Bartlett anthias?

scuba connor · #1 11/04/2007, 10:56 PM

ok,
are these guys hard to keep ? whats your say on them?
how big do they realy get ? and are they worth geting into or are they just gana get in my tank and go hide and purch on a rock and die? lol

connor

JamesJR · #2 11/04/2007, 11:44 PM

Bartlett's are one of the easiest anthias to keep and are very well suited for life in captivity. They get about 9 cm at the max, which is pretty small for anthias. I'd say with a 65 gallon tank you are set size wise for keeping them.

danfrith · #3 11/05/2007, 12:50 AM

Im also thinking about some of these for a 58 gallon. How many would you recommend for this aquarium?

reef_doug · #4 11/05/2007, 12:50 AM

Barlett's are the easiest to keep, followed by Lyretails. I have 4 Barletts (1M/3F) and 3 Lyretail (1M/2F). The Barlett's don't hid all the time, they are the first out to feed. They get about 5", mostly you will see them around 3".

If you want Anthias, you can't go wrong with Barlett's. Beautiful colors especially if you have actinic supplementation.

reef_doug · #5 11/05/2007, 12:51 AM

---edit delete, double post ---

CarlC · #6 11/05/2007, 08:54 AM

Multiple bartletts in a smaller tank could be a problem. Most people have not been able to keep from getting all males over over time. If you have a few males in a small space you might have some issue's.

What kind of flow do you have? Pseudanthias are like tangs. They need lots of water passing over their gills providing them with O2 rich water.

Carl

scuba connor · #7 11/05/2007, 03:48 PM

flow is not a problem for me i have 3 large powerheads and one main fen to the tank from the sump aswell.

ezcompany · #8 11/05/2007, 05:03 PM

the dominant male will keep the sub males from ever coming out of the liverock work in a smaller tank.

ssavader · #9 11/05/2007, 09:19 PM

Despite everyone's comments on how easy these Anthias are to keep, let me just comment on the opposite. I have a 120 gal reef with no hostile fish (all are small and passive) and tried with three different male Lyretails- 2 died in the tank after an uncomplicated 3 weeks in QT, one jumped out of the tank while I was doing maintenance. A number of females have suffered similar fates. Sooooo, despite other's great luck, mine was dismal and I have moved on with my single beautiful female as the only Anthias in the tank.

scuba connor · #10 11/06/2007, 01:50 PM

well it dosen't make a fish hard to keep when it jumps from the tank that just means from what i know that you nead to get a canopy or a screan

JamesJR · #11 11/06/2007, 06:25 PM

your having an established group of lyretail anthias pestering the fish and terryfying them to the point of them jumping out doesn't mean these fish are hard to keep. Get a tighter fitting lid or a screen over the top and that should help.

zemuron114 · #12 11/07/2007, 03:03 AM

Bartletts do not get 5". you will never see one bigger then 3" I have had hundreds - if not thousands - and NONE were bigger then 3". 3" is a max for these guys. Full out supermale bartletts may be 3.5-4" with the streamers included but never the actual body being more then 3".

they always eat well. Feed a varied meaty diet including cyclopeez (sp?) to help retain their color.

scuba connor · #13 11/07/2007, 07:29 PM

zemuron114 do you think i could put 3 of them in a 65 gal ? , its an SPS reef thats been established for about a year and a half with a DAS skimmer and really good flow .

so what you think ? lol

zemuron114 · #14 11/07/2007, 11:14 PM

should be fine. 1 male, 2 small females. Hopefully they wont turn to male on you.

jay2525 · #15 11/08/2007, 02:18 AM

I found that getting the male much larger than the females helps him controll them over a longer period of time. But they still will change male after they've grown to full size.

tony13 · #16 11/08/2007, 04:43 PM

Do you guys think that Lyretails would be easier to keep than Bartlett's? The Bartlett's are very expensive and it seems from what I'm reading aggressive towards each other, are you taking more of a chance with these than compared to the Lyretails?

reef_doug · #17 11/08/2007, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tony13
Do you guys think that Lyretails would be easier to keep than Bartlett's? The Bartlett's are very expensive and it seems from what I'm reading aggressive towards each other, are you taking more of a chance with these than compared to the Lyretails?

I have both, and if you are worried about taking a chance... then go with the Bartletts. Feeding in the beginning is a big consideration and the Bartletts are usually up for pellets. Yes more expensive but better success. BTW... I have seen Bartletts' around 5", anyone in SoCal been to Coral Oasis? Those are huge! (and they are not the Hawaiian bi-colors either). I wouldn't worry to much about them getting too big if you have a small to medium tank.