Keeping Anthias?

[Phyl]

I know several of you recently ordered these. Are any of you keeping them? Is there a trick to it? I've seen some that I'd love to get but need to learn more about their care before I fall for them completely.

I'd appreciate any information/advice on their keeping and care.

TIA!

[concept3]

I had Queen anthias in my Dad's 125 gallon reef a few years ago. They need to be fed frequently, at least 3-4X a day IMO and would rather swim in schools.

They were sold along with all the LPS in the tank, as it now holds Koi :(

[Phyl]

Feeding 3 or 4 times a day?! What do they eat? I can't imagine feeding my tank 3x a day... Please tell me there's a way to automate that!

[Kelly]

Phyl
I once kept a school of parvaristris (?) anthias in my 110. Though they did well for several months on my stingy feeding schedule, eventually they withered away. I also tried keeping fatheads, which are supposedly very hardy and easy to keep anthias - I've never had any luck. Like concept3 mentioned, they do need multiple feedings (4-5) per day, something to consider....

[JENnKerry]

I'd like to know as well. Saw a very nice orange anthias in Aquarium Authority over the weekend but didn't get it as I'm not 100% sure on their requirements. Got a powder brown tang instead :D

Sorry for hi-jacking Phyl :D

[maxpower39]

i have successfully kept nine anthias for over six months now.
1 male square, 1 female square, and 7 mixed varieties. i lost 2 male squares before i realized the secret to keeping them happy was to school them.(1 male per tank)
i feed phyto daily. that is another secret to reef keeping. the natural reef is fed high carbs low protein 24/7. when animals are caged in our tanks their diets are limited to our high protein low carb feedings, which in most cases the feedings are scarce at best.
a good fuge(pods), daily phyto, and and some good flake/pellet/garlic , 2 times a day seems to be working for me.
i over feed my tank , guilty , but i run 2 skimmers. asm g-series
one hooked up direct to my drain , one on the other side of my sump skimming the surface.

[Phyl]

Thanks for all the information so far. I really appreciate the secrets of reefkeeping and don't mind at all a bit of threadjackin ;-)

If you just bought some on the recent buy what made you pick the one you picked? How did you decide how many? What species can you mix?

[falconut]

I've had my single male Lyretail anthias now since December in my 90 gal. tank. He really only seams to eat brine (frozen) and mysis shrimp. Occationally he might eat some flake, but not much. Mine also doesn't seam to care about the frozen cylop-eeze either. I feed my tank 2 times a day. I do feed a decent amount, but my levels are all in check, so I guess it's not too much. I also have a refuge, so that my be helping. Just make sure the one you get is eating at the LFS. It took me a week to get him eating frozen foods. HTH

[Phyl]

I bought my Anthias from LiveAquaria. They were eating Mysis and frozen Cyclopeze within hours of being put into QT. They're very active, colorful, beautiful fish. I couldn't be happier with them! I ended up getting 1M & 3F lyretails and 1 bimaculatus F that was back ordered. She's acclimating now. :-)

[Hef]

Can you tell me how to tell the difference between a male & female Lyretail Anthias?
Thanks

[Phyl]

The female lyretail is a very vibrant orange color. The male lyretail is more of a purple color and he has a "spike" (sorry for the use of such technical jargon) on the front of his top fin.

This picture is pretty good (but they are much more beautiful in person):
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=54

When I was in Trop last week they had the male and female lyretail anthias listed as males. The male was marked Anthias: Lyretail - Male and the females were marked Anthias: Orange - Male.

[Hef]

That's funny:)

Thanks for the link, looks pretty easy to tell them apart. Looking forward to it, I've got 1 male and 3 female coming from the elusive Group Buy.

I never knew all this about feeding them either. I hope I can find something they like that's not a Pain to feed. My whole tank is very happy with Flake food, with the ocassional Frozen treat. I do have lots of frozen Cyclopeeze, that's easy to feed anyway. I've never fed Mysis.

Hef

[Phyl]

I threw some flake cyclopeze into the tank today and they didn't seem very interested in it. I don't feed much flake to my tanks though. My tank normally gets Formula 1, 2 or Prime Reef and then some mysis, krill, and liquid life. A little pellet if the fish eat all the food before the inverts get a share of it.

I'll probably try some Formula 1 tonight (that's what I have defrosting for my main).

The good news is that your lyretails will be cheaper than mine! Hopefully they'll eat just as well too. Good luck with them. Any idea when you're getting them?