Fathead Sunburst Anthias

[btkrausen]

Got two of them Tuesday afternoon, and they have been hiding under the rocks ever since. Anybody have any ideas on how to entice them to come out?

Other fish include: Picasso grade A pair, pair of green chromis, golden rabbitfish, tiny two spot blenny, and new baby achilles tang.

None of the fish are agressive at all, except the femail picasso to the male. I have been feeding mysis shrimp and rods food, but really haven't seen them come out to eat yet.

Any ideas? Anybody else have some that would share their experience?

 

[klepto]

From what I have experienced, it isn't uncommon for this species to take a little while to acclimate and settle into your tank. They seem to like hiding under overhangs and out of high lighting until more established. It sounds like you have some good food options, keep that up and I'm sure they will catch on! Sorry to not have more advice...

How big is your tank? Did you quarantine any of your fishes?

 

[stunreefer]

I'm guessing these were not QT'd then?

Were they accepting foods prior to purchasing them? If so, make sure to offer those foods.

Generally speaking these guys tend to be more cryptic, especially if there's competition for food from established fish.

I've had mine a little over a year now and it's still shy - was in an aquarium alone for quite a while and was never big on coming out much even alone. Mine only accepts frozen foods; I feed mainly PE Mysis.

It's still very early on, just give them some time and keep up the feeding.

 

[btkrausen]

Nope, didn't quarantine, never have done it in 5+ yrs. Only caused me a problem once

Not sure about eating, as they were shipping directly from the wholesaler, and not from a LFS. I get fish for ridiculous cheap...

 

[Toddrtrex]

I had one many years ago -- for the first 2 weeks I would only see a glimpse of it, though I am assuming that it was still getting food.

After the first 2 weeks it was out all the time, but did tend to stay somewhat close to its "cave".

 

[btkrausen]

Thanks. I was really hoping they would swim around more. My fish seem to all hang out in one corner together so its kind of boring to look at. haha. Now the achilles swims around quite a bit, so hopefully he'll entice the others too.

 

[steelcity]

They'll come out. Mine hangs out in front all the time. He's not a big swimmer but he does stay pretty visable.

 

[Iwishihadgills]

I had a group of five. They will hide for a couple days but once they see other fish swimming around they come out. Note these fish can be in perfect health one day and kick the bucket the next. goodluck

 

[rishma]

My two swim in front all the time now, but it did take some time. The best advice I have for acclimating them is to keep the lights off or significantly shade your tank for several days. I basically acclimated them like I would a very sensitive coral. They come from deep water and seem to be more comfortable initially in a dim/low light aquarium. Also, when you feed the tank, it may help to back away so as not to startle them.

Mine are now aggressive eaters, but it took a while. Good luck.

 

[btkrausen]

My two anthias were out a little bit yesterday, and a bit more today. They don't seem to be really scared of the other fish, and I did see at least one of them eating Spectrum this morning, so I guess thats a good sign. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[nonimmigrant]

I've had a pair for about 4 years now - both were about an inch long when I got them. They are a pain IME to get to eat, but once they do, they go nuts. One thing to try would be to take flake food or pellets and grind them down to a rough powder and put into the tank upstream of where they Fatheads hang out. I've used this method successfully on hard to raise anthias.