Number of Anthias
- Thread starter rlpardue
- Start date
Monkeyfish
Active member
IMO, if you're going to get Dispar anthias, a group of 5 or 6 would look nicer than just 2 or 3. No personal experience with them, but from what I've read/heard they're one of the more mild species and not prone to murdering their neighbors. They also have a rep for shoaling better than some of the other anthias such as squamipinnis.
Well, 4 small dispar arrived on Friday. One was fat, one was ok, and two looked kind of starved. I imagine that's par for the course when ordering small dispar anthias. Anyhow, after trying a dozen different types of foods, it seems they will accept ReefNutrition ROE and nothing else lol. I find that a little odd; most of my fish don't care for ROE. My cleaner wrasse (had him for 8-9 months and seen him put on a lot of weight) likes ReefCaviar but doesn't like ROE. He also likes Sustainable Aquatics pellets.
Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to transition the anthias onto other foods to vary their diet a bit more. Right now I'm feeding 8-9 squirts of ROE per day. Gosh I hope they transition onto pellets so the autofeeder can do its job...
Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to transition the anthias onto other foods to vary their diet a bit more. Right now I'm feeding 8-9 squirts of ROE per day. Gosh I hope they transition onto pellets so the autofeeder can do its job...
Rea17
New member
That sounds rough. I hope they do alright for you. My anthias really took to the .5mm NLS pellets and put on a lot of weight in a short period of time. Are you feeding in an area of high flow?
Well, surprise surprise, last night I caught them hitting the Sustainable Aquatics micro-pellets I add to the tank for my cleaner wrasse (he loves 'em). The anthias ate lots of them 
Now I'll try to transition them over to the 0.5mm NLS pellets. I think the SA pellets are a product intended for raising clownfish fry. My cleaner wrasse likes them because they're small and soft. (I speak Labroide believe it or not - learned it in college after mastering Klingon).
Now I'll try to transition them over to the 0.5mm NLS pellets. I think the SA pellets are a product intended for raising clownfish fry. My cleaner wrasse likes them because they're small and soft. (I speak Labroide believe it or not - learned it in college after mastering Klingon).That was always my experience with Lyretials. Things would be fine for a while, year or two even, then something would upset the order, and they'd pick off the low man, and so on. I have actually had better luck with Bartletts, even though they are considered more aggressive.
So I thought for completeness's sake I'd update the status on them in case someone's interested in dispar longevity and hardiness in the future.
It's been 10 days since 4 small dispar arrived in the mail. Looking closely, there has always been a distinguishable difference between all of them - one big, one a little smaller, one smaller still, and one that looks hungry!
Over the weekend, the one that looked hungry died - he had never really been seriously feeding. Sometimes he'd swallow a cyclops, and he'd eat a few BBS when I offered them, but he never got with the program.
The next-bigger fish (#3 of 4) looks skinny also but does eat an occasional fish egg and BBS. I don't have high hopes for him but perhaps he'll make it.
The biggest two love to eat and are rapidly putting on weight. Now I'm just wondering whether it's a mistake to have just 2 dispar in a tank. Will the big one turn into a male and beat the littler one?
It's been 10 days since 4 small dispar arrived in the mail. Looking closely, there has always been a distinguishable difference between all of them - one big, one a little smaller, one smaller still, and one that looks hungry!
Over the weekend, the one that looked hungry died - he had never really been seriously feeding. Sometimes he'd swallow a cyclops, and he'd eat a few BBS when I offered them, but he never got with the program.
The next-bigger fish (#3 of 4) looks skinny also but does eat an occasional fish egg and BBS. I don't have high hopes for him but perhaps he'll make it.
The biggest two love to eat and are rapidly putting on weight. Now I'm just wondering whether it's a mistake to have just 2 dispar in a tank. Will the big one turn into a male and beat the littler one?
havasuviking1
New member
I have a friend with 5 or 6 ispar in a 150 with no problem
