Which Anthias would be best for me?

bat21

bat21

New member
I have a 66 gallon fowlr and am considering adding a single anthias. But I am not sure which species to go with. Based on size, I think the best options for my tank would be:

Bartlett's, Carberryi, Ignitus, Randall's, Resplendent

I have a very peaceful community of small fish. Does anyone have an idea as to which one would be best for this situation? If not one of the ones I listed, I am open to other suggestions as well.
 
I thought about adding Anthias to my new 100 gallon tank, but think the tank is too small for 3 of them.

Also my tank will be rather a shallow water biotope with intense light. Anthias are more deep water and like lower light intensities.

66 gallon will push it even more.
 
ThRoewer said:
I thought about adding Anthias to my new 100 gallon tank, but think the tank is too small for 3 of them.

Also my tank will be rather a shallow water biotope with intense light. Anthias are more deep water and like lower light intensities.

66 gallon will push it even more.
Click to expand...

I would only be getting one fish, not 3. And I use low intensity lighting.
 
Although some folks avoid them, I really like the Bartlett as it's almost bullet proof. Can be a bit chippy, though mainly with in it's own species. Resplendents are nice, and quite docile, but can be a bit tricky to find a good specimen.
 
bat21 said:
I would only be getting one fish, not 3. And I use low intensity lighting.
Click to expand...

I hope you understand that you won't do the fish a favor by keeping it alone. These are fish that you will never find alone in the wild but rather in large colonies. While it isn't usually possible to replicate that in a tank, the minimum should be a group of 3 (1 male + 2 females) to get their natural behavior and have them feel at home.
 
Ok, the more I read about it, the Sunburst seems to be the winner here. It does fine on it's own, better even from many accounts. It is not nearly as active as other Anthias and therefore a smaller tank and a less frequent feeding regimen seem to be ok.

Still can be a challenging fish, and they take time to get comfortable, usually because of the lighting in a tank. But since I have a fowlr, I have the ability to keep the tank dimly lit and very slowly raise the lighting over the course of a few weeks to get him comfortable. So I think I may go for it.
 
I know you seem set on a sunburst and I have been thinking of adding one myself, but my .02 as food for thought is that I had a great experience with a Bartlett. It ate pellets (and anything else I fed the tank) and was always out in the open. It was not aggressive towards others as it was the only anthias in the tank. I did not feed it any different than my other fish either, 1 feed in the AM and one in the PM. Had it 2 years before re-homing him before my move to Atlanta, but it was fat and active and had great coloration. Good Luck!
 
Reef908 said:
I know you seem set on a sunburst and I have been thinking of adding one myself, but my .02 as food for thought is that I had a great experience with a Bartlett. It ate pellets (and anything else I fed the tank) and was always out in the open. It was not aggressive towards others as it was the only anthias in the tank. I did not feed it any different than my other fish either, 1 feed in the AM and one in the PM. Had it 2 years before re-homing him before my move to Atlanta, but it was fat and active and had great coloration. Good Luck!
Click to expand...

That was the other finalist. I think I will try the sunburst first and hopefully it works out. I think my tank is uniquely set up for its success, in terms of peaceful tankmates, hiding places, and low lighting. But if it doesn't work out, maybe I will try a bartlett next, since from what I read, they are the hardiest of all the anthias. Thank you for the input.
 
I recently added a sunburst to my 90. It took him about 3 weeks to get comfortable. Even then he hid a lot, even during feeding. He was picked on by my kole tang. Eventually I think this wore him down. Two months later he got weak and then hid in the rock work, never to come out again.

I wish you good luck as this is one of the prettiest fish I have ever had in one of my tanks.

-Jeff
 
I think Holanthias borbonius may do fine alone or maybe as a pair. They are also not problematic with taking food or requiring 10 feedings a day. Only issue with them is that they will eat every shrimp they can fit into their large mouth...
 
jdewolftx said:
I recently added a sunburst to my 90. It took him about 3 weeks to get comfortable. Even then he hid a lot, even during feeding. He was picked on by my kole tang. Eventually I think this wore him down. Two months later he got weak and then hid in the rock work, never to come out again.

I wish you good luck as this is one of the prettiest fish I have ever had in one of my tanks.

-Jeff
Click to expand...

I have read that they are quite timid. But my tank is full of small peaceful inhabitants. The biggest baddest fish is a royal gramma who never leaves his cave except to eat. This is one of the reasons I think it is actually perfect for my tank.

Where did you purchase yours? Did you quarantine it?
 
ThRoewer said:
I think Holanthias borbonius may do fine alone or maybe as a pair. They are also not problematic with taking food or requiring 10 feedings a day. Only issue with them is that they will eat every shrimp they can fit into their large mouth...
Click to expand...

No way. I love my shrimp. They add such an interesting element to the ecosystem.
 
I got mine locally her in Dallas. Yes, they are quite timid. However, your tank seems calm enough.

I didn't quarantine it. I have worked with this store for a long time. He always has top notch stuff.

-J
 
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