anthias in 90g

[thirty6]

At the moment i have a cuc, melan. wrasse, and pair of coral banded shrimp, and a few zoas/palys/gsp and a frag of xenia. i also have a pair of ywm gobies ordered through dotr.
i was at a lfs and saw 4 anthias in what i think was a 55g tank, two pink/two yellow...specific name was not posted.

the employee said they were easy to keep, and wouldnt be a problem in the 90g... i thought i would wait and do some research here. seems like they can be on hard side to acclimate or is that for specific anthias... i am not partial to any one type at the moment and would really like to get more than one...if i can.

As far as other fish go i dont really have anything particular in mind and would be fine with just a few anthias and the rest of livestock would be corals...what do you think? if it helps system up and running since end of june and would offer plenty of hiding spaces in the rock work. if i could upload pics i would add .....

 

[Jzhou]

It would be better if you can get the exact names of the anthias so that we can tell you more exact information.

 

[prattreef]

Agreed, you need to find out which species you are dealing with. Anthias husbandry runs the gamut from pretty easy (e.g. Lyretail and Bartletts ) to extremely challenging ( purple queens etc) and everything in between. There is no reason you can't have a small group of 4-5 Anthias in a 90g., but you need to pick the right species for your situation/ experience level and stocking vision.

Kudos for not biting on the impulse buy and holding off to research the fish further.

 

[thirty6]

Thanks, I'll look a little more and pick one or two that I like. Def. Weren't purple queen or square.

 

[thirty6]

I just checked some out on liveaquaria...the one is lfs were the bartletts (had purple/yellow ones)

i really like the disbars or blotchy ones... what do you think?

 

[prattreef]

Bartletts are among the hardiest and easiest Anthias to keep. They would make a very good choice. You might try a few Dispars as well as they seem to school naturally with Bartletts. IME Dispars are less hardy though, but not an unreasonably difficult choice.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I can't really add anything new but, depending on how long the store has had them you should try feeding them more than usual until you see them start to feed regularly in your tank. Bartletts are a great looking anthias when they settle in and are one of the easier ones. Good for you, not jumping on a purchase without making sure you knew the facts!

Dispars are also cool and I think their dorsal fin looks like a mohawk when fully extended. Two great anthias options there.

 

[thirty6]

thanks guy,

possible to mix and match them or stick with one

 

[Jzhou]

I love Barlettes. And as Pratt said, you can mi them with the disbar. Just remember that they like small but more frequent meals. Which is very different than how most people like to give one big feeding everyday or every other day.

 

[thirty6]

I love Barlettes. And as Pratt said, you can mi them with the disbar. Just remember that they like small but more frequent meals. Which is very different than how most people like to give one big feeding everyday or every other day.

would an auto fish feeder fit this bill? that is a draw back as i typically feed in am and again pm

 

[MIKE NY]

two feedings is fine as long as they are eating larger foods like adult brine etc.... because many species of anthias(PQs etc) feed basically on plankton and need to be fed many times during the day until they start eating larger foods.....as mentioned Bartletts are one of the hardier and better eaters....mine literally started eating everything when they hit the water unlike my PQs which took me over a month to get them to eat anything the size of brine.

 

[Jzhou]

two feedings is fine as long as they are eating larger foods like adult brine etc.... because many species of anthias(PQs etc) feed basically on plankton and need to be fed many times during the day until they start eating larger foods.....as mentioned Bartletts are one of the hardier and better eaters....mine literally started eating everything when they hit the water unlike my PQs which took me over a month to get them to eat anything the size of brine.

+1, once they get acclimated though, these guys will be one of your favorites.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

DO NOT FEED THEM BRINE SHRIMP. It's a waste unless you're feeding it live trying to get a feeding response and they are being difficult. Brine has no nutritional value and feeding it regularly will only make it harder for them to maintain their weight as they get full but aren't getting anything from it. If you are feeding them twice a day you want to give them something like PE Mysis and a little bit of greens. I like to soak the PE in Phyto-Feast so it acts as a gut load because the plankton they eat in the wild is packed with phytoplanton anyway. By far the best results I have seen with anthias. You can feed them good pellets sometimes too but I would mostly feed the PE Mysis.

 

[thirty6]

sounds good. if i decided to get bartletts and disbar, best to introduce to system at same time? what ratio would you guys suggest 2/2 ?