Scott,
We currently have 15 Odontanthias borbonius in stock, both large and small, and all of them have been quarantined and conditioned properly and we will begin to start offering these fish on the LiveAquaria.com website mid to late next week in our Diver’s Den section. Just like all of the Diver's Den fish, we choose to properly quarantine, medicate, de-worm, and condition all fish before offering them to our valued customers so that we can limit any potential problems that may arise with shipping freshly imported fish to customers.
Like other Anthias, Odontanthias borbonius will oftentimes be infested with flukes, and one of the three batches of these fish we received in the last month definitely were infected with these parasites. This was nothing that couldn’t be overcome with some freshwater baths, formalin and malachite green.
Other posts,
I was fortunate enough to obtain and personally own three specimens early last year when they first hit the US market. I understand that numerous people had problems with these fish, mainly swim bladder infections or damage due to improper decompression.
I have housed three Odontanthias borbonius in my 120-gallon reef aquarium in my office for over 8 months. These fish were introduced into a well-established SPS aquarium with large Acropora spp. colonies, 1300 watts of metal halide lighting, and 4 VorTech pumps, and temperature of 77-78 degrees.
The fish that were in the aquarium when the Borbs were introduced, which I have owned for many years, and are still thriving today, consists of 1- pair of Serranocirrhitus latus, 1-pair of Cirrhilabrus rhomboidalis, 1- Cirrhilabrus cf. 1 (Nahacky's fairy wrasse collected by Tony himself in Fiji), 1- Cirrhilabrus cf. lanceolatus (Pin Tail Wrasse) 1- Paracheilinus rubricaudalis 1- pair of Yellow Fijian Atrosalarias fuscus var., and 1- Fiji Neocirrhitus armatus.
The Borbs were quick to settle in and adjust to the very strong current, and intense lighting, spending most of their time under large plating corals the majority of the day. After a few days they developed a very distinct pecking order within the group, and they were not harassed at all by either of the Serranocirrhitus latus. These fish definitely do not group together as they keep their distance from one another, and all three fish have their own personal space in different parts of my aquarium.
Odontanthias borbonius seem to be very shy fish, and do not prefer to bask under halides, and they can always be found underneath coral heads. I feed my aquarium very small quantities of food 4-5 times per day, to keep the body weight up on all of the Anthias. One interesting note is that these fish will be very active at dusk, and also when the lights initially go off on the aquarium, as they will all be out in the open during this time swimming in the current of the VorTech.
IMO the ideal set up for these fish is a dimly lit aquarium that has numerous vertical walls with horizontal overhangs, which I would think this is more in line with their natural habitat. Fortunately, these fish do seem to adapt to SPS aquariums with more intense light, as long as they are not maintained with territorial tank mates, and there is plenty of overhangs and hiding places for them to get out of the light when they feel the need.
I am very excited to see more of these beautiful fish in the trade, and am glad that numerous enthusiasts here on RC are able to enjoy this fish in their own aquarium. Discovering new things, and observing the behavior of fish that are not prevalent in the aquarium trade is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby to me.
Regards,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith