Shoal of anthias

[nereefpat]

To echo some others here: Lyrtail and Bartlett are supposed to be the hardiest. But they are aggressive, and not necessarily small.

Carberryi is another to look into, besides the ignitus and dispar.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Would you ever add more? Does that amount make for a nice schoal in the size of your tank?

Possibly yes as I have room for 20 or more.

 

[Bruce17]

Bad experience here with Bartletts. dominant one killed the rest over a course of 10 mos, one at a time, then started to massively harass the rest of the fish. Had to catch him and take out of the tank.

Sorry to hear that. I’ve read that a few times about the Bartlett. I think he’s off my li

To echo some others here: Lyrtail and Bartlett are supposed to be the hardiest. But they are aggressive, and not necessarily small.

Carberryi is another to look into, besides the ignitus and dispar.

I think I want the smaller ones. I figure that it’ll allow me to have a bigger schoal of them that way. I’ll definitely check out the Carberryis as well. Thank you very much for your positive feedback

 

[Bruce17]

Possibly yes as I have room for 20 or more.

Nice. Would you just add more Lyretails or would add other types as well?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Nice. Would you just add more Lyretails or would add other types as well?

Not sure but perhaps pink square or Lyretail.
Anthias are nice, active and peaceful fish- Just not amongst themselves. Mine get along well but all grew up together and killed off 4 others over a year ago.

 

[Qasimja]

would a female lyretail anthias and a square anthias get along i wonder

 

[vetteguy53081]

would a female lyretail anthias and a square anthias get along i wonder

Trial and hope

 

[BZOFIQ]

Had a school of 6 Bartlett’s in my 220 they all eventually turned male & killed each other off. The last one ended up hiding & stopped eating & withered away.

I had the same exact issue with Bartletts, one by one they went from 7 to ONE

 

[Bruce17]

Not sure but perhaps pink square or Lyretail.
Anthias are nice, active and peaceful fish- Just not amongst themselves. Mine get along well but all grew up together and killed off 4 others over a year ago.

I was hoping for them to all get along as much as possible. I do understand that each fish aggressiveness are different just like people. I just want to give myself the best chance as I try anthias for the first time

 

[Haydn]

I have a mixed group (mainly Ignitus but also Evansii, Resplendent, Scribbled, Lyretailed, Diamond head) I do feed heavily (hence the Aips) but except for the odd 'handbags' the group get along well and it's easy adding to the group as the new ones simply join in.

 

[tripdad]

Just my opinion here but the "key" is to have many hiding/sleeping spaces for them. They all need a spot that is theirs. Create lots of holes and caves for them and you have a shot.

 

[Bruce17]

Just my opinion here but the "key" is to have many hiding/sleeping spaces for them. They all need a spot that is theirs. Create lots of holes and caves for them and you have a shot.

I do indeed have a lot of hiding places

 

[Bruce17]

I have a mixed group (mainly Ignitus but also Evansii, Resplendent, Scribbled, Lyretailed, Diamond head) I do feed heavily (hence the Aips) but except for the odd 'handbags' the group get along well and it's easy adding to the group as the new ones simply join in.

That’s the look that I’m trying to get. I want a schoal of anthias and then a couple medium size angel and some tangs mixed in with them. Why size is your tank? How many anthias do you feel that you have? How many are males in the schoal?

 

[Jase4224]

I’ve had 3 Dispar for about 5+ months now and I’m very happy with them. They were very shy and hiding for the first 3-4 weeks or so but now they are very bold. I think it was over a week before they ate but didn’t hurt them. They wrestle with their mouth to decide who’s boss but no one got hurt and the winner is now transitioning to a male. I feed twice a day with mysis and they eat a small amount of pellets. Putting on weight and colour improving now they’ve settled.

I didn’t QT

 

[Haydn]

My display is 2x1x1 metres (a bit over 500US galls)
Ignitus 36+ I have 4 males
Lyretail 4 -1male
Resplendent 12 -2 (or3) males
Evansii 8 -1(or2) males
Scribbled 10 resent additions no males yet
Diamond head Just 1 (rescue fish) but will be adding more
I will be adding more Ignitus as I want to keep the group number high. As well as frozen and calanus I feed 3 times per day with micro pellets via an auto feeder (I think getting them onto pellets is one of the keys to success with anthias)

 

[Bruce17]

I’ve had 3 Dispar for about 5+ months now and I’m very happy with them. They were very shy and hiding for the first 3-4 weeks or so but now they are very bold. I think it was over a week before they ate but didn’t hurt them. They wrestle with their mouth to decide who’s boss but no one got hurt and the winner is now transitioning to a male. I feed twice a day with mysis and they eat a small amount of pellets. Putting on weight and colour improving now they’ve settled.

I didn’t QT

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I hope you continued success it’s them. Will you add more or is three your limit?

 

[Bruce17]

My display is 2x1x1 metres (a bit over 500US galls)
Ignitus 36+ I have 4 males
Lyretail 4 -1male
Resplendent 12 -2 (or3) males
Evansii 8 -1(or2) males
Scribbled 10 resent additions no males yet
Diamond head Just 1 (rescue fish) but will be adding more
I will be adding more Ignitus as I want to keep the group number high. As well as frozen and calanus I feed 3 times per day with micro pellets via an auto feeder (I think getting them onto pellets is one of the keys to success with anthias)

Wow! I would so love to see a photo of all those anthias together. Do they all hang out together? A male of one sort won’t get into a territory fight with a male of another kind? How many would you recommend for 205 gallon tank?

 

[shred5]

If you are looking for easier to keep and ones that actually shoal you should be looking at dispar or ignitus. Still a little tricky but not to bad. They can even tolerate other sub males.

Lyretails may be easier to keep but they will spread out and can be very aggressive to each other and often kill the smallest one off then up the ladder. Similar to what green chromis do..

Bartletts will usually turn male and kill each other off..

Personally I like to keep several different anthias.

 

[Bruce17]

If you are looking for easier to keep and ones that actually shoal you should be looking at dispar or ignitus. Still a little tricky but not to bad. They can even tolerate other sub males.

Lyretails may be easier to keep but they will spread out and can be very aggressive to each other and often kill the smallest one off then up the ladder. Similar to what green chromis do..

Bartletts will usually turn male and kill each other off..

Personally I like to keep several different anthias.

Thank you very much for your response. Dispar and Ignitius seem to be the ones that keep coming up as the best option. How many would you put of each in a 205 gallon display tank? What would be your choice for a schoal of anthias?

 

[shred5]

Thank you very much for your response. Dispar and Ignitius seem to be the ones that keep coming up as the best option. How many would you put of each in a 205 gallon display tank? What would be your choice for a schoal of anthias?

I am confused.. My choice would be dispar or ignitus. They are pretty much the same and sometimes even hard to tell apart.

As for how many I guess it depends on what and how many fish you have already. I think I had 5 or 6 in my 6 foot tank and eventually added one lyretail, one Bartletts and a sunburst. The lyretail and bartlett stayed with the rest of the anthias and the sunburst did its own thing. I am sure in that size you could go allot more.

I have none right now since I moved but plan I dropping a bunch in my new set up..

I tend to stay away from some of the harder anthias. The one thing I recommend with this fish since they are plankton feeders is several meals a day of very small food. Some of the harder ones require allot of feedings a day.

Beware of anthias coming in right now especially lyretails they have been coming in with Uronema so quarantine them..

Dispar and ignitus can be a challenge at first but if you get them past the first few weeks and eating they are pretty hardy.