Decisions to make.... wanna help?

melypr1985 · Dec 14, 2015

So, my yellow coris wrasse died today. I messed up when I netted him out of the QT going into the DT and pinned him against the glass. I didn't even realize I had got him that hard... my poor fish.

Back to the problem..... I now have so much room in my tank! Well, I think I do and I do tend to "overstock" slightly. I have a big skimmer and do diligent water changes and maintenance so I feel i can. I'm looking at getting a Blackcap Basslet and another wrasse and maybe an anthia or two... not sure

I like the:
Scotts Fairy wrasse (though it's pretty pricey for my comfort)
Leopard Wrasse, Blue Star? (I wouldn't consider myself expert level though I'm comfortable trying)
Indian Ocean Lyretail Anthia (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)
Pictilis Anthia (Pseudanthias pictilis)

What do you think? I have a 75 gallon with a purple tang, kole tang, pair of clowns and 1 bangaii cardinal. I can always forgo any of these for another cardinal, but I want movement and color. What could i realistically handle? I'm doubting I could do a group of anthias with my tank, so could I just do a male? Would he be lonely? Maybe I'm just totally crazy lol

thanks for the help

saltyhog · Dec 15, 2015

Scott's are beautiful but it needs to be your only wrasse (or at least only fairy wrasse) as they are aggressive for a wrasse.

Sabellafella · Dec 15, 2015

Gett the anthias i have 6 evansis in my tank now, witch everyone even my lfs doubted me , the only issue would be ur purple tang, i acually have a question for you nd maybe you could help me and and yourself also lolol, i added a rhomboid and lineatus today, my purple tang is going bazerk litterally the most aggressive ive ever seen a tang act (ive kept pdb and pdb before) and im so mortified there going to get killed, beside draining my tank my last choice is a mirror, worth a shot?

Sabellafella · Dec 15, 2015

If your going with 1 anthias get a sunburst or a ventralis

Triggreef · Dec 15, 2015

Don't hold back on leopards because they are listed as expert. Do your research and become an expert. They are finicky at first but when you get a good one acclimated to tank life they are amazing and very hardy fish. It is really the shipping stress that does these guys in.

I suggest to have a good size qt set up almost like a display for quarantining these guys. Great with a couple rounds of prazi right at the start and then nothing more for a while aside from observation. After 6 weeks or so if you still have it your golden. Address any other qt concerns at that point and go from there. That's the methods that worked best for me. Flukes imo ime is the main concern with them after shipping stress.

Flashy Fins · Dec 15, 2015

I think pictilis would be too cramped in a 75g, as they get rather large, and they are known for being difficult. Lyretails are easier, but they also get large. I recommend resplendents (also called tierra anthias) instead, which are very vividly colored, peaceful, small, and not difficult as long as you feed often enough. Mine gobble up mysis, cyclops, and roe (the Reef Nutrition bottle, not the sushi stuff). I have a pair, and they do fine; if you stick with peaceful species, you won't need a trio or harem to enjoy more than one.

eatbreakfast · Dec 15, 2015

saltyhog said:
Scott's are beautiful but it needs to be your only wrasse (or at least only fairy wrasse) as they are aggressive for a wrasse.

Agreed, there colors also tend to fade quickly in aquaria.

Sabellafella said:
Gett the anthias i have 6 evansis in my tank now, witch everyone even my lfs doubted me , the only issue would be ur purple tang, i acually have a question for you nd maybe you could help me and and yourself also lolol, i added a rhomboid and lineatus today, my purple tang is going bazerk litterally the most aggressive ive ever seen a tang act (ive kept pdb and pdb before) and im so mortified there going to get killed, beside draining my tank my last choice is a mirror, worth a shot?

I haven't had issues with a tang bothering wrasses and anthias, but they can. Aggressive tangs can be caught using the mirror trick.

Sabellafella said:
If your going with 1 anthias get a sunburst or a ventralis

A sunburst is an excellent choice. Ventralis anthias are beautiful, but one of the most difficult anthias to keep.

Triggreef said:
Don't hold back on leopards because they are listed as expert. Do your research and become an expert. They are finicky at first but when you get a good one acclimated to tank life they are amazing and very hardy fish. It is really the shipping stress that does these guys in.

I suggest to have a good size qt set up almost like a display for quarantining these guys. Great with a couple rounds of prazi right at the start and then nothing more for a while aside from observation. After 6 weeks or so if you still have it your golden. Address any other qt concerns at that point and go from there. That's the methods that worked best for me. Flukes imo ime is the main concern with them after shipping stress.

Agreed. Once past shipping stress and treated for parasites are quite hardy.

Flashy Fins said:
I think pictilis would be too cramped in a 75g, as they get rather large, and they are known for being difficult. Lyretails are easier, but they also get large. I recommend resplendents (also called tierra anthias) instead, which are very vividly colored, peaceful, small, and not difficult as long as you feed often enough. Mine gobble up mysis, cyclops, and roe (the Reef Nutrition bottle, not the sushi stuff). I have a pair, and they do fine; if you stick with peaceful species, you won't need a trio or harem to enjoy more than one.

