i had six anthias: all females: one jumped out of the tank ... two turned male and three stayed female .. it was anthias heaven for a while; they played, they frolicked, they loved ... its a 350, so they females pushed one male into a corner, but he had enough room to stay alive, and kept the other male as their 'master' ... than one female got dominant .. i have never felt so bad for the other females ... she has relegated them and the other male to holes in the rocks ... she is bitter and terrible .. one now has a popped eye, the other is fine ... two of the females jaw-fight, UFC style for long enough for the unskilled eye to be like, hey, are they fighting ... they are all big, like over three or four inches ... the chosen male enjoys alot of attention from the dominant female ... is it always like this with anthias? i see so many tanks with them ... is it better to get pairs of different species rather than harems of one?
anthias UFC hell
- Thread starter pheromo
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jd474
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What species do you have? I've kept are P. dispar, P. squamipinnis, P. bartlettorum, P. pleurotaenia, and P. tuka (groups of 4 - 30). The squamipinnis are the best bet, IMO, of not fighting, but all the others I've kept eventually all turned male and killed each other. Keep in mind, this was a 2000 gal. tank. I know people have had success in groups, but not something I'd recommend from my experience, anyway.
