anthias shoAL

ryan_lalande · #1 07/14/2003, 01:39 AM

i was wondering what the hardiest species of anthias are , as i am looking to get a large school of them......what are the nicest looking/hardy of them.

i am looking at the dispar and lyretail or squarebox for my reef

any of those hardy?

mnreefman · #2 07/14/2003, 03:03 AM

i dont really know about the hardyness of thoes in particular........one thing though you can only get 1 male.......all the rest MUST be females inorder for this to work....i love anthias i think a shoal of them is quite a sight....
now that i am done preaching

BlAcK_PeRcUlA · #3 07/14/2003, 03:05 AM

I think i've heard that lyretails are your best bet for anthias but none of them are exactly hardy.

Big E · #4 07/14/2003, 04:57 AM

Of the ones you have listed, I'd say lyretails. Bartletts also do well.

Rays · #5 07/14/2003, 07:27 AM

Here is an in depth article by Scott Michael, they are my fav's also, but I always seemed to get a dominant female that beats up on the male merciless.
http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...el_030401.html

myreef · #6 07/14/2003, 08:43 AM

I have probably seen more lyretail in shoals than anything...that is what I have...and I know a few others on here with 6+ in their system....they eat well and have enough color to catch everyone's eye.

spfmatt · #7 07/15/2003, 11:25 AM

Lyretail's are the easiest to care foralong with red-belted(imo) I have 3 lyretails right now, with 3 more in the future. I also have one red-belted that schools with the lyretails. I saved the red-belted from a lfs, when i got it it was really skinny, now fat and happy. I have had lyretails in my tanks for over 3 years they are my favorite fish. I even caught them "warming up" for spawning a few nights ago!

ryan_lalande · #8 07/15/2003, 06:28 PM

keep em comming

anyone with personal experiances with these4 tyeps of fish...or any good pics

ryan_lalande · #9 07/16/2003, 06:11 PM

bumpo

SteveN · #10 07/16/2003, 06:21 PM

I started with a school of dispar, 1 male and 8 females. Wound up with 1 female because of all the fighting. This was a 100 gallon tank.

64Ivy · #11 07/16/2003, 08:17 PM

I don't have any personal experience with either lyretails or dispars but I have maintained a shoal of Bartletts and Bicolors for nearly four years. I started out with a combined 15. Now I have about 9-10 and some of the Bicolors are over 3" long. These, obviously, would get my vote as the two hardiest species.

Big E · #12 07/17/2003, 01:42 AM

My shoal consists of 4 lyretails & 2 Bartletts. I've had them for over a year. They seem equal in hardiness & growth. One possible caveat is that the Bartletts are more prone to jumping. My male got spooked by a rattling power head & jumped out. I was there to toss him back in.

Jmo, but I think a smaller shoal if say 5-7 has a better chance of survival than a larger one. The females on the very bottom of the heirarchy are gonna have trouble getting food & are usually weaker. If I was going to get 10-12 I'd get two different anthias species.

spfmatt · #13 07/17/2003, 11:01 AM

I would have to agree with big e, if you want a large school mix it up. Not only will it help curb aggression, but will add interesting color to the whole scheme of things.

mnreefman · #14 07/19/2003, 06:40 PM

anyone with any pics?
also a "bump"

smiller · #15 07/20/2003, 06:20 AM

myreef · #16 07/20/2003, 09:10 AM

Here is one of my 7. I will see if I can get a group shot tomorrow when I go back to work.

TS · #17 07/20/2003, 01:20 PM

Several anthias pics here:

http://www.reef-life.com/g_fish.html

Taken at Dallas World Aquarium, they've got some pretty big shoals.

Sorry I'm not much help with ID on these... I'd love to have one of each but my tank just won't cut it.

Some of my favorite fish though.

Travis

edit: A couple more from smiller's tank:

reefislife · #18 07/20/2003, 01:24 PM

I've got about 20 Longfin Anthias and whoever said they shoaled is way of the mark. the only time they shoal is feed time.

Craig