Anthias - difficulty, longevity?

[kyley]

Hi All,
I've been reef keeping for 10 years, and I've kept several fish alive for 8-10 years now. But I've never tried to keep anthias. I have a 120 gallon tank and am considering some. But, I've heard they can be hard to keep. Is it unlikely that they'll live long lives in aquariums?

And can they do okay with one feeding per day?

What are the hardiest ones?

How many should I get? I'd like to just have one or two, but I could consider more.

Currently I have a hippo tang, yellow tang, sailfin tang, black leopard wrasse, and I'll be transferring my coral beauty angel, ocellaris clown, and royal gramma basslet. Also planning on adding a yellow head Jawfish, watchman goby, and another wrasse. Thoughts? Thanks!
--Kyle

 

[ndrwater]

Anthias like to be in groups.. bit.. they also are in need of multiple feedings. And... They eat the same thing as Hippo (blue) tangs. They are planktavores. In my experience, the orange anthias are the hardest. If... You are willing to feed often, with small foods, they can all be hardy.
Anthias have a small esophagus and can't handle larger foods... To a point. Once acclimated, they will take many types of prepared foods with abandon

 

[Marco S]

Unfortunately I have read that Anthias lifespans are only about 2 - 5 years, but that is just what i have read so take that with a grain of salt.

I have 5 Bartlett Anthias and they have proven to be remarkably hardy and three made it through QT with a Pair of Clownfish that had Brook and two made it through with another fish that died of Uronema. I have been overfeeding them since they are in QT and I currently feed my DT 3 times a day so I can't talk to only feeding them once a day, but everything I have read recommends against that. Hopefully others here with more experience can give better advise.

 

[kyley]

Thanks for the advice so far. I take good care of my tanks / fish, but I also want to keep appropriate fish that will do well. They might not be the best choice for me? If they simply have a short lifespan, then I guess that's not as bad as if they die because of poor husbandry. But I also don't want to spend a lot on fish that might not live long. Then again, wrasse don't seem to have the best longevity either. Hopefully others can chime in. I'll keep thinking about it. Thanks,
--Kyle

 

[Terri Caton]

I got one Carberryi to see if I could keep it alive. It’s the fish with the most personality in my tank! Eats more than all the others. I probably just got lucky but I love that fish!

It’s totally fine being the only Anthias. She swims with the green chromis.

I feed mine twice a day unless I’m home then I do 3-4 small feedings.

 

[ca1ore]

I have been able to keep a number of different pseudoanthis species for about 5 years, but not much longer so I think that's a reasonable expiration date. Some species are extremely difficult, and should be avoided (purple queen, princess); others quite large and boisterous (Bartlett, lytetail, square and bimac) where in a 120 you'd be limited to a trio. Still others are smaller and you could go to 5-6 (carberyi, dispar, igantus, resplendent). All will do best with multiple feedings.

 

[kyley]

I got one Carberryi to see if I could keep it alive. It’s the fish with the most personality in my tank! Eats more than all the others. I probably just got lucky but I love that fish!

It’s totally fine being the only Anthias. She swims with the green chromis.

I feed mine twice a day unless I’m home then I do 3-4 small feedings.

I have been able to keep a number of different pseudoanthis species for about 5 years, but not much longer so I think that's a reasonable expiration date. Some species are extremely difficult, and should be avoided (purple queen, princess); others quite large and boisterous (Bartlett, lytetail, square and bimac) where in a 120 you'd be limited to a trio. Still others are smaller and you could go to 5-6 (carberyi, dispar, igantus, resplendent). All will do best with multiple feedings.

Thank you both! If I do get one (or more) sometime, it would probably be Ignitus (sounds like a little easier, smaller so less bioload, very pretty, etc) or possibly Carberryi. Thanks,
--Kyle

 

[Jesterrace]

My only experience is recent with Lyretails. I had a male that didn't make it more than a few days and was super skittish. The female on the other hand has been pretty much bulletproof (poor thing even got her face stuck to the net and I had to physically hold her and peel the net back off her face, after 5 minutes of looking like she was near death she started swimming around and has been fine ever since). She is generally well behaved but man, she is a super aggressive feeder.