Any experience with Ventralis Anthias?

[t0mmy108]

I'm slowly rebuilding from my New Years tank crash. I recently saw both male and female Ventralis Anthias available for sale and wanted to order them. They'll be the only anthias in the 180. I keep the tank at 77-78 degrees. Does anyone have experience in keeping these for over a month?

 

[nts9]

saw a bunch at a local lfs (20 or so)
mixed sexes, all died.
they had special care
sad

 

[t0mmy108]

from what I've read, they are a deep water species. They like the same environment as the sunburst anthias; lower temperatures (~76F), lots of overhangs and places to hide, moderate to low lighting, high quality stable water parameters, and no particular flow requirements. feeding should be frequent and without too much competition for food. I think it can be done as long as I get some that were properly cared for during shipping and collected properly using the right decompression techniques. Still feel free to share any personal experiences if you have any. Thanks

 

[nts9]

these were in a 60 or 75 to themselves
low light, NO flourescent
not alot af rockwork but they had plants and places to hide
i dont know about their water...
they were probably fed fzn mysis or something of that nature
This was last year
I dont remember them looking so great from the get go
phsically fine but not acclimating too well

but you know their availability...

btw, this was a whole batch from a wholesaler if i recall correctly

 

[turtlespd]

i had poor reults, only able to keep mines for 3 months. The smallers ones are easier to keep and thye should be introduced first in a tank. I recomend you get a smaller tank so you can easily isolate feed them. It is also easier to do weekly water changes to keep the quality high. With all the feedings you will need to do so. I recomend you smash up fresh shrimp and mix them with mysis. Give them a chance to test the foods and start eating. If they start to eat you are home free. The hardest part is to get them to eat and in a large tank i feel it would be twice as difficult. It would be very wise to feed them a ton of live brine and if you can hatch some do so. Eveyone is so lazy and try to feed dead frozen products. I know it is very important they recover from shipping and although brine inst that healthy for them, it is better than nothing. I just try to trick them into trying other things. You should throw eveything at them including the kitchen sink. Doing this i have been succesfull for 4 months till i moved and killed my school. Its a ton of work to get them to eat and i dont want to try them again untill i know i wont move again. I how ever had a ton of other anthias and got them all eating this way. I currently have a school of evensi anthias that are sapposed to be alittle more hardier but i find them to be similar to ventraliis. I had a total of 7 one went super man and bonked his head on the floor and never been the same. I lost two after they were moved in to the main tank for no apparent reason. The 5 i have now looks good but the one who bonked his head is a strange one. The two smallest ones i have eat often and try a lot of food. The larger three are finicky and eat sparingly and sometimes takes flakes but rarely. Im on my 4th month with these guys and i know the two smaller ones will make 6 months. The three largers ones if they dont start piging out ill start to worry. Bartletts are sooo much easier!

Paul

 

[t0mmy108]

Thanks guys. I just ordered a harem from LiveAquaria.com
I feel more comfortable ordering from them since they offer a 14 day guarantee on them. The tank has all the conditions they require and I shall feed as much as possible. With two Deltec APF600s running on the system, I shouldn't have a problem with that. Wish me luck!

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Good luck! They are the most beautiful of the anthias and one of the most beautiful of all reef fishes! I was thinking of trying a trio myself, until I read how difficult they are to keep, which pretty much means they'll probably die within a month or two. My tank is pretty heavily stocked with large angels and clowns that would most likely keep the anthias too stressed.
I'm going to go with a male lyretail and a male bimac instead since they are reportedly quite hardy.
Again, good luck with this harem. They are beautiful fish and I hope you can keep them a long time.

 

[Julio]

being a deep water species they do require lower temps as well, so they dont typically do well in reef tanks that are kept at around the 78-80 degree mark, they would do best at temps in the 68-74 range.

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI

I just want to second Julio, the only tanks where I have seen them surviving were COLD, 70 was the maximum temperature in these systems.

Good luck and please keep us posted

Jens

 

[t0mmy108]

wow, I guess I could lower my chiller to low 70's but that's pushing it. With 5 DE MH bulbs running, I'm gonna have to get another chiller or upgrade to a bigger one. I'll crank it down at first, but these guys are gonna have to slowly adjust to warmer waters. Summer is just around the corner.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Please let us know how they come in and keep us posted on how they do for you. I'm very interested in the quality of fish LiveAquaria sends you. I sure hope they make it for you. They are just gorgeous!
Best of luck.

 

[t0mmy108]

 

[t0mmy108]

they came in this morning. I'm keeping them in a little critter cage submerged in the main tank right now (sorry, no quarantine tank anymore). Colors are stunning! One got out and is hiding among the reef. I'll post pictures tonight. My tank has been a stable 75F even with the lights on. I plan on getting some brine and making a seafood preparation tonight that should entice plantovorous feeders.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Please post some pics!

 

[Julio]

i hope you realize that Ventralis do have a tendency to hide in new tanks for a few days especially when the tank lights are on.

 

[t0mmy108]

here ya go! These are the best looking anthias I've ever owned.

I just reaquascaped the whole tank and added a few corals after my New Years tank crash. That crash costed me over 30 rare collectable fish and corals.

 

[t0mmy108]

the other female got away from me as I was transferring her to the carrier. She's now somewhere in the rocks. I try to get them used to the presence of the other fish before I release them. This way they are not chased or nipped at by curious tank mates.

 

[Julio]

Gorgeous fish, love that Gigas int eh middle.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Those are AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing the pics. I am jealous. I think my tank gets too warm at 80 degrees for them. Darn they are nice! Your tank is very nice too!

 

[t0mmy108]

Thanks guys! I hope my chiller can keep it cool through the summer. Do you think they can adjust to living in warmer waters over time? Hopefully the 75 degree conpromise will work for them as well as the other inhabitants. Maybe I'll try a zebra catalina goby next.