medication for anthias

ken norris · #1 10/10/2003, 04:08 PM

just spoke with a friend of mine about athias.. i have had a problem with some of them not making it.. he said that are known to carry a parasite and to use piperfizine or spertun(think those are spelt correct) to add to the food. he said this will help them.. has anyone ever used these? if so give me some info on them .. also if my spelling is incorrect please give me the proper name.
thanks
ken norris

ATJ · #2 10/10/2003, 07:02 PM

Ken,
Anthias is the "common" name to species of the genera Anthias, Pseudanthias and others. They are small and normally brightly coloured members of the grouper family.

In the wild, these fish feed on zooplankton and spend much of their days feeding. In captivity, they need to be fed very regulary, at the very least 3 times per day, with 5-6 times per day being best. In most cases they waste away from irregular feedings. They are also best kept in groups of 3 or more individuals. Single fish often stop feeding.

I have not heard of them having internal parasites, but I guess it could be possible. Pipzine (from Aquatronics) is supposed to be good for internal worms.

ken norris · #3 10/10/2003, 08:40 PM

atj
thanks for the info.. i was feeding two times a day. in the a.m. i would feed with frozen foods. (around 900 a.m.) in the afternoon i would feed with flake about 520p.m. as the lights on the tank would go out at 700 p.m. do you think it would be good to add another feeding around noon or so? the one i have left a female is doing good and eating. the others that did not make it lasted about a week so that sounds like you are correct.. thanks for taking the time to give me the info.... ken

ATJ · #4 10/11/2003, 01:10 AM

Yes, add at least one more feeding and try to give them more frozen food. Mysids (which are available frozen) are very good. You could also buy some uncooked shrimp and scallaps from the seafood section of the supermarket or from a seafood market and mince that up.

Personally, I've never been able to keep any species of Pseudanthias longer that two years. My record was just over 18 months for a P. pictilis. In that time it grew from 20 to over 110 mm and was feeding well. One day it just stopped eating and was dead a week or so later. For a month or so before it died I had not been able to get any frozen mysids (due to import restrictions into Australia) but I don't know if that was related to the loss.