Bartlett's Anthias- more questions for those that keep them

[Gary Majchrzak]

To get back to this thread:
Thanks to all that chimed in with their experience.
I've had 3 Anthias for several weeks now. One was not right from the beginning and it languished away. The other two are growing rapidly and getting more colorful every day. Is it okay to add more Bartlett's at any point in time? Here's a pic of my dominent fish.

 

[SDguy]

I have personally had pretty bad luck adding new bartletts to established bartletts, granted always in a smaller tank than 225g. They are pretty uninterested in other species though.

By the way, I too ended up buying some bartletts. And some lyretails. The Lori's just seemed a bit too touchy. FWIW, my bartletts are more aggressive than my lyretails, but just to each other. They don't even look at the single tiny dispar I've had in the tank from the beginning.

 

[Charlie97L]

have any of you bartlett owners had problems with their colors fading? i know that can be a common occurrence.

i'm trying to decide between bartlett's and lyretails for the new tank, but i'm leaning to bartlett's because it seems everyone has lyretails, and i don't have enough room for a proper 8:1 lyretail ratio.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

In the short time that I've had them I'd say my Bartlett's are getting more colorful- not fading.

 

[SDguy]

Mine have always colored up more as time goes on. But make no mistake, contrary to what some pictures will show, they are lavender, orange, and yellow. None of the colors are exceptionally deep. With the right camera angle and lower exposure, you can take some amazing shots. But in real life, they are delicate and light in coloration. Even the ones I saw at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. They don't have the solid deep colors of lyretails, IME.

hth

Here's a good comparison....sorry about the focus

 

[Charlie97L]

thank you! so is that a lyretail on the left?

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8463712#post8463712 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Charlie97L
thank you! so is that a lyretail on the left?

Yes

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

It's been almost a month and I've already had the dominent fish turn into a male and jump out of the aquarium- most likely during a feeding frenzy. I don't think literature on these particular Anthias stress enough that they are jumpers, quite unlike other Anthias species I've kept in the past.

 

[SDguy]

Did it die

Sorry to hear that! I"ve had the same experience with this species, though I was there to catch it and put it back. They are just SUCH ravenous eaters!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

My final Bartlett's jumped today.
More needs to be mentioned in references about their penchant for jumping. Live and learn.

I wonder if Dispar are jumpers.......

 

[Angel*Fish]

Dispars - my experience:

I bought 3...

One was found on the center brace after it jumped

The second was found dead suddenly (in the tank) with its mouth gaping - my guess is that it jumped and either hit something hard(like the lights) or plopped itself off the center brace after it was too late (maybe overheated fronm the lights)

The third I still have, it remains female - & is kept in line by a large male Cooper's anthias.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Gary,

that really surprises me - I would have not expected that.

A fellow of mine just placed 16 dispar in a 330 g tank which is open on 3 sides. The fish are in now for 10 days. So I can forward the experience soon. PM me please if I forget to come back on this

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Peter- I'm surprised too, and it seems that my experience is not an isolated incident because I'm hearing from others that have had the same thing happen. Like Marie kindly posted, it seems that Bartlett's are prone to jump on top of a cross brace and get stuck there. Apparently, they don't flop around very much once they land on something dry.

 

[64Ivy]

I'm surprised as well. Check the other fish for signs of 'ich' though. Except for harrassment, the only other event that ever caused any of my Bartletts to jump was an ich infestation as they try to rid themselves of the parasite.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

No crypto here. No aggressive fishes, either. Nothing bothered them in my particular case. I think your aquarium top is enclosed, Michael. Mine is totally open- the light hood is suspended and it's a clear shot down to the shag.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

If I remember correctly, your tank is kinda out in the open too, right? In the middle of a common room? To be honest, I'm guessing it mightve been spooked by a movement in the room. Whether it be a light turning on, or something insignificant to us, who knows what scares a fish?

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8619413#post8619413 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak
My final Bartlett's jumped today.
More needs to be mentioned in references about their penchant for jumping. Live and learn.

I wonder if Dispar are jumpers.......

Sorry Gary, that sucks. One of the worst ways to find your fish, IMO.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8621122#post8621122 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmaneyapanda
If I remember correctly, your tank is kinda out in the open too, right? In the middle of a common room? To be honest, I'm guessing it mightve been spooked by a movement in the room. Whether it be a light turning on, or something insignificant to us, who knows what scares a fish?

True, but I wouldn't classify Bartlett's as easily spooked. They were definitely accustomed to my aquarium photoperiod and nobody was home when the two of mine jumped. Heck, I've kept several types of Anthias and even Cirrhilabrus wrasses in open top aquariums without one ever carpet surfing. This is a big disappointment for me. I suspect the jumpings coincided with a feeding frenzy, but I'll never know for sure.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I dont know. Ive seen fish spooked for ridiculous reasons (I think). My tank is acroos the room form a TV, and I was watching it once, and when the screen changed on the TV, my lineatus wrasse blasted into the glass top. I am speculating it was from the tv, but, c'mon, that's a pretty unusual way to spook a fish. No other fish near him, no other stimulus from what I could tell. I guess my point is we dont know what spooks them. With anthias, I especially think they are erratic in behaviors from spooking. Looking at the fish on the reef, they rather occupy the water column, but when a predator quickly shows up, the whole group darts erratically. Safe on the reef, because they aren't gonna land anywhere but in water, but in our tanks, not so much.

But, of course, I am just spitballing.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Just my theory -

What I observed with my dipars is that the first one that jumped, while female, was a male-wanna-be and was always challenging the reigning male -maybe one of these contests resulted in the fatal jump

The second fish to die, the dominant male, was always challenging the Cooper's anthias & died due to what I believe was a jumping accident

The one I still have, the remaining female dispar, is harassed by the Cooper's but always acquiesces --- possibly reducing the chances for this boisterousness resulting in the "need" to jump. (Knock on wood )

My tank is only 20 inches deep with a 5 inch DSB, maybe a little more depth would help....

Also I think Jimaneyapanda makes a good point-
FWIW - I saw my cat spook a jawfish into jumping once.