What's the deal with Anthias

pepeinthenavy · #1 08/07/2007, 11:32 PM

So can anyone tell me what's the deal with Anthias. Ok, one male to every three females. Does this mean they will breed in your tank and if so what should I be looking for?

Peter Eichler · #2 08/08/2007, 01:32 AM

It doesn't mean they will breed in your tank (I'm not aware of any tank raised Anthias). It's mainly a heirarchy thing and a means of keeping them "comfortable". In general anthias are not particularly easy to keep and should be fed several times a day. They should also be kept in larger aquariums with fairly peaceful fish.

SDguy · #3 08/08/2007, 07:00 AM

And that's for people that want to keep groups of them. I personally think single specimens or pairs are highly underrated for keeping of anthias. Many of the hardy, more scrappy species available in the hobby will be fine alone or as a pair, IME/O.

pepeinthenavy · #4 08/08/2007, 10:55 AM

So are most anthias that are in the trade are wild caught?

Big Boy69 · #5 08/08/2007, 10:57 AM

Mine always go carpet surfing.
I have a single Barlett Anthias that I have had for about 4 months.
It didn't go carpet surfing yet.

02REDZ28 · #6 08/08/2007, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pepeinthenavy
So are most anthias that are in the trade are wild caught?

97% of all fish in the hobby are still wild caught. I'm not aware of anyone breeding anthias so, I would assume that 100% of those come from the wild.

SDguy · #7 08/08/2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pepeinthenavy
So are most anthias that are in the trade are wild caught?

AFAIK they are all wild caught. I haven't heard of anyone breeding/raising them, or even trying.

SDguy · #8 08/08/2007, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Big Boy69
Mine always go carpet surfing.
I have a single Barlett Anthias that I have had for about 4 months.
It didn't go carpet surfing yet.

Something in your tank is spooking/chasing them...

pezcubano · #9 08/08/2007, 12:41 PM

I just put 3 Dispar Anthias in my tank. They've been hiding in the rocks for the first 2 hours... No carpet surfing yet!!!
Any tips on how to get them to start eating?

Big Boy69 · #10 08/08/2007, 02:41 PM

My 6 line was probably the one.
When the last one surfed, I seen the 6 line next to him.

SDguy · #11 08/08/2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Big Boy69
My 6 line was probably the one.
When the last one surfed, I seen the 6 line next to him.

An excellent candidate!

pepeinthenavy · #12 08/09/2007, 09:07 AM

I use marine plankton. They love that stuff. Of course, 3 x a day, I vary their diet with other stuff. Also try using a garlic supplement along with their regular food.

pezcubano · #13 08/10/2007, 07:46 AM

Thanks for the food tip! I've tried mysis, flake, and pellet but gotten no response. I think its just a matter of time. I bet they eat today...
Of the 3 anthias I just put in, 1 found the most obscure corner of LR to hide in and for 1.5 days he stayed there without moving. I thought he was dead. The other two were having a ball checking out the tank. When I moved some LR to expose the hiding anthia, he had a split second of eye contact with his mates and immediately felt more secure. He just started hanging around with them, and is now all over the tank. Its amazing how much anthias need eachother...

CarlC · #14 08/10/2007, 09:11 AM

You are really going to need to offer live food. Dispars can be very hard to get eating. This is a species that really needs to be trained to eat the foods we offer in a QT tank. Once they are eating they will eat just about anything.

Carl

pezcubano · #15 08/10/2007, 09:18 AM

I'm going to try with the Mysis one more time today, and if it doesn't go well, then off to the lfs for some live food.

They've been nipping at stuff floating through the water and occasionally darted at the food I've offered, but no strong feeding yet.

I'll keep you posted...

pepeinthenavy · #16 08/10/2007, 09:46 AM

Trust me, try the garlic supplement. No matter what brand they all say it is for finicky eaters.

pezcubano · #17 08/10/2007, 10:18 AM

I just did some Mysis with Garlic and they snubbed it.
Yesterday I tried small pellets in Garlic and that didn't work either. When I use the Garlic I basically just soak the food in it. Is that the right way to use it?
Should I be putting it directly into the tank?

pepeinthenavy · #18 08/10/2007, 10:27 AM

No. But I would try live food, I also use Cyclopes-Eeze. My Anthias love it.

pezcubano · #19 08/10/2007, 01:46 PM

I've tried anything and everything soaked in garlic and they don't want to have anything to do with it.
I'm off to the lfs for some live food...
I'll keep you all posted.

pepeinthenavy · #20 08/10/2007, 01:54 PM

How about you acclimation to the tank did you follow the proper techniques. I know that anthias can be very finicky on how they are acclimated.

pepeinthenavy · #21 08/10/2007, 01:55 PM

How about you acclimation to the tank did you follow the proper techniques. I know that anthias can be very finicky on how they are acclimated. You did say that they are fairly new. They could still be very stressed.

tmz · #22 08/10/2007, 02:08 PM

From what I've read a larger harem than 3 per male is desireable to spread out the agression. I believe it is better to purchase all females and let them settle in. At least one will likely morph into a male and the hierachy will be established. I tried this recently with 4 bartlets and 3 of them have turned into males but they already have tank areas and sleeping places so very little agression. They are out all the time and have encouraged more activity from the other fish. The reef they"re in has a solid cover. Single specimens are fine but I really like the acivity that this small schoal brings to the reef.

32flavors · #23 08/11/2007, 01:53 AM

How do you gut load live brine?

pepeinthenavy · #24 08/11/2007, 10:45 AM

How do you what?

32flavors · #25 08/11/2007, 03:36 PM

I've heard some people talk about gut-loading live brine shrimp before feeding to finicky eaters to keep their nutrition levels up til they start eating heathier food than live brine, and I was wondering how they do it.