Anthias

[Lowenbrau]

I understand that most Anthias are very hard to keep and have poor survival records.

What types are the hardiest?

Feedback on successful systems would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[griss]

Hey Lowenbrau,

I have been successful with Lyretail and Squareback anthias in my 200 gallon SPS dominated reef. I use a plenum system, 100 gallon sump/prop tank, 30 gallon fuge and LifeReef VS2-24 skimmer. IMO, the key to these anthias is a variety of frozen foods at least once a day.

George

[Lowenbrau]

Griss,

good to hear from you again.

What do you feel is the most common reason people have bad luck with Anthias?

I am seeing a lot of them locally this summer.

[griss]

Not really sure why people seem to have a lot of problems with Anthias other than the fact that most of the difficult species are absolutely beautiful fish. Maybe people buy them just because they are such nice looking fish without researching their needs.

Also, a lot of Anthias come from deeper water and may not fair all that well in our brightly lit aquariums.

I lost my Squarebacks during a power outage a while back and replaced them with Lyretails. Both species at a variety of frozen and flake food for me.

I will admit, that I am far from a fish expert as I prefer corals and clams to fish. Hopefully someone with more knowledge of these fish will chime in with better info.

George

[Lowenbrau]

In my research, it seems you really don't want to keep less than 6 or so individuals. Frequent feedings are a must.

[torrid]

i have a school of 8 lyrtail pink anthias and ive had them for about 9 months now, and they are awesome, feedings are minimum of 2 to 3xs a day and do not gat any less than 7 of them because they do survive better in larger numbers

[andrejka]

I was told that Bartlett's are the hardiest, and that to start with 2 would be a good idea. I keep a pair for almost a year now. Feed 3 times a day with frozen food. One of the latest additions to their menu (they LOVE it): Cyclop-eeze (http://www.jehmco.com/PRODUCTS_/FISH_FOODS_/Cyclop-eeze/cyclop-eeze.html)

[Diatom2]

Scott Michaels books have tons of great info about anthias if you haven't checked them out yet.

[paulfromero]

Originally posted by torrid
i have a school of 8 lyrtail pink anthias and ive had them for about 9 months now, and they are awesome, feedings are minimum of 2 to 3xs a day and do not gat any less than 7 of them because they do survive better in larger numbers

Hi there,

I envy you and your school of anthias. If I can get my male squareback to survive, do you feel I can add, say, 3 females at the same time? Will they school? I'm betting that he and the tangs will tire of attacking them, since they will look similar. One question, though, will the females more likely attack him?

thanks,

Paul