Anthia qt question.

[Bent]

If I ever upgrade tanks, I was wondering...

Say I buy like 4 females to go with my single male, and I put them in a 12 week QT and one of them turns male in that time.

I then put all of them in the DT with the established male. What will happen to the one in the QT group that turned male?

Furthermore, would you QT all 4 together? If you did it one at a time and singly each one turned male and then essentially added 4 males to an established male, one every 12 weeks, what would happen?


Sorry for the noob question, but I've just never delt with anthias in the past.

 

[stingeragent]

Are anthias like clowns, in that they fight for dominance to become female? If they are similar (but opposite), it seems if you put 4 turned males into a tank, havoc would ensue unless they can change back. Sorry I have no clue on Anthias.

 

[Bent]

Are anthias like clowns, in that they fight for dominance to become female? If they are similar (but opposite), it seems if you put 4 turned males into a tank, havoc would ensue unless they can change back. Sorry I have no clue on Anthias.

Yes they are hermaphriditic like clowns. Typically, a group of anthias will have small dominance battles and the most dominant will turn into a male. He will then direct his aggression towards the other females to make sure they remain female.

I guess this question boils down to, can and will males turn back into females?

 

[stingeragent]

If they are like clowns I'd say no, although with clowns , they start male and then turn female. It's crazy how fish can start as one thing and then turn to another, and depending on the fish, it can either start male, or start female. Sorry I'm not much help, but is a very interesting topic.

Edit: According to this thread they can change back: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2146877

 

[seamonster124]

you will have 1 male, 2 females, 3 gay males, and possibly a lesbian or two. This is why the bible says do not QT your fish

 

[ca1ore]

No, anthias are the opposite of clowns. Dominant clown becomes female; dominant anthias becomes male.

 

[ca1ore]

If I ever upgrade tanks, I was wondering...

Say I buy like 4 females to go with my single male, and I put them in a 12 week QT and one of them turns male in that time.

I then put all of them in the DT with the established male. What will happen to the one in the QT group that turned male?

Furthermore, would you QT all 4 together? If you did it one at a time and singly each one turned male and then essentially added 4 males to an established male, one every 12 weeks, what would happen?


Sorry for the noob question, but I've just never delt with anthias in the past.

Well, I have run anthias groups through a 12 week QT a few times and not had any females turn male in that time. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen, of course (and it depends on the species). Not a reason to skip QT IME.

 

[Bent]

Well, I have run anthias groups through a 12 week QT a few times and not had any females turn male in that time. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen, of course (and it depends on the species). Not a reason to skip QT IME.

Oh yeah, not looking for a future excuse to skip QT, just thinking ahead of time what to expect.

 

[rgulrich]

I have two types of anthias in myvreef, both went through quarantine at different times. The resplendent anthias formed a harem of 4 with one being a dominant male. The ignitus anthias formed two harems, one 2 and the other 3, each with its own male. The males do flash and spar occasonally, but no permanent damage.

 

[Sapelo]

Well it might not be a perfect solution but it's an idea: you could put your current male into the QT with the females. Five anthias in a QT would be a lot but it might eliminate the sex change issue.

I suppose maybe the real question is how long you need to have females without a male before they begin to change. I've had 3 females in QT for 3 weeks now and have observed no change but clearly I have a while to go.

 

[Bent]

So...

If there are two males of the same species, will the non dominant male turn back female? Or when they turn male are they male permanently?

 

[ca1ore]

I have two types of anthias in myvreef, both went through quarantine at different times. The resplendent anthias formed a harem of 4 with one being a dominant male. The ignitus anthias formed two harems, one 2 and the other 3, each with its own male. The males do flash and spar occasonally, but no permanent damage.

Interesting. I decided that resplendents are my almost-favorite anthias so I have 10 or 11. There are two clearly dominant males, but most of the rest look like sub males . They all seem to get along though. Of the original 13, 12 were bought as females, 1 as male (and he surfed).

 

[davocean]

It's hard to say what everything is going to do, there seem to be some variations of outcomes.
I have had lyretails for years and somehow a female may just turn to sub male or even male, had two males this way for some time that I thought were working out until one day it went south for what appeared to be no reason.
Males of a different species seems to be no problem usually as long as they have their own harems.
12 weeks in QT, hard to say, may depend on age of what you have.
Putting the male in w/ them is an option, if you can catch it.
For some reason anthia are known for having buggers pretty often, definitely don't skip QT on those things.

 

[Shivsreef]

Instead of qt ing them you could use a cheat I.e freshwater dip them before adding them to your tank or use something like safety stop to reduce parasites

 

[Bent]

It's hard to say what everything is going to do, there seem to be some variations of outcomes.
I have had lyretails for years and somehow a female may just turn to sub male or even male, had two males this way for some time that I thought were working out until one day it went south for what appeared to be no reason.
Males of a different species seems to be no problem usually as long as they have their own harems.
12 weeks in QT, hard to say, may depend on age of what you have.
Putting the male in w/ them is an option, if you can catch it.
For some reason anthia are known for having buggers pretty often, definitely don't skip QT on those things.

Oh yeah, don't plan on skipping. Like I said just trying to nail down the details for if/when it ever happens.

 

[ca1ore]

Instead of qt ing them you could use a cheat I.e freshwater dip them before adding them to your tank or use something like safety stop to reduce parasites

...... aaaaah, no! By all means dip, but it is not a satisfactory replacement for QT (for many reasons).