Mixing Anthias

[ilikefish34]

The short story is I would like one male Bartlett's with some female Lyretails.

Current tank is a 6' 210 gallon with about 250 lb. of live rock and will be adding corals--first batch is a mix of softies and LPS that are in QT and won't be added for another two months or so.

There are only a few fish in there right now and the plan for the Anthias will be down the line (probably this fall) but I'm doing some homework now.

Current/planned fish list:
Clown (Ocellaris) x 2
Azure Damsel x 2
Flasher Wrasse sp. (not Eight-line) x 3
Diamond Goby x 2
Midas Blenny
Yellow Tang
Kole Tang
Blue Tang (Hepatus--will be relocated once it gets too large)
Leopard Wrasse (Meleagris) x 2
Melanurus Wrasse
Halichoeres sp. (Radiant/Christmas/Chrysus--haven't decided yet)

Being that the Bartlett's and Lyretail are bit more aggressive than some other species, do you see them being problematic with the smaller flashers or others? The Leopard will be added prior to the Halichoeres wrasses and the anthias to allow it to become established with less competition for food and territory. If those anthias won't work, I was thinking a few Dispar and a few Carberryi. If those don't work then I may skip the anthias altogether. Since I'm going to attempt the Leopard Wrasse, I'll already be set for the multiple feedings each day.

I've read a few threads that mention how many in the hobby have started off with multiple female Bartlett's but end up with all males and, in many cases, picking each other off. There seemed to be enough credible experiences that leaned away from the notion that they really had sub-males rather than females. My thought was that I would get the male Bartlett's and combine him with a Lyretail harem. If possible, how many females would I need to keep a group like this happy? Will males from one species keep females from other species from making the switch?

All fish will go through TTM before a stay in a 50 gallon QT.

Depending on responses I may have some additional questions.

Thanks
Mike

 

[ca1ore]

Males/females is about the species, not the genus. Ok to mix most of the easier species, as they mostly exhibit intra-species aggression.

 

[ilikefish34]

Males/females is about the species, not the genus. Ok to mix most of the easier species, as they mostly exhibit intra-species aggression.

Of the stories I had read about the Bartlett's, one credited a dominant male Carberryi as possibly being the reason why two of his smaller females hadn't changed whereas others did. In that case, it appeared that the pecking order made a difference between species--could just be a fluke.

I definitely agree with their aggression mostly being intra-species but does that change when the male doesn't have any females at all of it's own?

Thanks
Mike

 

[jbvdhp]

I still have a nice group of African lyretails after a year. I began with 8 and now have six: one obvious male, one transitioning (but never finished) female and the rest females. The male puts everyone in check, and the large female puts the other females in check. Not sure how the other two died, but al has been well for a year. I don't foresee me losing anymore due to pecking order or aggression.

They swim together and are curious together when something is new in the tank, with male leading the way

 

[NedFlounders]

Just posted this in another thread..

FWIW, I have a 110gal tank. Among other fish, I have 2 Lyre Tail Anthias and 1 Bartletts Anthias. They all get along great. In fact, the bartletts and the bigger lyretail seem to court each other. I haven't witnessed anything territorial.

 

[ca1ore]

Of the stories I had read about the Bartlett's, one credited a dominant male Carberryi as possibly being the reason why two of his smaller females hadn't changed whereas others did.

You have to take these things with a healthy dose of skepticism. How did this guy know this? Is it just his opinion? Who knows ......

 

[ilikefish34]

You have to take these things with a healthy dose of skepticism. How did this guy know this? Is it just his opinion? Who knows ......

The information came from SDguy from his own thread titled, "Longterm success with a harem of Bartlett's Anthias?" where the point of emphasis was to find an understanding of why he, and others, where finding that their females where all becoming males... the bulk of the thread spanned about three years and one of his last posts he had 1 male and 2 females that had remained that way for well over 1 year and said that, "It may help my big male Carberryi is the only Carberryi, and has adopted the Bartlett's.". This was just his opinion and it was said as a possibility rather than the reason--he has appeared to have done his due diligence on the matter (including some experimenting with their numbers and DT size) and, because it was SDguy, I took the opinion as carrying more weight than I would have a random member.

It made me wonder if others had similar experiences with other harems (females especially) being affected by males of other species--especially, when that male doesn't have a harem of its own.

I believe he was the only one who had the females (all of them) to remain ladies for a year or more while in the presence of a male--you commented on the thread as well and said that you had a trio of 1 male and 2 females and only one of the females changed in over a year but that was back in 2014--any updates?

But you are absolutely right about being skeptical of commenters--seen some crazy things on these boards before:bounce2:

 

[eatbreakfast]

Bartlets and squammis will coexist fine. There may be some squabbles, but each species is able to take care of itself.