Any experience with Odontanthias borbonius?

[Anonymous]

There's a great thread about these guys in the Collector's Forum... but I'm looking for input on keeping them in reef tanks. I know it's not ideal, but how do they fare in SPS conditions, like high light and flow? Assume very few other fish, nothing aggressive and plenty of caves and swim-throughs.

I'd also like to know what kind of sexy dimorphism to look for. Do only the males get that pinkish color?

 

[Len]

I've had a lot of experiences with them.

IMO, these are one of the best fish ever Their personalities are incredible. The prefer lower light and don't seem to have a preference for flow. However, they acclimate very quickly to high light situations. While they spend some time sitting on rocks (sometimes upside down), they are often out in the open and are very bold and inquisitive once they've adjusted to their new home. They feed like pigs, although they prefer frozen foods over dry foods .... which fish doesn't?

Their temperament is good. They're excellent community fish. I've never had one that was a problem fish. They sometimes will posture against other fish, but they never initiate the aggression and never will attack the other fish (only posturing). They also do well in pairs or small groups, again showing very little aggression.

I've had pairs and they don't display any dimorphism other then size. I believe the males are bigger (like other Anthias), but I really don't know. The color differences seem to be based on where they're collected from, or perhaps just individual differences. Their pink is more subtle then the photoshopped pictures seen online.

I've found they're susceptible to flukes, so buy from a reputable dealer or qt yourself. They also do not seem to like FWE

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the raving review. It's exactly what I was hoping for. :mrgreen:

We've had one at my LFS (where I work) for about a month now, and I've been in love with it from day one. For the last 2 weeks it's, sadly, been in a less than ideal tank: shallow 60g w/ 4 T5s, many anemones, little LR and nothing to hide under or behind. (The water though is very stable as it's tied into a larger system.) I've been feeding the living heck out of it and it's been a real champ. No signs of weakness. [mini's guitar/Rocky running stairs]

It'll be going into my 48g with a 2" Sargassum trigger and a Gold Sailfin Blenny (Atrosalarias fuscus). Today I drained the tank to remove a 2" Regal tang and a 2" Saddleback clown. Both were temporary. Both could swim surprisingly well in an inch of water. Naval cursing and black-belt chopsticks saved us all from the bamboo skewer. I would have felt terribly! :wink:

Interesting to hear you've had pairs with only size as dimorphism. I couldn't find much information about them, apart from Fishbase and this nice little write-up.. The one at the shop now is only the 2nd I've ever seen. It's mostly whitish with yellow splotches. There's not even a hint of pink, though that could be lighting, diet, marital status or as you suggest, geography.

How about pairing them up? Are they hermaphrodites? I know nothing about Anthias except that you should always be feeding them.

 

[Len]

Yep, their hermaphrodites. I bought two juveniles, and one stayed tiny (<2") while the other grew to 4".

I don't agree with that article's comment about aggression. Granted, I have a fairly large tank, but I know others keeping trios in <80g and they behaved well. The caveat is all of the Borbs I've seen were bought as juvies. Two big specimens might fight.

Good to hear about your fish catch. Cursing always does the trick

 

[Anonymous]

Sure does.

 

[Mike612]

I kept mine in a Seahorse tank. It was pretty easy to care for. It was peaceful towards the ponies and unlike other fish, it actually stopped eating when it was full That made me happy because it meant that the ponies could hunt down whatever food they missed. Great fish. It was easily one of my favorites just because of those facts and its natural beauty.

 

[Len]

I want another one to pair my little bugger up.

 

[Microcosmos]

Very pretty little fish! WAAAAAAY too pricey for me (over $200.00? yikes!) but if you've got the $$$ it seems like a really neat little addition to any tank that will accept a little fish or two! Has anyone ever bred these in captivity?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Micro. I got a good deal on it with my LFS employee discount and a couple of trade-in fish (see above). So far, I'm really liking this little fish. It's my first ever anthias and its behavior is great. It spends a lot of time hovering right out in the open, eats like a pig, but as Mike mentioned, seems to get full quickly. So far I've been feeding it PE mysis, NLS marine and Cyclopeze. I need to swing by the seafood market next week to get some fresher stuff.

I don't know if they've ever been bred in captivity. Maybe Matt on the boards here knows; he has a lot of experience with Anthias.

Len, how hard is it to pair these guys up? What's the procedure?

 

[Len]

Here's how I pair them up:
1. Get two small ones.
2. Put them together.

The end

Seriously, they are so social that there's no destructive aggression for pecking order. They just figure it out, with one growing big and the other staying small.

 

[Mike612]

Actually when I picked mine up, he was in a tank with 3 other Borbonius Anthias. The one I got was the smallest of the group and the other 3 were roughly the same size. Mine was being chased by 2 of them and those same 2 were also chasing the last Anthias. I'm not so sure that they're great at schooling, although I'll agree that they are very sociable fish. Mine liked to check me out every time I was at the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Very cool fish Craig, I'll have to see whether they have them in Japan!

BTW, the tank's looking good, what I could see of it. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Are any of you guys familar with Prime Reef Aquatics.

They show Borbonius for $139 each. That's far cheaper than anywhere else on the net.

I'm think about getting a pair for my 24G cube.

Louey

 

[Len]

Are any of you guys familar with Prime Reef Aquatics.

They show Borbonius for $139 each. That's far cheaper than anywhere else on the net.

I'm think about getting a pair for my 24G cube.

Louey

Good choice for your tank. I've seen Prime Reef, but I've never ordered from them as no one talks about them and they don't seem to have any contact information (phone or email) so I couldn't inquire about important stuff like DOA policies and their QT procedures (if any). I don't even know where they're located.

 

[Anonymous]

Great fish. I have a pair in my 150. They get big (15+ cm) and can get bossy.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, that's bigger than I thought. Maybe not for my future tank (or maybe a bit early to say that for sure :lol: ).

 

[Anonymous]

Are any of you guys familar with Prime Reef Aquatics.

They show Borbonius for $139 each. That's far cheaper than anywhere else on the net.

I'm think about getting a pair for my 24G cube.

Louey

Good choice for your tank. I've seen Prime Reef, but I've never ordered from them as no one talks about them and they don't seem to have any contact information (phone or email) so I couldn't inquire about important stuff like DOA policies and their QT procedures (if any). I don't even know where they're located.

Yeah, I noticed their site was devoid of contact infomation. I always at the very least want to know where my livestock is being shipped from.

I am leary of them.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Are any of you guys familar with Prime Reef Aquatics.

They show Borbonius for $139 each. That's far cheaper than anywhere else on the net.

I'm think about getting a pair for my 24G cube.

Louey

IMO they're too big for a 24g cube (6"full size and I have seen them that size). I know of no anthias suitable for a 24g cube, sorry.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know if they've ever been bred in captivity.

Nope, never. No anthias has to date.

 

[Anonymous]

Are any of you guys familar with Prime Reef Aquatics.

They show Borbonius for $139 each. That's far cheaper than anywhere else on the net.

I'm think about getting a pair for my 24G cube.

Louey

IMO they're too big for a 24g cube (6"full size and I have seen them that size). I know of no anthias suitable for a 24g cube, sorry.

Then I guess you'd really object to my yellow tang.

I was planning on getting rid of it before adding the anthias. I don't want to much bioload in there.

BTW, the yellow tang is perfectly happy at this time. It's about 4" long. I needed it for algae grazing. I always planned to get rid of it if it showed any signs of stress. But it has not. It's the happiest tang I have ever had, including all the ones I had in my 300.

Louey