Transitioning anthias?

[reefpatrique]

A few months ago I purchased 4 dispar anthias. It was touch and go for the past month as I noticed that they all looked emaciated all of a sudden. After becoming a lot more disciplined in my feeding, I noticed 3 of the 4 putting some meat on the bones, and while I wouldn't call those 3 fat, I would say that I have a lot less concern for them. The fourth I just didn't see put on any weight, and I noticed this one seemed to be transitioning, as she was the biggest and would flash her dorsal a lot more than the others and start jaw locking with the next biggest. Anyway, flash forward to about a week ago this Sunday, before we left for the beach: the biggest was nowhere to be found at feeding times. I presumed she was dead. Today, however, I went in and pulled out the rockwork to remove her carcass, and I found her flapping her fins and breathing, though subdued. She also however looked like she had gained some weight. So, I pulled her out into a bucked to try to isolate her feeding.

Was this the wrong move -- should I put her back? Have dispar anthias been known at all to hide out for a little while as they transition sometimes? Any insight #reefsquad?

 

[Reefer5640]

Can’t help with any knowledge of their habits while transitioning but now that she’s removed I would add some methylene blue and an air stone to the container you’ve got her in. If her breathing has slowed the MB will get oxygen back in her blood and could help treat a bunch of ailments that could be at play. Did she transition to the dominate female or is she transitioning all the way to make? I’ve actually never had a female transition to male before. They’ve looked like they were but then just stayed brighter, bigger, and more elaborate dorsal fin. I’ve only ever kept lyretail though...

 

[reefpatrique]

Can’t help with any knowledge of their habits while transitioning but now that she’s removed I would add some methylene blue and an air stone to the container you’ve got her in. If her breathing has slowed the MB will get oxygen back in her blood and could help treat a bunch of ailments that could be at play. Did she transition to the dominate female or is she transitioning all the way to make? I’ve actually never had a female transition to male before. They’ve looked like they were but then just stayed brighter, bigger, and more elaborate dorsal fin. I’ve only ever kept lyretail though...

Thanks for chiming in. This is my first set of anthias, so I'm guessing that she's just bee establishing the pecking order. Not sure about the methylene blue -- looks like it's used to treat poisonings, and all other fish in the DT are healthy. But glad to know that's out there. I kinda wonder if she just got trapped in a spot under the rock and couldn't get out. Anyway, I'll keep this thread updated. I don't have a working airstone pump, so I'm aerating the bucket tonight with a powerhead to see if getting her better oxygenated water will do anything. If she got stuck under the rock, then I imagine the oxygen supply could have gotten low.

 

[Reefer5640]

Methylene blue has a lot of uses. Yeah it is great for treating fish with ammonia and nitrate poisoning but it’s also anti fungal, anti parasitic, disinfectant, and great for getting oxygen back into the blood stream.

 

[reefpatrique]

Methylene blue has a lot of uses. Yeah it is great for treating fish with ammonia and nitrate poisoning but it’s also anti fungal, anti parasitic, disinfectant, and great for getting oxygen back into the blood stream.

Is dosing hard to mess up?

 

[Reefer5640]

No not at all. It’s pretty forgiving. Unless you mix to “dip” strength and leave in for “bath” duration, it’s hard to mess up