best choices for anthias

[tangafish]

I would like to add some anthias to my tank. I am considering the ignatius, resplendent and the carberryi because they are small. I would like to have a couple different kinds as well, probably 3 of each (1male +2 female) I had a couple bartletts in the past but once they turned male one of them always hid except at feeding time. I lost them a while back in a tank crash.

How much more difficult are the ignatius, resplendent and the carberryi initially and long term than the Bartletts. Do these anthias also have the issue of all changing to male like the Bartletts? They will definitely stay in quarantine for atleast 6 weeks and get prazipro etc.

I appreciate any input you can give me

 

[cl2ysta1]

i would sugest against QT for longer than it takes to get them wormed and eating well. they just dont do well. i have ignatius. they all do great. however i have two that are very shy despite all the other fish out in the open and they hang out under a rock ledge only to come out to eat.

 

[tangafish]

would you consider the ignatius about the same as the bartletts as far as getting them eating and longterm care? How long would you recommend quarantining them? I have a 29 gallon tank I will quarantine them in w/pvc etc. Is the biggest issue with the resplendent and the carberryi just getting them eating consistently at first or is there something else I should be concerned with. Thanks for your help!

 

[SDguy]

No, I would consider ignitus (flame anthias) the same as dispar. Carberryi are about the same. None of these are terribly hardy, IME. Often refusing all but the tiniest, frequent feedings at first, making QT difficult in regards to water quality. Stringy poop (good sign of worms) is very common.

 

[tangafish]

What typically would you recommend feeding the ignitius at first. The ignitius I am considering that liveaquaria has are medium sized between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 " at that size I was also concerned they may already be established males.

Peter what do you consider the hardiest anthias other than Bartletts. I considered getting a trio of Bartletts from the Divers Den but they all turn male. I love the lyretails but 5" is larger than I want because I dont want to overstock my tank. My skimmer will easily handle it though.

My current stock list in my 135 is
yellow belly blue hippo about 5"
yellow tang approx 4"
2 blackbar chromis 3/4"
2 chalk bass 1"
1 lawnmower blenny 4"

 

[SDguy]

I had excellent luck getting new ignitus anthias to take finely minced meaty foods, like mysis. Basically, take the mysis out while still frozen, and mince it with a small paring knife. Then thaw in a cup of tank water, and feed tiny amounts often. Eventually they will go for larger food (weeks to months later)

IMO there aren't any anthias hardier than bartlett, and the same size or smaller. Have you considered mixing species. I have often found that there is much more aggression between multiple females of the same species than between different species. Perhaps a pair of bartlett and a pair of lyretails would work for you?

 

[tangafish]

I would actually prefer to mix some different species. Do you think I would be ok with just a pair of Bartletts and a pair of lyretails. I was concerned that if I just got the 2 (of each kind) that there would be no way to spread out any agression.

I feed a wide variety of foods to all my tanks including frozen mysis, brine, cyclopeze bar, various flakes and so on. I also keep garlic, selcon, vitachem etc on hand especially during quarantine and I feed a couple times a week to my regular tanks. Do you think I would be able to maintain ingitus on this. I will never get a fish that I dont feel confident I can keep alive so I appreciate your input.

 

[SDguy]

I know what's been said on the boards and such, but in all the years I've kept anthias (since the early 90's) I've never had a male kill of a female when kept as a pair. I have had very aggressive females attack "lower rung" females when kept in groups, and I've also had sick specimens (male or female) get attacked by the other healthy individuals. Again, JME...YMMV.

I see no reason why you should have any problems with the ignitus assuming you go through proper QT and acclimation to prepared foods.

 

[tangafish]

Okay. Liveaquaria states that lyretails get up to 5". has that been your experience too. I love their colors but to my surprise the squarespot are smaller than them.

I think I may go with a pair of Bartletts and a pair of Ignitus. From all of the postings I have seen everyone is ordering dispar and getting ignitus instead. Dispar sure are alot cheaper. Any chance Liveaquaria could make that kind of mistake sure would be cheaper that way..lol

okay stupid question for ya peter what does YMMV mean?

 

[cl2ysta1]

i started with 8 ignitus. One died in acclimation, and one died in the tank. never would accept any food. always looked interested but never ate. i still have the remaining six with no agression issues. IME they school much better than my hutchiis. the main four females always hang out, and i have one female who hides under a ledge along with the male

 

[SDguy]

Yes, my male lyretail has grown to full size in my tank...at least 5" not including the tail :eek2: I came home from a business trip and he was actually bigger than my PBT :lol:

Squarespots get something like 8"...much bigger. I've seen HUGE ones for sale before.

LiveAquaria probably won't be making that mistake much any more since I actually helped them ID the differences and get the ignitus their own SKU. At least for their DiversDen section. Sorry.

YMMV = Your mileage may vary

My "beast":

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12631145#post12631145 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cl2ysta1
i started with 8 ignitus. One died in acclimation, and one died in the tank. never would accept any food. always looked interested but never ate. i still have the remaining six with no agression issues. IME they school much better than my hutchiis. the main four females always hang out, and i have one female who hides under a ledge along with the male

Have you been able to sex them with any certainty? The ignitus I always see are pretty big...all having the same red forked tail, etc...which I thought meant male, from what I found online.

 

[tangafish]

wow I cant believe a squarespot bets as big as a tang- 8". that is crazy. Live aquaria site says they only get 4'. Wow your lyretail is absolutely gorgeous is he a maldives.

 

[SDguy]

Thanks, yup, he's a Maldives. Hmmm, yeah, liveaquaria is wrong on the squarespot max size.

 

[kb27973]

SDguy - have to ask, was your male always that color? When I first got mine he was this very cool lavendar color but slowly lost it to more of an orange like yours. Is this just something that happens as they get older? His harem consists of 3 females.

Sorry for the hijack...

Ken

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12631540#post12631540 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kb27973
SDguy - have to ask, was your male always that color? When I first got mine he was this very cool lavendar color but slowly lost it to more of an orange like yours. Is this just something that happens as they get older? His harem consists of 3 females.

Sorry for the hijack...

Ken

Actually, that shot was with the camera flash. Under tank lighting, he's more red/maroon:

 

[kb27973]

Yeah, that's what mine used to look like. He slowly lost color until he looks pretty much like all the others. They get a wide variety of food (Rod's, mysis, bloodworms...) but the color is not coming back. What do you feed yours?

To add my .02 to the OP question, I would have to say that Lyretails are one of the hardiest. I've had Bartlett's in the past and they did well, but they were jumpers.

Ken

 

[tangafish]

Ken I have a canopy on my tank and I covered the back of the tank and my overflows so nothing can get out there.

Do the female lyretails get as large as the males?

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12633531#post12633531 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tangafish
Do the female lyretails get as large as the males?

They can, yes. Mine has not.

 

[poknsnok]

I lost 2 of 3 ignitus in QT.. they are sensitive without a doubt. Get 8 and hope 5-6 survive. I plan on getting more so I have a 55 gal qt set up that is well cycled with chromis in it and plenty of places to hide. Im going to keep it up and running til I get more ignitus.. They are an absolutely stunning anthias in person