Red saddleback Anthias

J Rog · Nov 8, 2017

Hey guys, I picked up a pair of red saddleback Anthias at WWC a little over a week ago. They are awesome! These are the first ones I have seen in a store and couldn’t pass them up.. They just barley started to come out of hiding. They are eating. Seem to have the best luck with good old fashion Mysis cubes. I change up between LRS reef frenzy, flakes, pellets, and the Mysis shrimp. They get the most excited over the Mysis. But I don’t see to much info or experiences with these guys. I’m not able to get a pic of mine yet since they still hide unless they come out to eat. Don’t want to scare them trying to get a pic while there eating in fear of them not finishing there meal.. But anyway I wanted to see if anyone had any here and could tell me about there experiences and of course pics! Here is a pic of some. Not mine just googled a pic for reference

CoralNerd · Nov 8, 2017

Make sure you feed often. I thought mine was doing good but I didn't feed as much as I normally do one weekend and bame the fish went down hill quickly. He was also lower on the pecking order of my other anthias which prob contributed. If yours are hiding that might be a bad sign for the future.

dansreef · Nov 8, 2017

I had a trio of these a couple years ago. Very beautiful fish.... they never settled in and eventually stressed out and died. I came to learn they are a deeper water anthias and they don't like a lot of light. Not sure if that is exactly true... but it might be something for you to think about. Can you bring your light intensity down for a period of time that would allow them to come out more and eat?

Good luck... they are beautiful fish...

J Rog · Nov 8, 2017

CoralNerd said:
Make sure you feed often. I thought mine was doing good but I didn't feed as much as I normally do one weekend and bame the fish went down hill quickly. He was also lower on the pecking order of my other anthias which prob contributed. If yours are hiding that might be a bad sign for the future.

Ya, I’m hoping for the best because everyday they come out a little more. Now during feeding (starting today) they come out all the way and swim in the water column. It’s only been a little over a week and I read that some people had there Anthias hide out for 2 weeks before coming out. So I have my fingers crossed. I have been feeding a lot. Between 3 and 5 times a day. Just a little bit at a time

J Rog · Nov 8, 2017

dansreef said:
I had a trio of these a couple years ago. Very beautiful fish.... they never settled in and eventually stressed out and died. I came to learn they are a deeper water anthias and they don't like a lot of light. Not sure if that is exactly true... but it might be something for you to think about. Can you bring your light intensity down for a period of time that would allow them to come out more and eat?

Good luck... they are beautiful fish...

I also read that they are deep water anthias as well. I’m hoping the live aquaria description is on point with saying they adapt to our lighting..

eatbreakfast · Nov 9, 2017

They adapt to brighter light over a few weeks. They benefit from being fed frozen multiple times a day. Mysis, fish eggs, and reef plankton are all readily consumed.

ca1ore · Nov 9, 2017

These generally don't do well for me unless they are in a tank to themselves. They need to eat frequently, but do not compete well with others. When I have tried them in a community tank they waste away.