i think this is kinda cool. if you can catch them, i'd be really interested in your results. i've got a few more questions ako.
how shallow would you recommend for these guys. i've seen them in the lfs, kinda pricey here in kw. and i thought about using them or similar species in a super shallow. 9" with 1" sand. not sure of the dimensions yet, but probably about 20" square.
how long have they been sexually active? are they in your 18?
all the best.
gogo
yeah thanks. I am just trying to contribute to body of knowledge on these little fishes. They began carrying eggs when the size got to about just under 1" length. So almost immediately once they got established in the tank. I posted my observations in this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1739827
8 inch depth is probably fine. They are a mid to upper strata fish and seems to enjoy the more open parts of the water.
Just three important observations I've made - flow, companion fishes, and water quality.
They seem to be weak swimmers and do not seem to like strong flow (though others have kept them in strong flow SPS tanks). They are in my fairly mature 60 gallon cube which until recently only had 2-3 ancient koralias and a DC3000 (800G/hr at max) as the main providers of flow. I added a Jebao RW4 and quite frankly they stay in low flow corners if I run the wavemaker at normal modes. Only when I have it off, or have it on the lowest speed at the W1 mode (which gives these tiniest of bursts of water movement) do they swim a bit more freely.
companion fish. I have only 2 sunburst anthias as their long time companions and recent addition of the long nose butterflyfish. I believe the sunburst anthias being slightly larger keeps them swimming in packs or "school". If that's the behaviour you want to see, I'd suggest having another fish in there which is slightly larger but non-threatening. Or a bigger fish with tiniest of mouth, like the long nose butterfly.
A local friend put a school into her tank. the higher levels of nitrates in her tank resulted in their early demise though other fishes seem tolerant of the water condition.
finally on pricing - a local LFS in western suburb of Toronto carries them from time to time at similar pricing to live aquaria. they usually begin bringing them in starting in the fall. send me a message and I'll tell you which store.
