Anthias

[CrayolaViolence]

I want a few anthias but I don't want a male. My experience with them hasn't been good, so I was wondering if I got three different kinds of anthia, all female, if they would stay female or would one still become male?

Thanks

 

[Dr. Reef]

generally 1 dominant female will turn to male.

 

[hkgar]

And they will kill each other till only 1 remains.

 

[Uncle99]

This^^^^^^^^^^
Very good advice!
I keep just one...does well on own

 

[HumbleFish]

Male anthias pester the females all day; the aggression/dominance is actually how they prevent females from turning male. The dominant female will also harass the other females. It's a pecking order thing.

In the wild, a single male + harem of females will occupy a large territory. So, the reason they sometimes kill one another in an aquarium is lack of space to escape.

One strategy I've employed that seems to work with the more aggressive anthias spp. (Lyretails, Bimacs, etc.) is housing them with an aggressive tang (e.g. Powder Blue). They become so fixated on the boss fish that it limits aggression between one another. Same strategy works with chromis damsels... A "predator fish" causes them to shoal and limits the bickering between them.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

Yeah, I do not want one of the aggressive anthias at all. I was looking at the more gentler ones.
I guess I need to just get one then. Or would one turn male?

 

[Joe0813]

I can't seem to keep them alive at all. Good luck

 

[suta4242]

Yeah, I do not want one of the aggressive anthias at all. I was looking at the more gentler ones.
I guess I need to just get one then. Or would one turn male?

One will turn male.

I like to start with small females / juveniles but it’s remarkable how quickly a smaller fish can undergo a growth spurt accompanied by bullying the remaining fish. Had this happen with P. cf aurulentus. A dominant female almost doubled its length in a few weeks, aggressively kept the others in check, restricted their feeding activity and then turned male.

My only piece of advice is to go for at least four, preferably five fish. If you have too few the dominant fish will focus completely on bullying the rest ending up with a lone survivor. Ideal harem size will vary with the species, but around 5 (starting with small juveniles), works for a lot of smaller species.

Edit: if you want a mix of different species try to select ones with similar temperaments.

Hope that helps

 

[Anemone]

In a 90 gallon tank, you should be able to keep a male and a small harem of anthias. In my 88 I have a male lyretail and three females. They've done well for over a year.

Kevin

 

[ClownReef®]

I’ve had a harem of lyretail for a while (3 females, 1 male). The original male died and one of the females turned into a male. This is unavoidable. Gorgeous animals. They eat like pigs Too. And he’s, the male will pester the females all day long. Not in an aggressive manner but just enough to let them know what’s up.

 

[ThRoewer]

Yeah, I do not want one of the aggressive anthias at all. I was looking at the more gentler ones.
I guess I need to just get one then. Or would one turn male?

If you want to get just one I would suggest to go with one of the species that doesn't live in large aggregations like Sunburst or Borbonius. Those will do fine as singles and also don't need continuous feeding all day long.

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[CrayolaViolence]

If you want to get just one I would suggest to go with one of the species that doesn't live in large aggregations like Sunburst or Borbonius. Those will do fine as singles and also don't need continuous feeding all day long.

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Thanks. I wanted a group, but I have not had good luck with males at all. They begin beating up other tank mates and my other fish are very very docile and they all get along. I was hoping for a bit more color but I might have to scratch them off my list. I do like them tho and had some great ones before my tank crashed a year ago.

 

[ThRoewer]

Thanks. I wanted a group, but I have not had good luck with males at all. They begin beating up other tank mates and my other fish are very very docile and they all get along. I was hoping for a bit more color but I might have to scratch them off my list. I do like them tho and had some great ones before my tank crashed a year ago.

If purple does the trick for you then I would suggest a pair of orchid dottybacks. In my experience, if kept in pairs they hardly pay any attention to other fish in the tank and the male is either busy sitting on eggs or keeping the female in line. That leaves hardly enough time to eat, let alone harrass other fish. On top of that they are rather small which also limits their ability to stir trouble.
Another good Anthias alternative would be a group of Royal Gramma. I would classify them as one of the most peaceful fish you can get. Their aggression hardly goes beyond opening their mouths wide as a warning. If you start with 3 to 5 tiny ones you should end up with a harem group and possibly a few submissive males. There will be some chasing in the beginning until they established their hirachy, but after that they will just "talk" to each other with head shaking. Their social behavior is quite interesting. And if kept in a group there should be no fading of the colors.

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