Squareback anthias ratio

AydenLincoln · Sep 29, 2023

I was thinking about 2-3 females to one male. Or just keep 3-4 females and one would turn into a male. They are about 3-4 inches now I have two. But I probably couldn’t go with more than 3-4 longterm at least as the tank is 75-gallons for now. Would a female pair be okay or the 2-3 females to one male?

AydenLincoln · Sep 29, 2023

Okay going to go with one male and two females.

nereefpat · Sep 29, 2023

Well that was quick.

I'm not really an anthias guy. It's seems like best practice is to get all females and let the m/f thing work out on its own.

Square backs are among the biggest anthias, I think. A smaller species is probably a better choice for a group in a 75 gallon.

jda · Sep 29, 2023

I would ask this in the fish forum to make sure that the right folks see this. IMO, these are not easy fish and I have them savage each other before and just ended up with one which always was a male. I don't even try them anymore in groups.

Maybe there is some secret, but I fed them a lot, had plenty of room, etc.

livinlifeinBKK · Sep 29, 2023

Multiple Anthias seem like they'd be very difficult to keep happy and we'll fed in a group since they constantly eat zooplankton in the wild. I know it's not uncommon to see small groups kept but perhaps there's a certain method that should be followed to keep them all well fed.

AydenLincoln · Sep 30, 2023

nereefpat said:
Well that was quick.

I'm not really an anthias guy. It's seems like best practice is to get all females and let the m/f thing work out on its own.

Square backs are among the biggest anthias, I think. A smaller species is probably a better choice for a group in a 75 gallon.

Yeah I did some more research. I have two females right now. I wanted to get the one a friend. So far so good no aggression and swimming together. They are around 3-4 inches now so not full grown. I may add a medium male but for now the girls are happily swimming together so I may keep it like that.

AydenLincoln · Sep 30, 2023

I learned the common and widely accepted ratio is either all females and the most dominant one turns into a male or one male to every two females! I know people who have kept a single male or female successfully as well.