Purple Anthias Eating Like Pig! But only if...

[Angel*Fish]

I feed her just hatched live brine babies. Just wanted to post for the record. I'm soooooooo happy she's eating! :dance:

I'm hoping she'll eat some mysis or something soon, otherwise I'll have to start enriching them. So far no matter what I put in with them, she only eats the live nauplii.

 

[Bugger]

Thanks for the tip all try that with my tuka and threadfin.

 

[Angel*Fish]

You're welcome!
My purple is is tuka, too - I also have a diadem (parvirostris) & a bicolor, neither of which are finicky at dinner time.

 

[samksy]

How's your purple queen anthias doing? I just brought a pair and having trouble getting them to eat. Thanks

 

[Angel*Fish]

She was doing really well & starting to accept a little cyclopeeze & other small food if it was mixed in with the live baby brine.

I was so happy I purchased another tuka which died within 24 hours a very strange death - the fish started swimming in sommersalts like crazy all of a sudden & then just died within an hour. :eek2: About a week or so later my original one that I'd had for some time did the same thing. :eek2: Maybe a neurological system parasite?

Anyway LFS had 2 females for a 2-3 weeks - neither was feeding so he gave them to me for cheap & I'm trying again. It's only been 2 days tho.
They are both eating live nauplii. time will tell... but the fact that they often rest on the sand makes me worry.

 

[samksy]

Thanks for the tips and best of luck to you.

 

[Angel*Fish]

One month anniversary for the second pair of tukas - they are much more robust but still like to rest on the sand occassionally, though less than before.

The bicolor anthias is so dominant - he got along better with the tukas that were added the same time as he.

Wondering if the dominant female tuka will change to male since the bicolor is so bossy. I'm hoping she stays female....

The dominant female now eats larger foods like mysis, but the smaller one will only eat small food like cyclopeeze & artemia nauplii.
They have recently begun joining the feeding frenzy on the taboo side of the tank at mealtime

If you've had sucess with these fish or the purple queens please post comments or suggestions

 

[samksy]

Mine purple queens is still alive and well, they are coming out more and more often, especially when no one is around. They would come out and swim but does the same like yours, rest on the rock sometimes. It's been a little over a months or two since i had them. But at the moment they are only eating cyclopeeze. I stop hatching brine shrimp for them.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Hey there Samsky - glad to hear yours are still doing fine! Is one of yours a male or are they both females like mine?

 

[samksy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6528363#post6528363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mantisagogo
Hey there Samsky - glad to hear yours are still doing fine! Is one of yours a male or are they both females like mine?

I think the bigger one is turning into male. The top fine color is starting to change. Is that a sign of sex change? They usually swim together

 

[Bugger]

When I fish does summersults its because of starvation. my fish only eat's brime shrimp.

 

[samksy]

Update - one of my my purple queen anthias die, the other is doing okay but i think it'll be a gonner soon Truely hard to keep fish.

 

[Angel*Fish]

I'm so sorry to hear that

 

[samksy]

OOps the last one is missing in action....

Marie how's urs doing?

 

[Angel*Fish]

So sad to hear about your fish.

Mine are doing ok still. They are gaining weight & becoming more assertive/confident in the tank. They appear to be getting stronger.

I think I'm going to have to try raising a more nutritious live food for them as a least one of them is stilling depending heavily on the live nauplii .

 

[Angel*Fish]

Here are some photos BTW

 

[samksy]

Good luck Marie,

They look awsome. Do you have other fish in the tank with the Purple Queen? My Purple Queen was harrassed by my coral beauty, perhaps that's one of the reason they didn't make it. Good luck.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Harassment would sure be factor..

I do have quite a few other fish including 5 dwarf angels - fortunately they are not interested in much else than dwarf angel issues. The 3 C.hemicyanea damsels are kept in line by their own issues - mating & hierarchy & the occasional "skirmish" with the angels.

The fish that keeps the tukas in line is a male bicolor anthias who is a bit of a terror. Fortunately they are not his only "project". He has apparently decided that the blackcap basslet must occasionally be kept low in the tank, preferably in a cave. Thank goodness that just happens to be where the blackcap likes to be anyway - :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Angel*Fish]

2 month anniversary - They are becoming very robust - no more sitting around on the sand. Both are gaining weight & filling out. One eats frozen mysis & other similar food & is growing much faster than the other.

 

[Angel*Fish]

Well at 3.5 mo. I'm sorry to say that the weaker of the 2 has died. I believe she had the intestinal flukes that ravaged my tank. Most everybody survived, but the tukas would not take the medicine because of their finickiness. I did try to load up some of the artemia with medicine, but it wasn't enough.