from everyone else. I had 1 male and 3 females in a 90 forever, and sold them to someone with a bigger tank (and because they were keeping all the other zooplankton feeders in the rocks). But they just accepted their position, and never steopped out of line, so they were all fat and happy.

Gary Majchrzak · #32 10/07/2006, 10:53 PM

What other zooplankton feeders were your Bartlett's intimidating?

jmaneyapanda · #33 10/08/2006, 07:23 AM

I had six chromis and 3 flasher wrasses that were quite established until the anthias arrived. Then the anthias kept them at bay. Albeit, only in a 120 gallon, but I though it wouldve been ok. I was wrong.

jmaneyapanda · #34 10/08/2006, 07:24 AM

sorry, i meant they were in a 90, not 120.

geofloors · #35 10/08/2006, 07:40 AM

I had a small school of Bartlett Anthias. 1 male and 5 females. One by one the females turned into males and eventually they got chased out of the tank. To this day I still have my original male I bought as a male. Now he resides in a 280g with 8 female squampinnis and 1 male squampinnis. I also had an African golden Midas blenny who schooled along with all the anthias. Very cool to watch. I've never had any issues with shrimp either.

George

Angel*Fish · #36 10/08/2006, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by geofloors
I had a small school of Bartlett Anthias. 1 male and 5 females. One by one the females turned into males and eventually they got chased out of the tank. To this day I still have my original male I bought as a male. Now he resides in a 280g with 8 female squampinnis and 1 male squampinnis. I also had an African golden Midas blenny who schooled along with all the anthias. Very cool to watch. I've never had any issues with shrimp either.

George

Not saying this was true in your case - but it reminds me that one thing that IMO is a common mistake when buying anthias - getting them all about the same size - better to get one larger and the others significantly smaller. i'd guess some size differences among the smaller ones could also be helpful - just tends to help the fish sort out a stable pecking order

geofloors · #37 10/08/2006, 11:01 AM

My male is huge, about 3". All the females were about 1.25". Over the course of a year or so they changed and were still small in comparison to the male.

Gary Majchrzak · #38 10/08/2006, 11:03 AM

I've heard of this sex change happening with Bartlett's females. It has me concerned.

SDguy · #39 10/08/2006, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gary Majchrzak
I've heard of this sex change happening with Bartlett's females. It has me concerned.

If you do a search, there have been several threads about this happening specifically with bartlett anthias (more than one female changing to male). In most cases the males didn't cause each other serious damage. In fact, geofloors is the first account of fatal aggression I have heard.

Angel*Fish · #40 10/08/2006, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by geofloors
My male is huge, about 3". All the females were about 1.25". Over the course of a year or so they changed and were still small in comparison to the male.

Yes, I know Bartlett's are known for being "changey" - I didn't mean yours - I was just suggesting this might be a wise course of action to try and prevent changing. Obviously this doesn't always work, assuming that it ever does with Bartletts -

As for having multiple males - it's a personal preference how much "action" you want in your tank - for my tank I prefer a more mild- mannered species.

Gary Majchrzak · #41 10/28/2006, 07:30 AM

To get back to this thread:
Thanks to all that chimed in with their experience.
I've had 3 Anthias for several weeks now. One was not right from the beginning and it languished away. The other two are growing rapidly and getting more colorful every day. Is it okay to add more Bartlett's at any point in time? Here's a pic of my dominent fish.

SDguy · #42 10/28/2006, 09:42 AM

I have personally had pretty bad luck adding new bartletts to established bartletts, granted always in a smaller tank than 225g. They are pretty uninterested in other species though.

By the way, I too ended up buying some bartletts. And some lyretails. The Lori's just seemed a bit too touchy. FWIW, my bartletts are more aggressive than my lyretails, but just to each other. They don't even look at the single tiny dispar I've had in the tank from the beginning.

Charlie97L · #43 11/01/2006, 04:36 PM

have any of you bartlett owners had problems with their colors fading? i know that can be a common occurrence.

i'm trying to decide between bartlett's and lyretails for the new tank, but i'm leaning to bartlett's because it seems everyone has lyretails, and i don't have enough room for a proper 8:1 lyretail ratio.

Gary Majchrzak · #44 11/01/2006, 05:43 PM

In the short time that I've had them I'd say my Bartlett's are getting more colorful- not fading.

SDguy · #45 11/01/2006, 09:01 PM

Mine have always colored up more as time goes on. But make no mistake, contrary to what some pictures will show, they are lavender, orange, and yellow. None of the colors are exceptionally deep. With the right camera angle and lower exposure, you can take some amazing shots. But in real life, they are delicate and light in coloration. Even the ones I saw at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. They don't have the solid deep colors of lyretails, IME.

hth

Here's a good comparison....sorry about the focus

Charlie97L · #46 11/02/2006, 10:15 AM

thank you! so is that a lyretail on the left?

SDguy · #47 11/02/2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie97L
thank you! so is that a lyretail on the left?

Yes

Gary Majchrzak · #48 11/18/2006, 10:49 AM

It's been almost a month and I've already had the dominent fish turn into a male and jump out of the aquarium- most likely during a feeding frenzy. I don't think literature on these particular Anthias stress enough that they are jumpers, quite unlike other Anthias species I've kept in the past.

SDguy · #49 11/18/2006, 11:47 AM

Did it die

Sorry to hear that! I"ve had the same experience with this species, though I was there to catch it and put it back. They are just SUCH ravenous eaters!

Gary Majchrzak · #50 11/25/2006, 10:51 PM

My final Bartlett's jumped today.
More needs to be mentioned in references about their penchant for jumping. Live and learn.

I wonder if Dispar are jumpers.......