TTM for Anthias

[dweber618]

I just acquired 3 young Lyretail Anthias from my LFS. Of the trio, there is one female whom is definitely the more dominant one (and slightly larger than the other 2 at about 1.5 inches), so I am expecting her to transition to male.

I am doing TTM in 5 gallon buckets - and am concerned that all 3 fish in one 5 gallon would be too many. So - my though was to do the 2 smaller Anthias first and put them through TTM, place them in observation, then begin the round of TTM for the larger of the three. Then they will all end up back together in observation.

My question is - should I be concerned about the 2 smaller females changing while they are apart from the dominant female? It will be a total of 24+ days apart (12 days for the first two, the 12 days for the 3rd). Or - do you think I could get away with the three of them in the 5 gallon (I have a bunch on prime on hand).

I've attached a picture of them. They were all eating mysis within an hour of getting home from LFS, and are also showing interest in flake food. All three of them are in decent shape.

Also - anyone ever done formalin baths with Anthias? I am planning to do bath prior to starting TTM.

Thanks!

 

[dweber618]

The larger female is the one in the middle

 

[ThRoewer]

I would just make a few eggcrate dividers for the bucket and treat them all together.

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[dweber618]

Thanks! So you're thinking the issue will be aggression between the 3 in cramped quarters - not necessarily too much bioload?

 

[ThRoewer]

I have 2 barnacle blennies in a quart for almost a week now and they are doing fine.
The issue I could see with Anthias is their high metabolism and the need to feed them frequently. Ideally you would feed live pods to prevent the water from going bad quickly.
Also, there is no reason not to do daily transfers or water changes.

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[LobsterOfJustice]

24+ days apart and you may or may not end up with multiple males.


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[dweber618]

24+ days apart and you may or may not end up with multiple males.


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Thanks - to be safe I'm going to divide my buckets with egg crate, keep prime on hand, and water changes daily.

 

[scuzy]

Just do frequent water change.


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[dweber618]

Here's what I came up with. Got some eggcrate from HD, and used zip ties t cover it with BRS netting. Used more zip ties to hold the 3 pieces together. Starting the formalin baths now - so far so good. I noticed ich spots on them today - so I'm glad I'm ready to start now.

 

[ThRoewer]

That's kind of what I had in mind. I would make two identical so that one can be sterilised while the other is in use.

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[dweber618]

That's kind of what I had in mind. I would make two identical so that one can be sterilised while the other is in use.

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Yup! I've got two. Only bummer about using buckets is I can't see the fish :/ I think I might order a couple 10 gallons from petco to use going forward.

 

[ThRoewer]

Yup! I've got two. Only bummer about using buckets is I can't see the fish :/ I think I might order a couple 10 gallons from petco to use going forward.

Yep, 10 gallon tanks are better than buckets and not much more expensive if you get them during one of the dollar per gallon sales.
Only problem with them is that they tend to get permanently populated :headwally:

 

[dweber618]

Update

Update

Well I picked up a couple of 10 gallons and couldn't be happier, way better than buckets. The anthias had been eating and doing great. I did their 2nd TTM transfer last night, and was going to start prazipro this morning. Well I went up this am to feed, and the smallest of the three wasn't her usual self. Then, I noticed she had the stringy trailing white poo. I dosed prazipro, as I assume it's flukes and am glad it's part of my prophylactic treatment of new fish.

Well she's been tucked away most of the day, not interested in eating, and still has the white stringy poo that won't detach. Reading up some it sounds like that is typical during treatment with prazipro.

I've never treated for flukes, so I'm not sure how to proceed. The next TTM transfer is Tuesday the 26th of before 5pm. Knowing she has flukes, I assume she will need a full week of prazipro. Should I have prazipro in the next tank to ensure full treatment? Then treat again after they are done with TTM and in observation?

Thanks for the tips, I've attached some pictures of her.

 

[dweber618]

Well damn....woke up to find her dead this am. Ugh - that happened fast. Now I'm concerned with only 2 left the one female will get berated.