Anthias experts: which species for my tank?

[ThRoewer]

I've made the same observation with other fish like regal angels. Once you get one eating a new food the other one will follow.

As for the lyretails, they get a bit too big for my tank.

Right now I have lowered the temperature as much as I can - let's see if that helps.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[suta4242]

Even if you can get the temperature down to 24-25c it will help. Yeah they can handle slightly higher long term, but it's at the expense of shorter lifespan IMO / IME. so they'll grow fast, require more food etc... At higher temperatures they're also more vulnerable to bacterial infections. Not a big deal unless you have an issue in the tank that tilts the balance in favour of undesirable bacteria in the water column.

In quarantine, I used to leave the powerhead on very low except when feeding. They do the usual thing and orient themselves in the flow awaiting to snatch their plankton. Interestingly it's usually the smallest fish that are most courageous initially in being out and about. Live brine has worked well for me with the exception of a supermale. We don't have as much choice as you guys, but I avoid buying the males as it only takes a week or two for a dominant female to transition into a male anyway.

Btw, I was most successful when these were the only anthias in a quiet tank (near three years). I lost half within a month of mixing them with other supposedly quiet species. I would never try with lyretails unless it's in a very big system. Again jme and ymmv

Hth and good luck
:wave:

 

[ThRoewer]

I came home to a smoldering hot house and the QT of the ventralis was at 27°C (81°F) and void of any tigger pods. So I added more pods and despite the high temperature they went after them. The largest also seems to go a bit after frozen food, though the other two not really yet.

 

[acesq]

That's good news. Are they eating any better yet?

 

[ThRoewer]

At least two of them are eating frozen Calanus now.
Next is to get them to eat a variety of foods well enough to go into a tank with other fish.
A further complication is that they seem to have ich, so at some point they may need treatment.

 

[ThRoewer]

If hungry enough they also go now for Hikkari Mysis, especially the largest.

On the downside, it seems they got ich.

 

[ThRoewer]

Well, after these guys do so well I plan to add 2 more.
Carson from Aquatic Collection told me that his wholesaler here still has a bunch of females and also a few males. So I asked him to get me a male and another female.
From what I've seen the current 3 do in the QT they should do fine with 5 in the DT with all the hiding spaces and structured rockwork there.

 

[ThRoewer]

If you haven't already I'd get the temp lower, it could very well help in getting them to start feeding.

Some good info here--

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2068950

Copps is an expert.................he mentions how important temp is over and over.

After looking into this a bit more I doubt that they really live in a significant cooler environment:

Fig. 1.9a Temperature profiles in the tropical ocean representing its vertical structure.
Thermocline is the layer of strongest vertical gradient in the temperature profile.
Dashed (- - -) line is for the winter and the continuous line for the summer season.
Source: http://nptel.ac.in/courses/119102007/

Source: http://www.offshoreengineering.com/education/oceanography

Based on this there is no significant temperature drop over the first 100 to 200 m.

From fishbase.org for Pseudanthias ventralis:
Environment / Climate / Range Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 26 - 120 m (Ref. 1602). Tropical; 16°N - 25°S

This means that they are found in the upper third of the mixed layer.
So unless they only exist in upwelling areas they should be fine with a 23 °C to 25 °C temperature range.

 

[Big E]

I'm just passing on info from people who are successfully keeping ventralis long term. You can do whatever you prefer to do.

When I talked to John (copps) per pm about a year or so ago he told me 75 would be ok.

I don't consider a year or less a success...........they should live at least 5-6 years.

 

[ThRoewer]

I'm not arguing that cooler isn't better, just that they are not a subtropical or even temperate species.
I'm actually getting the feeling that we run our tanks generally too hot and that most animals may do better if the temperatures would not exceed 25 °C (77 °F).

 

[suta4242]

This may not apply in your situation but my ventralis were very content in their original qt for over 6 months at 20-22c. I did this because some of the fish were under 2cm TL, and also because of what a local collector who has collected them in different parts of the Pacific, recommended.

This batch were Australian, freshly collected from the coral sea, but some were very reluctant to feed properly. The first thing he asked was what temperature they were in. as soon as I lowered it from 25C the feeding started in earnest and they were nowhere near as hyperactive. He maintains the local ones are collected at 30-40m but this isn't their preferred environment. At any rate in that region the temperature according to dive logs was 23c.

