Easiest Anthias

Fish rookie 07 · Jan 30, 2021

Hey guys I’m 1 year into my first reef and have had great success with all fish, not so much corals tho! Anyways it’s a 60gallon display and was looking at anthias, really like lyretales and purple queens but was hoping for opinions on the easiest/best to keep as I know they’re not that simple for fish. Any knowledge would be very appreciated!!

ca1ore · Jan 30, 2021

Don’t bother with purple queens, they are essentially impossible to keep alive. Lyretails are probably the easiest, though still not easy. 60 is a bit tight for a group, but a single would do fine. Needs frequent feeding though. Bartlett would be another good choice as a single fish.

javisaman · Jan 30, 2021

Lyretales are relatively easy; as are bartletts. However, both can be rather aggressive, and in a 60 gallon that might be exacerbated. You could probably keep one. Purple queens are considered one of the harder ones to get eating. The peaceful ones like dispar, carberryi , ignitus, and evansi can be a little tricker to get eating than the lyretales/bartletts but are much easier than the purple queens.

Haydn · Jan 30, 2021

One of the easiest and hardiest anthias I have found is the Resplendent (Pseudanthias pulcherrimus) it will accept most of the usual aquarium fare and doesn't need frequent feeding. It isn't over aggressive either within species or with smaller fish.

Also at 3" it doesn't get too large.

Fish rookie 07 · Jan 30, 2021

ca1ore said:
Don’t bother with purple queens, they are essentially impossible to keep alive. Lyretails are probably the easiest, though still not easy. 60 is a bit tight for a group, but a single would do fine. Needs frequent feeding though. Bartlett would be another good choice as a single fish.

Yeah I figured 1-3 would be max, would daily be enough for feeding lyretails? I’ve heard some need 2-3 times feeding but many are once a day.

sp1187 · Jan 30, 2021

Fish rookie 07 said:
Yeah I figured 1-3 would be max, would daily be enough for feeding lyretails? I’ve heard some need 2-3 times feeding but many are once a day.

is this tank in a room you spend time in? tv room?
if so multiple feedings won't be an issue.
I feed multiple times over a 3-4 hour period in the evening.
not so much because I have 4 lyretails, but because I have 20+ fish in the tank + corals,
and want to make sure everyone gets to eat.

rubertoe93 · Jan 30, 2021

Fish rookie 07 said:
Yeah I figured 1-3 would be max, would daily be enough for feeding lyretails? I’ve heard some need 2-3 times feeding but many are once a day.

They need feeding multiple times a day, apparently, they don’t have a digestive track a lot like a seahorse

Zionas · Jan 31, 2021

Pseudanthias hardyis?

But yeah consensus seems to be the Lyretails, though none are “easy” and that’s why I am not a fan of them. Need to be feed multiple times a day for good health.

Bartlett’s are also another easier Anthias, from what I’ve heard.

IMO the most beautiful are the Sunburst, and the Odoanthias genus including the Borbonius.

Haydn · Jan 31, 2021

Zionas said:
Pseudanthias hardyis?

But yeah consensus seems to be the Lyretails, though none are “easy” and that’s why I am not a fan of them. Need to be feed multiple times a day for good health.

Bartlett’s are also another easier Anthias, from what I’ve heard.

IMO the most beautiful are the Sunburst, and the Odoanthias genus including the Borbonius.

My apologies I again need to disagree with you.

Anthias are a wide group of fish and to post generalisations like 'they need multiple daily feedings' is wrong, some species may do others do not, for example, I have found P. bimacularis does not need excessive feeding. P. ignitus needs a high protein diet to thrive, they only need multiple feedings if you are using a low protein food. Lyretails will also happily thrive with a couple of feeds per day.

Individual Bartletts will eventually turn to male and if there are not enough females to go round, the males will fight. sometimes causing death.

The Odoanthias borbonius can get to 6" and need a tank considerably larger than the OP's. I have also found they are active predators of any fish they can get into their mouths. They are also extremely expensive!

Sunburst anthias tend to be secretive and prefer overhangs, I only truly saw mine at feeding times.

The above is not 'from what I've heard' but from experience of keeping this wide ranging and beautiful genus. I am sorry I felt the need to post this and disagree but the internet is rife with half truths and 'from what I heard' statements we, as reefkeepers, need to make sure these lies are not spread and become truths.

Zionas · Jan 31, 2021

Thanks and I stand corrected. It’s good that you have much more experience than I could hope to accumulate at this point.

So in your opinion which ones would be the best beginner Anthias and how long do they tend to live?

Waters · Jan 31, 2021

I have a pair of Lyretails that I have had almost a year now without any issues. They eat twice a day just like the rest of my fish.

Zionas · Jan 31, 2021

That’s good to know. Were they both purchased as females?

Haydn · Jan 31, 2021

Zionas said:
Thanks and I stand corrected. It’s good that you have much more experience than I could hope to accumulate at this point.

So in your opinion which ones would be the best beginner Anthias and how long do they tend to live?

As I said in an earlier post on here Resplendent anthias (Pseudanthias pulcherrimus) are IMO one of the easiest and hardy anthias.

How long they tend to live is again an impossible question, There is a great deal of anecdotal talk of the longevity of fish species on the internet but as far as I am aware no scientific studies have been done. Yes there are stories of people keeping fish of many years, I had a Regal angel which I know was in captivity for 18 years but I have no idea how old it was when my friend bought it. All I can say he had it in his tank for 7 years before he passed it on to me and I had it 11 years before it died. Is that good or bad I have no idea.

With anthias (the ones I have kept) I put a group in the tank January 2019 (I have a photograph) the group has been added to but I still have the majority now. A friend has had a group of 5x Resplendent for at least 3 years.

I put 4 Lyretailed anthias in in Mar 2017 one changed to a male, I lost one of the females quite quickly. the other 3 lived happily until the male died in March 2020, one of the females changed and they are still in there.

My grandmother lived until she was 104, will I be expected to live that long, I have no idea, will I be considered a failure if I don't...