Odontanthias borbonius

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Len,

Can you get live specimens directly from Chip Boyle in the Cook Islands ? If so it is so nice !

 

[Len]

I wish! No, I can't. The anthias I have isn't exactly the same. It's in the same randalli complex though. I often wonder if they really aren't all the same species.

 

[Vili_Shark]

Len, thanks very much for sharing your experience.


Tanaka san, do you have any experience with the P.pulcherrimus?
I want to order them, they are surely deep water and guranteed to eat.

 

[jason edward]

Vili,
i have mixed luck with pulcherrimus. they often come in swimming pitched, from decompression issues, and i find these hard to adjust. however if you get good specimens, the are certainly hardy, feed well. they spend a lot of of time swimming upside down under overhangs, though they sometimes swim with other anthias in short bursts.

those priviteri are gorgeous! they look closeley related to lori though, not having the deep body of pulcherrimus.

Len,
some more borbonius came in last week. these were not nearly as strong (i got 2 but lost one. the living one does not come out, or eat.)
the initial one is doing well, but i'm noticing some color shift, maybe due to temp??

 

[Len]

Jason, what color is yours shifting towards?

 

[gaopp]

Hi there everybody
Can someone elaborate on the way of telling the males apart from the female?
Are there aggression between them self?

 

[Len]

I can't discern any differences, but i think all the ones came in are juveniles. This is a very non-aggressive species. They don't bother each other (much) or other fish. Most of the time is spent hanging out under caves and ledges.

 

[jason edward]

Len,
I notice that the color isn't as bright, almost blotchy. still eats well and is out in the open more and more.
the larger one stays completely hidden all day, upside down in a cave.
i have no idea what he's up to at night!!

 

[sedgro]

I received 2 yesterday, both from completely different suppliers. Both came in doing the "swim-bladder" head stand in the bag. The littler of the two ate right away. The larger wedged himself under a rock, but ate once that I could tell.
After e-mailing a friend of mind who collects fish, I decided to try to needle their swim bladders. I watched him do this on multiple fish without any issue. Of course, this was with 15 yrs experience under his belt. I brought home two 27 guage needles from work (very thin). I was able to get the little ones bladder with no problem. He now swims normally. After multiple attempts with the larger, no success and I am concerned I did more damge than good. Both will rest in an antibiotic quarantine tank overnight. I am going to give the larger a brake and try again in a few days.

Seems fish with swim bladder problems waste way too much energy try not to float to the surface. THis is why I think needling is the way to go.

 

[Len]

Good to see you got some, John. Mine suffer from no bladder issues, but it does show these fish are probably collected relatively deep. I'm surprised they're going for so little money, but then a lot of deep fish these days are going for reasonable prices. There must be a few crazy collectors out there working for little money

Jason, both mine aren't as bright as the photos I've seen, but they came to me that way. Still a very nice fish though. I wonder if they color up as they grow. Both mine spend most of the day scooting around one rock pillar, sometimes upside down. They both eat like pigs though and will swim out on occasion to explore the tank. But overall, they are very sedentary.

 

[Len]

Hey John,
Do your borbs always swim face down or is there times when it can maintain neutral buoyancy? I've found mine look like they have swim bladder issues (face down, flapping of their fins while going no where, sometimes wedging themselves against rocks). But then at other times, they'll come out in the open and float perfectly stationary and level without any fin movement.

 

[sedgro]

Len-

They were doing the head stand in the corners of the tank. The larger would float to the top if it stopped swimming. The needling appears to have worked on both. They are now swimming normally. Both ate great yesterday, so I am going to put them in to my rather large sump with some red stripe and Lori's anthias. Pictures to follow.

John

 

[Anonymous]

Watch for a secondary infaction from the needling. IME a even an extended period of time in a 4' deep tank helps. We used to keep one going at all times at the last wholesale facility I worked at. Can't tell you how many fish where "cured" in that tank Hundreds of Ventralis thats for sure :lol:

 

[Len]

One of mine has developed a swollen belly. I don't imagine this is a bladder issue as it was fine for the first week+. It doesn't float and more tilted up then down most of the time, but it does labor a bit to get to places. So far, it eats just fine. The other specimen is usually face down or upside down, but will level itself out and just stay perfectly still in place when it feels like it (or when it's feeding). I can't figure out what is wrong with the first guy though.

I've dropped my tank temp to 76-77 after NKT reported to me his were doing better in cooler waters. Mine seem to be doing about the same, but my other fish seem to be loving the cooler waters Algae growth also is severely stunted now.

 

[Anonymous]

One of mine has developed a swollen belly. I don't imagine this is a bladder issue as it was fine for the first week+. It doesn't float and more tilted up then down most of the time, but it does labor a bit to get to places. So far, it eats just fine. The other specimen is usually face down or upside down, but will level itself out and just stay perfectly still in place when it feels like it (or when it's feeding). I can't figure out what is wrong with the first guy though.

The swollen belly could be a number of things. The top of the list for a deepwater fish would be bruising or damage (infection, etc) to other organs due to the expanded swim bladder during poor decom. Since it's eating fine, have you seen it poop?

 

[Len]

I haven't seen any of the two Borbs poop, actually. I'll pay a bit more attention They come out about 1/4 of the time, while the other times are spent hugging the rock (often upside down).

A secondary infection sounds like the most plausible explanation. It arrived here in great shape.

 

[ReefBum1]

I snagged one a week and a half ago. The first couple of days it ate a little and hid in a cave. It then started to hang out in the top right corner of my tank and was not interested in food. I figured he was a goner due to a swim bladder issue. He is now back in the rock and eating a bit again. Most of the time he swims level but sometimes I noticed he is more face down. I wonder if the swim bladder issue can work itself out if it is not too severe?

 

[Len]

I think this fish naturally swims face down (or upside down) all the time. One of my specimens is apparently perfectly healthy. It curiously roams the tank, will posture against other anthias in the tank (little guy has attitude! ), eats like a pig, and more important, can maintain neutral buoyancy for long durations. But most of the time, it's either face down or upside down against a overhang.

 

[Project Reef]

Broski!!!! Sweet, sweet fish man.

 

[Len]

Hey Ali

Well, one of mine died (The one with the swollen gut). The other is doing great.