How come Anthias need large tanks?

[Salty Brother]

Just wondering, they are such beautiful fish but even the ones that only get about 4" need like a 75gal tank.
Thanks,
Patrick

 

[SDguy]

IMO, they don't. But their feeding habits can quickly cause problems without a lot of very good filtration (oversized skimmers and such) so it's just easier in a large tank. Also depends on species....some are more aggressive, and a larger tank may alleviate aggression to individuals lower on the totem pole.

 

[jayo]

Anthias need lots of swimming room - they are very active swimmers.

jayo

 

[Freds]

Arent' they also very skittish and need lots of room to "run" or hide? They sure are nice looking though.

 

[bluehippotang]

75 gallons is not a large tank. Look at their natural habitat.

 

[Mishap]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7723284#post7723284 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bluehippotang
75 gallons is not a large tank. Look at their natural habitat.

That statement could be said about any size tank. A 1000 gallon tank is nowhere near close to the natural habitat of even a damsel.

 

[zemuron114]

anthias are ususally found in huge shoals. 1 shoal can easily be a 1000 square feet. You could keep one in a small tank easily. SDguy has it right i think, they need so much food throughout the day, a small tank will quickly become overwhelmed.

1 is not enough though.. you need atleast 5 to get the cool shoal effect

 

[SDguy]

And keep in mind the factors that make them shoal/school in the wild probably won't be present in an average aquarium (ie less aggression/being preyed upon by other fish may result in more time for aggression between each other).

 

[dodgersfan25]

maybe a little off topic, but will do various species of anthias get along with each other? i know they're pretty peaceful fish, but are they territorial in our tanks?

 

[Sk8r]

There is physical room and there is 'running room.' If you keep a cheetah in a small cage it will not thrive, no matter that the cage is physically large enough to accommodate it. Tangs and anthias have uncommonly large running requirements: they are fast swimmers and strong swimmers and need the exercise.

The only exception among anthias is the sunburst anthias, which 'hangs' under rock outcrops and ledges.

 

[SDguy]

Well, I'm no expert in animal physiology, but exercise requirements are very different for warm blooded animals. Just look at reptiles. Sorry, the constant comparisons of fish to dogs, cats, etc are just not good examples and used too often. And as for "running room"...how is it any less exercise for the fish to swim short distances back and forth vs one long way? Either way, the fish is constantly swimming. It's like doing shuttle runs vs. laps around a track. Both are exercise. Anyways, just my 2 cents.

 

[zemuron114]

most schooling fish school for protection. Get rid of the threat and they most likely wont school.
Take fairy wrasses. They have huge school/shoals because they are constantly being eaten by goupers/snappers etc. Those threats are not present in the aquarium so very rarely do they school. However i have seen bartlett anthias school in a 180 gallon with no threats present. It was very neat.

 

[Serioussnaps]

once you have one and see them dart around the tank you will know why...i dont consider a 75 a good size either 100+