There are a number of anthias who are very similar in appearance. I'm thinking of the handful of species that are about 3" long, pinky-orange, and schooling. I don't plan to do this (my SW tank is a 29g), but would those different species school together? Would they care at all?
Do mixed anthias care about being mixed?
- Thread starter Betta132
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jadette
Member
I can not tell the difference in hierarchy, groupings, or behavior between the ignitus and dispars in my tank. They mix together so well, that I really have a hard time figuring out how many I have of each.
I've been told that carberryi anthias group well together with ignitus and dispars. I find them to be more aggressive. I added 3 females to my group of ~25 dispars/ignitus. They all turned male, with the two largest chasing the 3rd out of the tank (jumped out to his doom right before my eyes). Now the two carberryi males split the harem in two uneven groups (about 6 in one, and the rest in the other) and do not fight. They constantly fight with my lone dispar male however, who has now suddenly lost all social standing in my tank.
So I guess different people have different experiences. Mine would be ignitus and dispars working well together with carberryis being rather aggressive (but still manageable with the rest of the anthias).
Interestingly enough, my evansi anthias seem to not have any standing in the group. They swim together with the rest of the anthias, but the carberryi do not seem to care to exhibit any dominance over them (unlike their behavior towards the female ignitus and dispars), nor do the evansi seem to want to fight amongst themselves or the other anthias.
I've been told that carberryi anthias group well together with ignitus and dispars. I find them to be more aggressive. I added 3 females to my group of ~25 dispars/ignitus. They all turned male, with the two largest chasing the 3rd out of the tank (jumped out to his doom right before my eyes). Now the two carberryi males split the harem in two uneven groups (about 6 in one, and the rest in the other) and do not fight. They constantly fight with my lone dispar male however, who has now suddenly lost all social standing in my tank.
So I guess different people have different experiences. Mine would be ignitus and dispars working well together with carberryis being rather aggressive (but still manageable with the rest of the anthias).
Interestingly enough, my evansi anthias seem to not have any standing in the group. They swim together with the rest of the anthias, but the carberryi do not seem to care to exhibit any dominance over them (unlike their behavior towards the female ignitus and dispars), nor do the evansi seem to want to fight amongst themselves or the other anthias.
If you are new to anthias, don't try mixing them. Just pick a locally available hardy species, and a reasonable number to form a harem (eg here it would be dispars).
IME five seems to be the magic number for a lot of smaller species, without two males emerging and one killing the other, and taking over the harem. :headwally:
OTOH, if you are experienced with them, then try to group species with similar temperaments. Eg golden anthias (aurulentus) with flavoguttatus but not ventralis. You really need to understand the different temperaments between species, as bullies can lead to timid species not eating. :beer:
HTH and good luck! :wave:
Edit: just saw your tank size... Might be too small for a group of any species tbh.
IME five seems to be the magic number for a lot of smaller species, without two males emerging and one killing the other, and taking over the harem. :headwally:
OTOH, if you are experienced with them, then try to group species with similar temperaments. Eg golden anthias (aurulentus) with flavoguttatus but not ventralis. You really need to understand the different temperaments between species, as bullies can lead to timid species not eating. :beer:
HTH and good luck! :wave:
Edit: just saw your tank size... Might be too small for a group of any species tbh.
I'm not going for a group, this was just a random question. I sometimes post random questions on here if they're the kind of thing that can only be answered by people who've kept the thing in question, like specific behavioral traits.
I don't actually plan to get an anthias, I'm keeping the tank lightly stocked. Plus, it's a cube, which might be a tad short for the swoopy way anthias tend to swim.
For future reference, is there an anthias species that's safe with really small fish? Like, really small- trimma gobies and such. I want to eventually set up a macroalgae tank with a bunch of teeny gobies and maybe just a few teeny-safe larger species.
I don't actually plan to get an anthias, I'm keeping the tank lightly stocked. Plus, it's a cube, which might be a tad short for the swoopy way anthias tend to swim.
For future reference, is there an anthias species that's safe with really small fish? Like, really small- trimma gobies and such. I want to eventually set up a macroalgae tank with a bunch of teeny gobies and maybe just a few teeny-safe larger species.
eatbreakfast
New member
Smaller anthias species such as randall's, pulcherrimus, aurulentus, and flavoguttatus, as well as the luzonichthys species will do fine with the small gobies. Larger species will hunt the gobies.
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