Agreed that resplendents would be a better choice, as would dispars. Both are smaller than the species you listed and can be kept as a small group more easily in your sized tank.

For these species I do recommend a minimum of 3, but preferably 5, as they are haremic and don't form bonded prs, so only having 2 can be stressful on the submissive one.

melypr1985 · Dec 15, 2015

Thanks so much everybody! The Dispar anthias have caught my attention for sure... Though they are all beautiful and i wouldn't be disappointed to have any of those mentioned.
Do you think I'd be pushing a few space boundaries if I tried to start with 1 male and 4 females? Maybe just 3 would be better for space reasons? I like to push the limits but not if it's obviously stupid, ya know?
I also think I"m going to go for the leopard wrasse after all. They are beautiful and I dont mind a challenge.

melypr1985 · Dec 15, 2015

Sabellafella said:
Gett the anthias i have 6 evansis in my tank now, witch everyone even my lfs doubted me , the only issue would be ur purple tang, i acually have a question for you nd maybe you could help me and and yourself also lolol, i added a rhomboid and lineatus today, my purple tang is going bazerk litterally the most aggressive ive ever seen a tang act (ive kept pdb and pdb before) and im so mortified there going to get killed, beside draining my tank my last choice is a mirror, worth a shot?

A mirror is always a good trick. I actually caught both my tangs without taking any rock out. I did it just as the lights came on while, I immagine, they were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

eatbreakfast · Dec 15, 2015

melypr1985 said:
Thanks so much everybody! The Dispar anthias have caught my attention for sure... Though they are all beautiful and i wouldn't be disappointed to have any of those mentioned.
Do you think I'd be pushing a few space boundaries if I tried to start with 1 male and 4 females? Maybe just 3 would be better for space reasons? I like to push the limits but not if it's obviously stupid, ya know?
I also think I"m going to go for the leopard wrasse after all. They are beautiful and I dont mind a challenge.

I think bioload-wise you are fine. I have way more fish in an 80g.

For the dispars, 1 male to 4 females is great, or you could do all 5 as females and let them sort out the male.

melypr1985 · Dec 15, 2015

eatbreakfast said:
I think bioload-wise you are fine. I have way more fish in an 80g.

For the dispars, 1 male to 4 females is great, or you could do all 5 as females and let them sort out the male.

Ahh and cheaper too yes? The males I have noticed are much more expensive.

eatbreakfast · Dec 15, 2015

melypr1985 said:
Ahh and cheaper too yes? The males I have noticed are much more expensive.

They should be a little cheaper, by about $10.

melypr1985 · Dec 15, 2015

every penny counts! lol Ok, I think I have my wish list down now. I'm so glad to have all this help and input! When I ask my husband he just says "yeah those are nice" to everything I show him lol. So thanks for all the help!

eatbreakfast · Dec 15, 2015

melypr1985 said:
every penny counts! lol Ok, I think I have my wish list down now. I'm so glad to have all this help and input! When I ask my husband he just says "yeah those are nice" to everything I show him lol. So thanks for all the help!

I think that's how a lot of 'significant others' respond to our fish tanks.

Quite frankly, I'm glad my wife isn't into the tank, I already want too many things for the tank, and have my own way of doing things. If she were into it I think there would be too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.

Sabellafella · Dec 15, 2015

And wow the mirror acually worked i doubted it

melypr1985 said:
Thanks so much everybody! The Dispar anthias have caught my attention for sure... Though they are all beautiful and i wouldn't be disappointed to have any of those mentioned.
Do you think I'd be pushing a few space boundaries if I tried to start with 1 male and 4 females? Maybe just 3 would be better for space reasons? I like to push the limits but not if it's obviously stupid, ya know?
I also think I"m going to go for the leopard wrasse after all. They are beautiful and I dont mind a challenge.

The thing with all hard to keep anthias is they get skinny from shipping and one of the most poor shippers. But i agree (leopard=expert? Thats just crazy you have to be an expert keeping all saltwater fish imo why not take a shot theyre really cool

melypr1985 · Dec 15, 2015

Sabellafella said:
And wow the mirror acually worked i doubted it

The thing with all hard to keep anthias is they get skinny from shipping and one of the most poor shippers. But i agree (leopard=expert? Thats just crazy you have to be an expert keeping all saltwater fish imo why not take a shot theyre really cool

Yes I agree. I wanted to get a feel for how difficult they really are. I'm not scared of a challenge so I'm going to give the lepard a try. The anthias can/will be a challenge to get some healthy ones in. I'm already planning to pick them up as soon as they come in.... my lfs doesn't have a great track record keeping them in the tanks for long so I'll just skip that step for them. I'm also having them start carrying LRS reef frenzy so there's another great food I can try for feeding.

eatbreakfast · Dec 15, 2015

The good thing is that dispars are one of the easiest anthias species and usually come in pretty good.

melypr1985 · Dec 15, 2015

eatbreakfast said:
The good thing is that dispars are one of the easiest anthias species and usually come in pretty good.

That's good to know and takes some of the worry out of it. I'm looking into getting 5 and the wrasse and putting them through QT together. I hope we can get them for a good price