Anthias troubles...

[Husker]

So I special ordered 7 Dispar Anthias from the LFS. They were at the store about 4 days before I went to get them. When I went to get them, they were pretty small and skinny, but seemed to "eat" when he fed them. As in put some of the food in their mouth. It looked like they were spitting a lot out. It took a while to catch the fish, but he ended up getting all 7 after having to shake a few out of a rock.

By the time I got home, 1 was basically dead but was able to swim into the rocks. The next day, I saw 3 out for most of the day and at most 5 were out (the rest were hiding in the rocks). The next day, I found 2 dead stuck to the powerheads.

I was feeding frozen mixes 3 times a day for the first couple days. What might be wrong? They are kind of expensive fish to blow through in an attempt at getting a healthy large group eventually. Should I give up on the anthias shoal idea or is there something I could do differently?

 

[Jason_MrFrags]

Need to be in qt tank and fed till fattened up

 

[Paul B]

Husker, I am not sure what a Dispar Anthias is but I have a bunch of purple queen anthias that are thriving, but I hatch brine shrimp every day and supplement them with frozen new born brine shrimp.
They pick the shrimp out of the water column for hours after I feed them.

 

[Husker]

Husker, I am not sure what a Dispar Anthias is but I have a bunch of purple queen anthias that are thriving, but I hatch brine shrimp every day and supplement them with frozen new born brine shrimp.
They pick the shrimp out of the water column for hours after I feed them.

Those look beautiful. I love the interaction of the anthias groups, and have heard dispars are some of the easiest that aren't overly aggressive.

I'm wondering if these guys had basically been starving for the 4 days before I picked them up, given how fast they died. My tank is basically empty, so it is no different from a quarantine tank (aside from the fact that I am not medicating).

I would like to try again, but I can't afford to get a shoal if I have less than 50% survival with every group I get.

 

[falconut]

My lyretails required live food for the first few days/weeks until they started eating frozen. They would bite then spit the food out, sounds like yours were doing the same. If they died that fast, sounds like they may have already had issues. Do you have any way of getting live brine shrimp?

 

[Catchemall]

Those look beautiful. I love the interaction of the anthias groups, and have heard dispars are some of the easiest that aren't overly aggressive.

I'm wondering if these guys had basically been starving for the 4 days before I picked them up, given how fast they died. My tank is basically empty, so it is no different from a quarantine tank (aside from the fact that I am not medicating).

I would like to try again, but I can't afford to get a shoal if I have less than 50% survival with every group I get.

Man sometimes it don't matter what you do. I think they arrive at the fish store with one fin out the door already. I went thru this the other day as well except thankfully mine were chromis. I Tried everything. Keep at it tho you'll get there.

 

[4FordFamily]

How big is your tank, and how long has it been set up?

 

[Husker]

How big is your tank, and how long has it been set up?

The tank is a 5'x2'x2' 150 gallon. It has only been up for a week, but I transferred all of the live rock from my 40 Breeder (which was up a year) plus a bunch more rock that had been cycling in brute cans for about 5 months.

 

[Husker]

My lyretails required live food for the first few days/weeks until they started eating frozen. They would bite then spit the food out, sounds like yours were doing the same. If they died that fast, sounds like they may have already had issues. Do you have any way of getting live brine shrimp?

I think I could get live brine around here, but the ones that are left seem active and to be eating relatively aggressively. I wonder if live food would still be necessary for these?

 

[Husker]

Think live brine would have saved the skinny ones?

 

[Kmsutows]

Your tank has only been running a week? That's the first mistake right there but try picking them up from the store as they arrive so as not to have to acclimate twice. Either that or have them hold them a couple weeks. I got two ventralis anthias recently and they took right away to R.O.E. by reef nutrition but feed 5+times a day at first if you can

 

[Husker]

Your tank has only been running a week? That's the first mistake right there but try picking them up from the store as they arrive so as not to have to acclimate twice. Either that or have them hold them a couple weeks. I got two ventralis anthias recently and they took right away to R.O.E. by reef nutrition but feed 5+times a day at first if you can

There was a bit of a misunderstanding. I asked the LFS if it was something they could order, they thought I was asking them to order it now. I was home the first day with them and added food about every hour. What do you think the "new tank" had to do with anything? I have been feeding my rocks and haven't been able to detect ammonia for months. I wonder if Anthias are spending a lot of their time eating planktonic pods in more mature tanks? That is about the only thing I could imagine I am lacking. However, I can't imagine they could all starve in hours, could they?

