Red saddled anthias temperament

[bct15]

I'm rebooting my tank after I lost everything in my move (will start a build thread). I'm ready to add fish to it and wanted to add a small school of anthias. I've been eyeballing red saddled anthias, and have some questions due to conficting info I read in my research;

What is the minimum recommended number of fish for a small school? I was going to get three but was suggested at least five.

Could I mix three red saddled and three evansi?

Do the red saddled get aggressive and start picking each other off? I read some accounts that they get mean and kill eachother off, not sure how true it is though.

Any other useful info?

The tank mates will be all wrasses, mostly fairy wrasses and a single tang. It's a 5.5'x2' foot print tank. Some of the other anthias I was considering was resplendant and ignitus.

 

[pgravis]

I had 6. Only fish in my tank. Fed them reef frenzy, which they aggressively ate. Slowly dwindled away. Did see lots of chasing, some of it was pretty ruthless. Settled at 2, for quite awhile. Then they both mysteriously died off. One of my favorite fish, but it was pretty frustrating. Hope they do well, would love to hear how they do for you.

 

[Marquiseo]

What is the minimum recommended number of fish for a small school? I was going to get three but was suggested at least five.
For a harem, a trio is always the smallest for schooling. 5 is better if your tank can sustain it. Also, it is best to introduce at the same time. It would suck to have the harem going well, then you add another one to the order in which it may jump to the top (alpha) or just become a runt at the bottom and die off.


Could I mix three red saddled and three evansi?
Yes

Do the red saddled get aggressive and start picking each other off? I read some accounts that they get mean and kill eachother off, not sure how true it is though.
Nope, they are peaceful. They will, however, have to establish a pecking order in which aggression will decrease once sustained. Lyretail anthias are the most aggressive of the anthias and information may have been misconstrued about Red Saddled.

Any other useful info?
Feed a variety of mixed foods to keep them happiest but make sure your system is set to withstand that bioload.
The tank mates will be all wrasses, mostly fairy wrasses and a single tang. It's a 5.5'x2' foot print tank. Some of the other anthias I was considering was resplendant and ignitus.
Tank-mates are fine. Replendants are nice but I would prefer Randall's over them due to better coloration. Ignitues are peaceful as well. You could take a look at Sunset Anthias as well.

In red.

 

[eatbreakfast]

The ones I have kept were peaceful.

The larger the group to keep them, the better as they do set up a heirarchy.

The species you ,entioned as possible tankmates will all work together, though evansi anthias can be a little more challenging to get acclimated to captivity.

 

[bct15]

Well I ordered five of them, should be here Friday.

 

[bct15]

Here's a couple shots of them in quarantine with a wrasse. Just getting back into the game so excuse the bad pics, I'm a little rusty with the camera.

 

[pgravis]

Awesome. Hope they do well.

 

[AquaCox]

where did you get them if you don't mind

 

[bct15]

where did you get them if you don't mind

I got them from live aquaria. They looked rough when they showed up, floating upside down and getting stuck to powerheads. They turned it around quick by perking up and fed twice. They even associate the turkey baster with food already. Very healthy fish and very nice looking fish.

 

[AquaCox]

wow does sound like they were in rough shape at first, glad they're lookin better

 

[dansreef]

Good luck with them. They are beautiful fish. I had four...and they did not survive. I bought them local and they were eating great....but slowly died off. I have since bought disbars which have turned out a 100 times better.....and are thriving in the tank like everything else. I have no idea why the saddles died...other than one thing... From what I understand they are deep water fish. I then found out after buying them that they don't like bright tanks. I observed them hiding most of the time when the lights were on. I also did not have a ton of rock for them to hide in... More of a minimalistic rock tank. So over time...my guess is that they were too stressed by the lights I have for my corals.

If you look at my threads you will see my setup and a video I had of them. They are really beautiful fish..., but you may need an area of the tank that is well shaded.

 

[bct15]

I've already noticed that they like strong flow. They turn very sluggish and lazy when I turn the powerhead off to feed them. They instantly perk up when the powerhead is back on. It's a maxijet18 on circulation mode in a 29 gallon so it's making a ton of flow for that sized tank.

My tank will be an SPS tank again so I'll have bright lights (mh+t5), I do have a lot of rock work for them to hide in though. And a large cave. I'm turning on two blue+ t5s over them today, and I will brighten it a little more mid week with 2 more t5s.

 

[MattL22]

Let us know how it goes in reluctant to try them because I've never heard anyone have success with them and they r on expensive side

 

[1guydude]

Imo 2 feedings a day is best or 3 small feedings.
Some Anthias are a deeper water fish. Flow is a + 2 for em.
Good luck! Pretty fiesh
D

 

[eatbreakfast]

Personally I dont find flavoguttatus as difficult as many other species of anthias, they are not the easiest either, but certainly not as difficult as lori, ventralis, or purple queens.

 

[bct15]

I turned some t5s on yesterday and they definitely don't like the light...four were out when I got home from work/gym and one was still hiding. They all eat like absolute pigs.

Another observation I've made is that it seems like they must have high flow. They do not like eating food suspended in the water column with the powerheads off, they'd rather swim in a strong current and catch food as it blows by.

 

[ca1ore]

Don't turn the powerhead off when feeding pseudoanthias. You will get a much more aggressive feeding response if they think the food is trying to get away. While you have them in QT, where water quality isn't as important, feed them as frequently as you can. Once you get them into the display, you have to find a way to get them food at least 3 times a day.

 

[bct15]

They are starting to fatten up and get some color. They have fully adjusted to bright lights as well.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Gorgeous fish :thumb: I cannot stress enough to feed the living daylights out of them. And personally I would hit them with PraziPro, two rounds, prior to introducing into display.

Here's a wonderful article my friend Lemon wrote on Pseudanthias.

 

[dansreef]

Awesome. They are beautiful fish for sure. Good Luck with them.