Anthias Question

[KevyKevTPA]

So my wife and I have fallen in love with how the male lyretail Anthias looks. The coloration, the fins, you name it.

Here's my question: Are we better off getting an existing male, and an existing female, who likely don't know each other, or would it be better to get 2 females and let them decide for themselves who is going to be the boy?

 

[ReefGeezer]

2 females for your 55. I have 3 in my 90. I bought a male and two females. One of the females turned into the dominate male within a year and now harasses the other male who now looks like in a "submale"... not bright orange like the female, and not highly colored with long fins like the dominate male.

 

[KevyKevTPA]

2 females for your 55. I have 3 in my 90. I bought a male and two females. One of the females turned into the dominate male within a year and now harasses the other male who now looks like in a "submale"... not bright orange like the female, and not highly colored with long fins like the dominate male.

Thanks. Would it change your mind if I told you we traded up to a 73 gal tank (90 total)?

 

[ReefGeezer]

Thanks. Would it change your mind if I told you we traded up to a 73 gal tank (90 total)?

If it is a 4' tank, it is possibly big enough for 3 but you would be pushing the envelop. Others may say it's fine. These fish get pretty big though, probably 4" in a decently managed 75 gallon, move around a lot, and are a little aggressive. I'd still buy all females. Mine are all of 4" and except for a Melanurus Wrasse, rule the tank.

 

[Waters]

I actually kept three females for almost a year and after a year....I still had three females lol.

 

[KevyKevTPA]

If it is a 4' tank, it is possibly big enough for 3 but you would be pushing the envelop. Others may say it's fine. These fish get pretty big though, probably 4" in a decently managed 75 gallon, move around a lot, and are a little aggressive. I'd still buy all females. Mine are all of 4" and except for a Melanurus Wrasse, rule the tank.

It's a 4' tank, and we already had 2 females who were lost when a purple tang infected with velvet wiped out our entire stock. We put them all in a hospital tank and treated with copper, but for the smaller fish it was too late, but it seems to have worked for the Tang which went back in just this past Sunday. We thought he was deceased, but when he went back into the unmedicated water, even though at first he was laying flat on the bottom, he's made a recovery that is nothing short of miraculous. He has his color back, and he's eating like a horse, but we're still keeping a close eye on him.

I'm unsure why he had a near-death experience, my best guess is that we simply had him in medicated water for too long. We caught it just in time, though, I think another 5 minutes and he wouldn't have recovered like he has. In fact, I thought he was dead and gone, but after about 10-15 minutes in the display, non-medicated tank, he was swimming around like nothing happened.

I plan to have a little chat with the owner of the store who sold me a diseased fish about replacing our stock, but haven't yet done it. But I'm disabled and unemployed, so if he gives me a hard time, I'll just drive me electric wheelchair up to his store and sit in the parking lot with a sign that says "This store sells diseased fish, go elsewhere.", if he refuses.

I'm absolutely heartbroken about it, but what's done is done and from all present appearances, at least we saved the Tang. He's beautiful, too.

And before the Tang Police issue a warrant for my arrest for putting a Tang in a 73, if he ever gets too big for the tank, we'll either get a bigger one, or sell him to someone else who has one, and buy a new smaller one.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Disease prevention is really on you in this hobby. Your LFS has no way to know if the fish he's had in his tank for less than a week is healthy or not. A few places have started to sell quarantined fish at a premium, but even that isn't an absolute guarantee. Some are really good, some are not. Quarantining your own fish is best. It is difficult and time consuming. The other method is to ensure conditions are perfect in the tank and fish are not stressed in an effort to keep the fishes' immunity high.

There is a lot in your last post to digest.
1. If you lost fish to Velvet already, unless the tank was empty of fish (called fallow) for a long time, the parasite responsible may still be present in the tank.
2. If the Tang did not complete a copper treatment, it is probably still be infected.
3. I'm not the Tang Police, but part of providing that stress free environment I spoke of above is putting the right fish in the tank. In my experience, fish like that get stressed long before we decide they are too big for the current tank.
4. Purple Tangs in particular are aggressive with new fish and are normally among the last fish added to a tank. He may add additional stress to any new fish you add.

Stress in an environment where Velvet is present is asking for an outbreak. I know it is difficult but you might reevaluate your plan for stocking the tank and what you have done to eliminate the Velvet. At the same time you might want to consider a larger tank if you want Tangs and Harems of Anthias.

 

[blaxsun]

I got three females. One up and disappeared within a few weeks and I still have the other two - both female almost 6 months later. So I think you have a 50-50 chance with either scenario, but if you want a pair - I'd probably be inclined to get a male and female and leave it at that.