YMMV as I notice a lot of the overseas ones are also larger than ours...I don't know where yours originated or the environment in which they were caught. Aside from local ones the only other vents I have kept were from Vanuatu, which behaved differently but presumably were caught in similar temperatures.

HTH and Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

:wave:

 

[ThRoewer]

Mine are from The Philippines, likely the same variety as the ones from the Marshal Islands, which may turn out to be a new and currently undescribed species: Pseudanthias cf ventralis from the Marshall Islands may very well be a separate species

According to the first article on this list there are likely more species lumped together under P. ventralis. The first to be recognized as species in its own right was P. hawaiiensis. I would expect a few more to follow.

As for the temperatures, I will try to keep my system cooler - not just for these guys, but also to save some energy. Though I'm not sure if I can go much below 24 °C without harming my other fish and corals. Especially the percula and their giganteas as shallow water species may like it warmer.

 

[acesq]

This may not apply in your situation but my ventralis were very content in their original qt for over 6 months at 20-22c. I did this because some of the fish were under 2cm TL, and also because of what a local collector who has collected them in different parts of the Pacific, recommended.

This batch were Australian, freshly collected from the coral sea, but some were very reluctant to feed properly. The first thing he asked was what temperature they were in. as soon as I lowered it from 25C the feeding started in earnest and they were nowhere near as hyperactive. He maintains the local ones are collected at 30-40m but this isn't their preferred environment. At any rate in that region the temperature according to dive logs was 23c.

YMMV as I notice a lot of the overseas ones are also larger than ours...I don't know where yours originated or the environment in which they were caught. Aside from local ones the only other vents I have kept were from Vanuatu, which behaved differently but presumably were caught in similar temperatures.

HTH and Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

:wave:

Thanks for the info. Do you still have them? How long with you? What temperature do you keep the DT?

I'd like to get some info on their longevity in captivity at various temperatures. The longest I have kept one at 25-26.5c is just under 2 years, but death was due to a prolonged power outage.

 

[ThRoewer]

Accidental deaths really don't count into longevity calculations.

I just picked up 2 more - a male and a female.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[acesq]

Accidental deaths really don't count into longevity calculations.

I just picked up 2 more - a male and a female.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Of course accidental deaths don't count. Trying to make clear that I had one doing well at 2 years.

Congrats on the pickup. Hopefully you'll end up with a nice harem in your DT. How are the 3 with ich doing?

 

[ThRoewer]

They do fine and eat better every day. The largest stuffed herself with Mysis - she was so greedy that the other two didn't even get scraps of the first scoop - I had to add another

Ich popped up for a day but hasn't returned yet. I will see what to do based on the next wave.

The new male looks a bit like he lost a fight: big pieces of it's soft dorsal fin and tail fin are missing. But otherwise he looks fine. He was the last the wholesaler had when AC got there.

The female is in perfect shape.

Right now both are in the formalin bath.

 

[biecacka]

So what other species have ppl kept long term in our tanks. I have a 240 gallon tank and never had good luck with anthias. However, like others, I love the color and fact they are active in our tanks. I'm looking for some other success stories on any species.

Corey

 

[ThRoewer]

The new 2 are already eating - it helps to have some others around to show the new ones how it's done.

The largest female from the first 3 is the best eater of them all and almost fat by now.

Before I add them to the 100 gallon tank (after the 2 months they have to stay in QT) I may take the Starcki male out. He isn't too bad with the current fish, but may pose a problem with the ventralis. Also he is the fastest eater and has become quite a fat pig.

The other fish in the tank are:
Pair of Regal Angels - mind their own business and show no aggression to any other fish
Pair of Percula Clowns - mind their own business and never leave their anemone
Pair of Mandarins - ignore everybody else
1 Bluesripe Pipefish male - peaceful by default

 

[ThRoewer]

4 are eating like crazy now and come to the front at feedings. Only the mid sized female from the first batch stays in the back and waits for the food to come to her.
The new male and the dominant female from the first batch are the wildest eaters.
With these I feel that the group dynamic is very important to get them to eat well.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[kjay88]

Wow I wish I could get those around my area