Long term success with a harem of bartlett anthias?

[bradleyj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10100610#post10100610 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by just dave
I kept Princess anthias ( P. smithvanizi) with my Bartletts and the Bartletts did not "like" them. I have had Bartletts and Redfins (P. dispar) together and they will coexist fine. The Redfins will even take on the coloration of the Bartletts.

The Redfins will even take on the coloration of the Bartletts. [/B][/QUOTE]

Now this is something that I thought I was just imagining. When I bought my 5 bartletts, some dispars came in on the same shipment and I bought 2 of them. 1 of the dispars still has its original coloring, but the second one has definately taken on alot of dark pink on the top of its body. The same coloration as my male bartletts.

In this picture below, you can see how much darker the dispar is and how much pink it has taken on.

The top anthias on the right.

 

[SDguy]

Dispar anthias, especially the male, get lots of pink on them. It's natural, but only shows up on well established individuals.

 

[just dave]

I get them out of the Marshall's and it seems they live amongst the more common Bartletts and take on Bartletts coloration as does a type of Slender anthias. When I separate the Redfins from the Bartletts they quickly revert back to the more traditional coloration. I think it would be interesting to have a tank with a group of Bartletts,Dispars,Slenders, and a Midas Blenny and a Lyretail hawk (these last two live amongst anthias in nature.)

 

[zemuron114]

Marshalls bartletts are always much much smaller. I got in about 50 of them all were 1" or less and female (no males)

the christmas island bartletts are always big and usually male. out of 100 i think i had 22 females, rest males. about 30 were "supermales" with the streamers. So either a) they only collected the big bright ones, or b) the bartletts are just like that in nature....

i know when i keep them together in confined spaces (aka 100 in a 55 gallon) they do bicker and will bite the tips of the tails of other ones (usually male on male aggression).

I think it has to do with space verse quantity. in a 180 gallon tank (just for arguments sake) i would add probably 7-10. IME they are very passive towards other fish (most noteably fairies/tangs/angels etc)

This is interesting. Especially those who have had them pick each other off... not characteristic of bartletts IME... keep em coming. im intrigued!

 

[SDguy]

THis is great. I very pleased to be getting such great info on such an often recommended, yet clearly not well understood fish.

 

[eaglesrx]

"I think it has to do with space verse quantity. in a 180 gallon tank (just for arguments sake) i would add probably 7-10. IME they are very passive towards other fish (most noteably fairies/tangs/angels etc)"

so, would you say that using the higher density method is better than the low density method (1 anthia/40-50g) for keeping a group of bartlett's female longterm?

 

[SuAsati]

I had 7 bartletts in a 100Gal, Got as one male and 6 females, one female went carpet surfing.... after almost 2 years, I had 2 males and 4 females, but lost them all to a breaker malfunction....

 

[SDguy]

So I would consider 6-7 individuals on the higher side, for density. Did your two males coexist, or did one always hide?

 

[SuAsati]

One hid mostly, but the other one was out in the open..... they sparred every now and then, but never got to the point of killing each other...

 

[zemuron114]

i would think that more would keep the females females. If there are 3 in 180 gallon, 1 male and 2 females. There really isn't any reason for the females to stay females. With one male, and plenty of space they will probably change to male because of the room available to grow.

if you add 10 to a 180 1 male and 9 females, the space now is very limited per anthias. A few will change to a male but i believe these would keep the rest of the females in check. If there isn't much space available then the females most likely wont turn to a male. Thats my guess. Ive never had a female turn to a male while holding it, but i have not held them for very long.

IMO/E the bigger the space the more you should have. in a 55 gallon i think 3-5 would keep them in check.

 

[Scuba Dog]

Just picked up my first bartletts, could not turn down three for 80 bucks, wish he had more than three though. I believe they are all females.

 

[eaglesrx]

zemuron,

I agree w/the higher density. I've never seen them in the wild, but my guess is they swim in a small area d/t predators, possibly aggressive fish. Thus, forcing them to stay in a school and establish the social hierarchy. As zemuron was alluding to, a tank w/a low density of anthias probably allows the anthias to turn male since they don't have to worry about aggression from other anthias or predators.

Anyone see these fish in the wild? This is interesting stuff.

 

[zemuron114]

Ill ask around here to see if anyone has dove with them before. A few people here have been diving in xmas island, so it shouldn't be that hard to find out.

 

[SDguy]

Thanks for taking the time to add to this thread

 

[Scuba Dog]

So far the trio of bartletts I purchased esterday are staying in close proximity. Eating quite well, they prefer flakes over frozen foods. I also have a five inch nasso thats zooming arond the tank and Im sure that keeps the anthias closer together.

 

[eaglesrx]

bump... any diving experiences w/bartlett's?

 

[zemuron114]

No one on these boards will probably have diving experience with bartletts. Getting to christmas island is almost impossible and VERY expensive. 99% of the bartletts coming in are from christmas. Ill ask around

 

[SDguy]

Trying a little experiment. Added two very small, very yellow female bartletts to my lone, medium sized, very pink bartlett. None of the other fish pay the new ones any attention, not even the lyretails. The single established bartlett, on the other hand, is going nuts. Lots of displaying, a little chasing. Things have calmed down now, it seems, and all three hang out together. I'm hoping a few things will go as expected.

1. The difference in size and dominance, coupled with the clear difference in gender, will keep the male/female ratio.

2. The smaller tank size, coupled with the presence of the lyretails, will also keep the females, female.

I will update as things progress, good or bad.

 

[Scuba Dog]

I had bad results with my new addition. I added a very pink male to a group of three females. The male was beatenup and proceaded to hide in the rockwork. After a day I fished him out and moved him to my other 180 inwhich there is no anthias, I still have yet to see the fish.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10154813#post10154813 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Scuba Dog
I had bad results with my new addition. I added a very pink male to a group of three females. The male was beatenup and proceaded to hide in the rockwork. After a day I fished him out and moved him to my other 180 inwhich there is no anthias, I still have yet to see the fish.

I would actually expect this to happen. Even if the dominant fish (established resident) looks "less male" than the new addition, the dominance will trump any color difference, IME.