Anthias in Quarantine

[hit_the_gap]

hi everyone,
today i received three new flame anthias from Blue Zoo. This is my second attempt at keeping anthias and i wanted to make sure they were healthy and eating prior to placing them in my DT so i set up my quarantine tank (20 gal long). i got it running last night and today, the fish were added to the QT. The question i have is, how long should they stay in there since the only food they will receive will be from me. I have no problem feeding them a few times a day and will probably have to since there are no copepods or other living food sources available.

also, i added Ruby Reef Rally to the system to hopefully knock out any parasites that the fish may have. was this a good or bad idea?

 

[wrassemanben]

It depends on how mature the bio filter is, most people don't understand the gram negative bacteria growth in new systems. This causes a lot of problems for fish susceptible to infections.

I like to use Furan 2 in my qts to keep bacteria levels in check. It will affect biological but since it's a qt it shouldn't be a problem.

Just follow directions on box

 

[MCooper]

4 weeks!

 

[Duke4Life]

Keep an eye out for ammonia since you just set up your qt.

 

[hit_the_gap]

i have about 10 gals of mixed salt water ready to go. I fed them a few times yesterday (throughout the day) and they all ate like champs. All three look very healthy too. Hopefully this is a good start.

should i continue to treat them as if they have something or stop treatment (Ruby Reef Rally) since they show no signs of illness?

 

[hit_the_gap]

So its been about a week now and the only thing the anthias trio will eat is live brine shrimp. i have tried flakes, pellets, and two different types of Rods Reef food. all food (besides the live brine shrimp) are soaked in garlic. All 3 anthias will mouth the food but spit it right back out. My LFS is out of brine shrimp so they told me to try feeder fish which couldn't have worked less. my anthias appeared to be happy as hell that they had some new tank mates.

any suggestions on how to get them to eat? should i get more brine shrimp and steadily feed them in QT or should i put them in the DT that has copes and other live food living in there? Besides not getting plump, all 3 anthias look healthy from the outside.

 

[Duke4Life]

So its been about a week now and the only thing the anthias trio will eat is live brine shrimp. i have tried flakes, pellets, and two different types of Rods Reef food. all food (besides the live brine shrimp) are soaked in garlic. All 3 anthias will mouth the food but spit it right back out. My LFS is out of brine shrimp so they told me to try feeder fish which couldn't have worked less. my anthias appeared to be happy as hell that they had some new tank mates.

any suggestions on how to get them to eat? should i get more brine shrimp and steadily feed them in QT or should i put them in the DT that has copes and other live food living in there? Besides not getting plump, all 3 anthias look healthy from the outside.

I would never go back there since they told ya feeder fish for Anthias, thats just absurd. Did you try mixing the brine with other food when you put it in.

 

[hit_the_gap]

unfortunately that store is the best around.
i was able to get some brine shrimp this afternoon and fed them. 2 of the 3 are eating the live brine, but the 3rd isn't eating or showing much interest in eating. i will try to mix in some other food with the brine shrimp and see if they eat more than just brine shrimp. for the one not eating at all…. any suggestions?

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I'm definitely in agreement with the idea of introducing the food along with the brine shrimp for a few days...and yeah, there was no way feeder fish would work.

@4FordFamily @Humblefish @melypr1985 Any thoughts on getting these guys to eat?

 

[Humblefish]

Have you tried mysis or the larger PE mysis? Anthias are mostly carnivorous, so you want to try anything meaty.

 

[melypr1985]

I would keep cycling through the different meaty options. Maybe stop adding garlic to the food and see if they are weird and hate the taste of garlic. You want to keep trying different frozen foods to give them the chance to find something they like.

Also, it seems like they were eating "like champs" on the 13th and now the one has stopped. Has anything else changed in this one's behavior between now and then?

 

[4FordFamily]

I have never owned an Anthias for more than a week so I obviously know nothing about them. Humble and Mel gave great ideas!

 

[ca1ore]

You mean Ignitus, correct? Anthias like their food moving, so if you don't have a powerhead in the QT, add one. Makes a big difference to feeding response. You just need to try lots of different foods, though accept that some fish come in so stressed that they never eat. I'd try fish eggs (LRS makes them) as well.

 

[mfinn]

You mean Ignitus, correct? Anthias like their food moving, so if you don't have a powerhead in the QT, add one. Makes a big difference to feeding response. You just need to try lots of different foods, though accept that some fish come in so stressed that they never eat. I'd try fish eggs (LRS makes them) as well.

I do this with all fish in quarantine.
With anthias, I start off with tigger pods, then go to frozen Hykari Mysis, and ROE.

 

[hit_the_gap]

thanks for the ideas everyone. 2 of them are starting to eat some meaty frozen foods, the other is still not eating anything. i will try the power head idea and see if that helps. thanks again for all the comments and replies.

 

[Fenzinna]

The power head will at least get a response. On my evansi's they really would only mouth larger pieces. I mix frozen cyclops with sp. brine and frozen mysis.