ventralis

[Kigs!]

Please share any experiences with them. Considering getting one for a 55g, but everything I've read about them so far states that they are high maintenance fish. Any input would be apprecieated,

 

[RandyO Verified Sponsor]

Try to keep them in a cooler, dim tank at first. They are usually collected at depths between 50-100ft deep. It also helps to first put them with some other non-aggresive Anthias to teach them to eat.

I kept some in cool, dim tank with a harem of Fairy Wrasses. The Wrasses helped teach the Anthias to eat.
Those Anthias have since been moved to a 300 gallon reef filled with Larger Anthias and they are all doing well.

 

[Kigs!]

Randy, thank you for the suggestions. I also noticed that many of my difficult to feed fish usually learns from the feeding frenzy quickly.

Have you had luck with keeping a harem of 1 male and maybe 2 or 3 females? Were you running a cold water tank, or did they assimiliate to higher temp.?

 

[ironman]

I had pretty good luck with my ventralis anthias. I started out with a male and two females. The biggest obsticle I found was my 3 year old six line wrasse. I ended up having to tear down my tank to cacth him. I started feeding the anthias Reef nutritions artic pods. they took to the artic pods immediatly. and I later was able to get them to eat anything I put in the tank. I wouldnt recommend then if you have any dominate fish in the system. they will not survive any stress. eventually the male on the most dominant female ran off the third female and it eventually died. after that I had my pair for around a year. about a month ago I had to tear down my tank for a detailed cleaning and the female never recovered from the stress. the male however is still doing great. and is the most beutiful fish I have seen. They are definatly worth getting but you really need to be ready for them. dont buy them if your not sure if you want them. also your tank is alittle small. you will need plenty of live rock for them to feel safe. Good luck and send us some pics if you get some.

 

[ironman]

I also forgot to mention that I havent had issues with temps. I kept them for the past year with no chiller and the tank fluctuated from 77-83. I have been using a chiller for about 3 months now but did see any detriment form not using one with these fish.

Also I tried adding 6 more females 2 months ago and they didnt make it. I ordered three from a local fish store and they died within a few days, the distributor was willing to resend them because they died so quickly, and the next three died the same way. I have to assume that they werent healthy fish when I got them. since I had others in the tank that were happy. but If I were you id try and find some at a LFS to see how healthy they are first. that is how I bought my first 3 and I actually went to the LFS for 2 weeks just to make sure they were eating before I brought them home. good luck

 

[Kigs!]

I will be asking them to hold it for at least a week and see that they eat. I just got a confirmation from a friend that it will come in their next shipment. Everything I've read tells me that they are very sensitive. Thank you for the heads up on the sixline, I have one in a tank soon to be transferred and I guess he will be left out from the move. It's also good to know that they will tolerate regular temp. I think I will be adding a single male, from what I understand, they don't tolerate their own kinds too well? Also not to mention the heavy price tag for them in my area.

 

[ironman]

the six line wrasse will be fine with him but you will want to add the wrasse after the anthias has stabilized. the problem with a six line is that once it is in the tank for alittle while it will not let you add any peaceful tankmates anymore. as for tolerating there own kind, usually you can add a male and several females safely, but in your tank size I would stick with one male and one or two females