Squarespot and Lyretail anthias

[RJT]

Anyone have experience with Squarespots and lyretails? Will smaller lyretails be okay with a tank with larger squarespots already established?

 

[ca1ore]

Lyretails are pretty robust and aggressive. Get them acclimated and well fed in QT and you should be OK.

 

[RJT]

Thank you ca1ore. So it should be okay that the lyretails will be a little smaller than the squarespots

 

[ca1ore]

Look, you never know for sure because fish are individuals too; but I have added Lyretails to a tank with resident squares before. You get some initial posturing, but not too bad. Key is to give the new fish a chance to build up some reserves, thus the suggestion to QT.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I have found the larger anthias keeps the smaller ones bunched together better and seems to reduce the aggression within the group of smaller anthias.

 

[RJT]

Thank you guys for the input.

I hope maybe itll make the larger fish school together some. Right now the squarespots barely acknowledge each other.

 

[ca1ore]

Don't care what anybody claims, anthias don't school in our tanks. They're too small and lack the requisite predators. Best you can hope for is a loose aggregation/shoal.

 

[RJT]

I don't even have a loose aggregation. They choose a side of the tank and switch sides sometimes but they never interact. Never seen anthias act like that. No aggression though. If I want to get a pic of them together I will have to feed the tank.

I have usually seen anthias stay in a somewhat of a group I wouldn't call it a school of fish but they were together loosely.

 

[ca1ore]

I have five bimac anthias in my 7 ft 265 and they are always spread out across the tank; likewise the three bartletts. I think the smaller species may hang together a bit more than the bigger ones.