Any experience with Ventralis Anthias?

[sonofgaladriel]

Hmmm. A friend of mine has a Catalina goby in his reef at around 80 degrees and its doing well. He's actually had it for almost a year!
It would be nice if these anthias could acclimate to warmer temps with time. I definately get me a harem of them if the do.

 

[Sanfernando]

I highly doubt that they would adapt to warmer temperatures with time. Could I adapt you to Death Valley if I did it slow enough? For what it's worth the first batch of ventralis at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago wouldn't even eat live mysis. Do you seriously think a sohal tang won't kill them or at least keep them stressed to the point that they won't eat and waste away? I hope you do well with these fishes but a brightly lit tank with one of the most notoriously aggressive fish is a recipe for failure. If you are serious about succeeding with the ventralis I urge you to remove the sohal tang at the very least.

 

[t0mmy108]

hmm... this particular Sohal is one of the few surviving fish from the recent tank crash. I had a whole collection of anthias and other delicate fish with him before the top off system failed while I was on vacation. He usually ignores the smaller fish and really only paid attention to other tangs and angel fish. the little carrier cage is a great tool to observe the other fishes behavior towards new additions. So far, he doesn't seen to be entertained by the new anthias. I'm more concerned about them eating than being harrased. But if I'm lucky, he'll train them to come to me for food like he did the other fish. most new fish will learn to eat this way. I'll find out sooner or later if this works. Hopefully, you may see me back with a new post in a few months for an update.

 

[Purple Haze]

Man. I've been wondering where you've been. Sorry to hear about the crash. Hopefully everything is up and growing again. My little cube will need some frags soon

Ryan

 

[t0mmy108]

How's it going Ryan? I've been pretty busy and laid off the boards since Thanksgiving. Getting things back together now. I take another trip to Los Angeles in two weeks to hopefully bring back a good shipment of cherry picks to Houston. I need to restock my tank as well as Donnie's.

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI Tom

Perhaps you can rearrange the aquascaping in your tank a little bit so at least the ventralis have an overhang where they can hide during the day. These guys don't like bright light. A friend of mine had his group of 6 or 8 for over a year, they were under an overhang for most of the day, only came out during the blue-light-only phase. During those dusk-dawn times they were eating like pigs, even flake food! Actually, he has a PB Tang, a huge Foxface and several other large fishes in his tank, no problem. But he did not have a sohal, which is a class of its own in terms of nasty behaviour.
At one time he added a mated pair of marine Bettas to his tank, they immediately occupied the place of the ventralis, chased them out into the open water and within a month or two they all wasted away. So, please create some space with lower light levels.

good luck

Jens

 

[t0mmy108]

Jens, you're absolutely right about that. The picture doesn't show it well but the whole rockwork is set up like that. Behind the rock walls there is empty space. I'll try to show some more details tonight so you can tell me if that will work or not. Usually at night when the fish sleep, you can't see any of them because they sleep in the rockwork. There's PVC pipe framing behind and underneath the rockwork. I aslo had wrasse in mind for this tank. I was also a big wrasse collector. All the rocks except for the very front row are elevated with PVC so that they can utilize the sandbed back there. The sand goes from 3" in the back to no sand towards the front. Those pipes also double up as a closed loop system for me. I've cut off all the the two 10k MHs for now and only left the 20k's on. Hopefully, I'm following the right recipe here. More pictures tonight.

Oh, and I really appreciate all the input and advice guys. Just to let you know, I'm listening and trying to take heed when possible. Sometimes I'm faced with compromises and your experience definately helps!

 

[sonofgaladriel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6691742#post6691742 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sanfernando
I highly doubt that they would adapt to warmer temperatures with time. Could I adapt you to Death Valley if I did it slow enough?

We're not talking about adapting to a degree swing of 40 or more degrees here like your 'Death Valley' comment insinuates!
Geez, why do some people go to extremes and get on their high horse
According to the sites selling these fish, and reports from other hobbyists (that I put more faith in), these fish will tolerate temps between 72 and 78 degrees. If my tank is at 79 to 80, that's not too much of an increase to 'consider' that the slow acclimation and adaptation to that extra 1 to 2 degrees isn't possible.
As I was referring to above, if a small Catalina goby can survive and thrive in an 80 degree reef for over a year, why not possibly these anthias?
It may not be the norm, but it is at least a possibility. Certainly not one I am obviously willing to risk more than once for the sake of this species. I do consider myself a responsible hobbyist to both the fish and corals I collect and provide for.

