Anthias

[mv3i]

Hi guys .....

juz lost one of my anthias today as it jump out of the tank ... dunno how it manage to do that as i had some acrylic cover on the top ( could have left a gap after feeding ) but would like to highlight this to all the pple here ( remember to secure the cover)...... It had been with me for about 4-5 months and now left with 2 from the group .....

btw can i add another one to replace or do they still need to introduce in a group ???

[hongqixian]

Hi guys .....

juz lost one of my anthias today as it jump out of the tank ... dunno how it manage to do that as i had some acrylic cover on the top ( could have left a gap after feeding ) but would like to highlight this to all the pple here ( remember to secure the cover)...... It had been with me for about 4-5 months and now left with 2 from the group .....

btw can i add another one to replace or do they still need to introduce in a group ???

They will supposedly pine away when alone- keep in groups.

[mv3i]

"" They will supposedly pine away when alone- keep in groups ""

can i know what you mean by that ???

[Sinn]

may i know the name of the anthias?

very nice leh

[eprouve]

Dunno the name of that one, but mine is a Blue-eyed Anthias from Sri Lanka (according to Henry - Marine Life). I had 2 initially, and one jumped.

Now I have one... so yes yes, what do you mean by "pine away"?

[dodo]

since we r in the topic of Anthias...can i ask some stoopid questions?

is Anthias hardy?does Anthias eat dry food?

seen alot of Anthias in this forum...got myself very interested in getting some...but having some reservations becos of my stoopid territorial damsel fish

[X_Japan]

pine away means waste away....

[SunkistC]

does Anthias eat dry food?

The species u see in the 1st pic posted by mv3i does eat dry food... or at least they do in my tank

The Lyretail Anthias posted by eprouve do not eat dry food... i think they prefer live food, not even frozen Brine Shrimp... mine slowly 'pined away'

[Chris]

Anthias are very beautiful and most species are not difficult to keep except purple Queen. As long as they start eating, there should not be any problem. However, you need to keep them as a school, at least three. Try the dispar, tri-colour...they are the easiest. My biggest tri-colour though is a bully, even chase my two bigger "cadbury" anthias. I don't think damsels will chase them cause they are bigger and swim fast.

[Sinn]

read up from live aquaria abt anthias...

these guys are semi-agressive....

quoted from liveaquaria.com "The diet is consistent with other members of the Anthias group - zooplankton and floating filamentous algae. In the aquarium, it should be fed a varied diet of mysid shrimp, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, frozen preparations and other meaty items for zooplankton feeders, small quantities of food several times per day"

i dont see no flake foods

[Sinn]

forgot to post the add for anthias ...

[mv3i]

hi guys ,

my anthias have taken to MS an dried pellets ... and it's so sad that they " jump ship "

anyway .... they were happy as a group of 3 but somehow one decided otherwise ..... can i add another one to the group and hope they will "blend" in ????

or do I have to get more ??? anyone can enlighten me ??

BTW , anyone saw anthias at the farm or any LFS ??

[bluelipzz2]

Anthias are smaller version of the grouper species. They need super water condition n schooling anthias of minimum three or more to thrive in a none aggresive tank condition.

If they jumped out of your tank it could be due to agression or bullying by other tank mates. Hope this inform is useful

[dodo]

oh well...guess i have to forget abt Anthias at the moment ...it's a beautiful fish indeed...i thk i have to patiently wait for the expiry date of my damned damsel to arrive b4 adding those fishes tat i like

thank you guys for all your comments

[eprouve]

Mine does eat frozen and dried food. Just another silly question: do they school with "other specis" of Anthias? Say if I get another 2 anthias, but different kinds, will they still "pine away"?

[mv3i]

i really don't know !!! I got all 3 of them together and they were together .... maybe look out for some more at LFS next time .... Dunno if they will school together ???

[hongqixian]

Probably they will if it is the same species. They can change their gender at will and will adjust their hierachial order accordingly with a dominant male (I think, it may be female)

[mv3i]

I certainly hope so ... still looking for the anthias ... ( anyone seen them around ?? ) Btw , the dominant male will be slightly bigger and more vibrant in the colours .... izit true ?

[piero]

Yah I think so, at least for mine. Oh and when u r buying yr anthias, got to buy from the same tank one.. I bought some from reborn from different tanks, come home, they fight like siao... The mouth interlock leh... oH maybe they celebrate V day in advance... French Kiss...

[BarraCudaTM]

my 4 anthias went hiding .. they only come out when I'm sitting real far peeking at them

[Achilles Tang]

The dominant one will become male, the rest will stay female.

In large schools, there will be a supermale and several males.

If an anthia changes to male, they cannot change back to female, and if there are more than two in reef tanks, the dominant one will harass the other male even to the point of death.

[dodo]

these makes me more not to venture into Anthias...i dun wan another terrorist in my tank

[Sinn]

so is there any tips for selection of anthias in the tank?

choosing one big and two smaller ones advisable ?

[mv3i]

what i do is observe the school for a while ... a LONG while and then pick those that are healthy and schooling in a smaller group among the bigger group ....

[Achilles Tang]

Dodo,

Anthias are so mild compared to damsels and clownfishes!

Have you ever seen a fierce chromis before... I had one that could bully a damsel!