 

[Kmsutows]

I thought you said it was only up a week?

 

[Husker]

I said this tank was up a week, but it is filled with the year old live rock from my 40 Breeder plus live rock that had been sitting in a Brute Trash van cycling (filled with saltwater, heater, and pumps) for 5 months.

 

[4FordFamily]

I said this tank was up a week, but it is filled with the year old live rock from my 40 Breeder plus live rock that had been sitting in a Brute Trash van cycling (filled with saltwater, heater, and pumps) for 5 months.

That's still subject to a cycle, unfotunately. While that may have helped your system is nowhere near stable enough to keep fish like anthias that need very established tanks.

The rock in the brute weren't subjected to much ammonia and thus your notrogen cycle would have stalled quite a bit. Add several fish to a tank like that and that certainly did not help.

I'm not a patient person at all, so believe me I understand why we want to get that instant gratification!

 

[Fishfinder]

What probably happened is you got to the store on day 4. Those fish were never eating. You got them just in time to die in your tank. A lot of fish come in sick. When getting new fish
1) have plenty of different options available, 3-5 different foods. Don't feed the same food every hour if they aren't eating it.
2) either pick them up ASAP so you can get as much time as you can getting them healthy (eating and medicated)
3) wait a couple weeks until the weak sick fish are no longer available to be sold (dead)

Unfortunately its a learning process. ive been going through it. Anthias can be tough some times because they eat live food in the wild.

 

[Husker]

That's still subject to a cycle, unfotunately. While that may have helped your system is nowhere near stable enough to keep fish like anthias that need very established tanks.

The rock in the brute weren't subjected to much ammonia and thus your notrogen cycle would have stalled quite a bit. Add several fish to a tank like that and that certainly did not help.

I'm not a patient person at all, so believe me I understand why we want to get that instant gratification!

I checked ammonia several times the last day and nothing came up, but I guess anything is possible and there could have been a quick spike between my tests. I was feeding my rocks more than I was feeding my fish for those 5 months, so the bacteria should have been pretty built up. I also have an attached 55 gallon tank filled with macro algae, which should soak up any ammonia if there wasn't enough bacteria. Just in case, I added a bottle of bacteria 2 days before adding the new fish. But again, I wasn't planning on adding these fish if it weren't for a miscommunication with the LFS. It happens.

Thanks for the thoughts, folks.

Maybe I will wait a couple months and if these remaining 3 are doing well. If so, I will try to add another batch to the current ones. Otherwise, I might go another direction with the fish.

 

[Husker]

What probably happened is you got to the store on day 4. Those fish were never eating. You got them just in time to die in your tank. A lot of fish come in sick. When getting new fish
1) have plenty of different options available, 3-5 different foods. Don't feed the same food every hour if they aren't eating it.
2) either pick them up ASAP so you can get as much time as you can getting them healthy (eating and medicated)
3) wait a couple weeks until the weak sick fish are no longer available to be sold (dead)

Unfortunately its a learning process. ive been going through it. Anthias can be tough some times because they eat live food in the wild.

I think this makes sense. I thought the 4 days would accomplish this, but maybe I needed to let them hold the fish a while longer to "weed out" the unhealthy ones before I buy them, if at all possible (as bad as that sounds).

 

[Fishfinder]

If those 3 fish live any new anthia should get a feeding response from them. Hopefully making future additions easier.

That being said, I highly recommend a QT. Don't add new fish to healthy disease free fish

4 days isn't enough.. a fish will take weeks to starve to death, also see what type of guarantee the stores around you have.

 

[ca1ore]

The tricky thing with anthias is keeping them at a healthy weight. If they come in already thin, then the prognosis is immediately poor. The best thing is not to buy them that way. Even if they are at a healthy weight, it is a really good idea to keep them in a QT for a while and feed them many times a day so that they get used to the foods you use. Dispar are not problematic feeders (unlike the purple queens).