:

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Jens- What was your friend's tank temp?
Thanks for sharing some positive news on these fish!

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6693853#post6693853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sonofgaladriel
Jens- What was your friend's tank temp?
Thanks for sharing some positive news on these fish!

Friggin' cold! I don't know for sure, but around 22 C, which is 71.6F if I did the math correctly.

jens

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Boy that is cold. So his success may very well be due to the colder temps. I was sure hoping his tank was on the upper limits of their apparent tolerance.
Thanks again.

 

[t0mmy108]

wow, that is cold. That's almost as cold as those cold water tanks in restarants that hold live lobster and crabs. Those tanks tend to sweat a lot. The moisture would build up unless you had really thick acrylic or glass. FWIW, I kept a Gerabaldi damsel in ~78 degree water for a good while. There is a tolerance for acclimation. I think I should be able to do this as long as I don't expect them to acclimate to 84 degree tropical waters.

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI

Ventralis is a deep water species. When I was at 150 to 180 ft in French Poly I was surprised (i.e. I froze my butt off) that the water was just around 23 C, the corals down there were still growing very well. I haven't had the chance to see ventralis in their natural habitat but I presume the temperature will be similar.

best wishes

Jens

 

[mhltcob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6693838#post6693838 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sonofgaladriel
We're not talking about adapting to a degree swing of 40 or more degrees here like your 'Death Valley' comment insinuates!
Geez, why do some people go to extremes and get on their high horse
:

well we are also not talking about warm blooded animals.

 

[mhltcob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6695437#post6695437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by t0mmy108
FWIW, I kept a Gerabaldi damsel in ~78 degree water for a good while. There is a tolerance for acclimation. I think I should be able to do this as long as I don't expect them to acclimate to 84 degree tropical waters.

apparently not all that long as he is still obviously a juvenile.

 

[JeremyT]

I don't think that it is high temperatures that would kill these fish, but that their metabolism would speed up. Anthias already need to eat alot, so you get an anthias that doesn't eat well in captivity and speed up its metabolism; and it may starve. I'm not trying to bum you out, I just think that temperature might be a major factor with keeping these fish succesfully. I hope you have good luck though!

 

[t0mmy108]

Thanks JeremyT. I'm going to make it my primary focus to keep them well fed. They take in the live brine very well and are already eating some of the formula one pellets. I still need to make my seafood preparation tonight. The fish seem to take to that well. I use some salmon, garlic, mysis, krill, squid, clams, mussels, nori, formula one and cyclopeez in it. For those interested in keeping these fish, I'll keep you posted with my experience. So far so good but they are still in confined quarters. Freedom is just around the corner once they start eating well. For those who have shared their experience and knowledge, THANKS!

 

[Sanfernando]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6693838#post6693838 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sonofgaladriel
We're not talking about adapting to a degree swing of 40 or more degrees here like your 'Death Valley' comment insinuates!
Geez, why do some people go to extremes and get on their high horse
:

To make a point that you obviously missed. :rolleye1:

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Oh, you made your point, albeit an exaggerated one, and it was well understood, just not fully agreed with. Are you through busting our :bounce2: about this? I hope so, cause I'm already tired of your negative remarks.
I very much hope that these anthias do acclimate to t0mmy108's tank and that he gets to enjoy them for a very long time. If not, his one experience will educate the rest of us and hopefully keep us from attempting the same fish.
I, for one, have decided to wait and see what his experience is with them before attempting them, as I thought was clear from the very beginning

 

[t0mmy108]

I'M SO EXCITED!!! Came home from work today and guess what I see. The other female that's been hiding in the reef decided to come out and join her friends. She swimming up against the carrier like she trying to tell them something. If she can survive in the tank all by her self, at least I have a little more confidence that the harem may make it a little longer. I fed them my "seafood delight" mix and they love it!!

sonofgaladriel, don't worry about those unfriendly comments. Most of the time I just ignore them . They aren't really helping me answer my concerns in the thread and probably don't have any first hand experience with these fish anyhow.
CHECK HER OUT!!