There has been a lot of discussion about anthias on here at the moment- I like anthias and I thought I would document the ones I am keeping in my tank. It is quite difficult to be really accurate because the groups have been added to over time and identifying individuals is impossible. Accurate counting is impossible so it is mostly best guess time.
P. Squamapinnis (lyretailed) I bought my first group of 5 females around August 2017, one changed to a male. I lost one female (jumped out) within a week or so. The male died in April 2020 and was replaced by a female changing. I bought 6 small females to stop my male being too aggressive with the sole remaining female. They are all currently still there as far as I can see. They spawn regularly.
P. pulcherrimus (resplendent) I bought a group of 10 in December 2017 as far as I can see most are still alive. I have one male. These may not be the most colourful anthias but they are bulletproof! I have never seen any spawning activity.
P. evansii (Evansi) I have had mixed success with this species. I picked up 3 from a direct import in March 2018. They did well, later the same month I saw 4 more (via a large importer), which I bought, 2 disappeared within a day or two, the other two joined my existing three. I have tried a couple of times more, the last in September 2019 again via the big importer without success. Currently I have 4 in the tank whether they are original 2018 fish, September 2019 ones or a combination I have no idea.
P. ignitus (Flame) I added 4 groups, starting with a group of 12 in December 2017, then June 2018 I added a further 10, followed by 9 in May 2019 and finally 10 in January 2020. That makes by my maths 41. As a guess I think I have 30-35 left. I have a number of males and although I get a bit of handbags and mouth wrestling I haven't seen any damage on any of the fish. These spawn regularly at the same time as the lyretails.
P. Bimaculatus (Scribbled) I put a small group of 6 in the tank around March 2019 and added a further 8 in Feb 2020. I added another 7 small females in January 2021. I think most are still alive, not only that but they have grown huge! I have 2 males. These are quite feisty but not overly aggressive.
P. parvirostris (sunset) When I bought my first group of Ignitus there was one of these in the tank with them. as I was leaving the shop with my ignitus I looked over and this little fish looked so lonely, I had to go back and take it as well. He is still in the tank, In February 2021 I got 5 females for him.
That's my anthias journey. I feed 3 times per day on Callanus, micro pellets, frozen brine, lobster/fish eggs, mysis. In the winter they get adult live brine shrimp weekly and in the summer midge larva out of my pond. The tank is 2000l and is decorated with 150k of LR to provide lots of sleeping space, the turnover in the tank is 80,000l/h (SPS rate). There is lots of CUC to keep the rock and substrate clean.
I hope this missive helps you decide if anthias are for you
P. Squamapinnis (lyretailed) I bought my first group of 5 females around August 2017, one changed to a male. I lost one female (jumped out) within a week or so. The male died in April 2020 and was replaced by a female changing. I bought 6 small females to stop my male being too aggressive with the sole remaining female. They are all currently still there as far as I can see. They spawn regularly.
P. pulcherrimus (resplendent) I bought a group of 10 in December 2017 as far as I can see most are still alive. I have one male. These may not be the most colourful anthias but they are bulletproof! I have never seen any spawning activity.
P. evansii (Evansi) I have had mixed success with this species. I picked up 3 from a direct import in March 2018. They did well, later the same month I saw 4 more (via a large importer), which I bought, 2 disappeared within a day or two, the other two joined my existing three. I have tried a couple of times more, the last in September 2019 again via the big importer without success. Currently I have 4 in the tank whether they are original 2018 fish, September 2019 ones or a combination I have no idea.
P. ignitus (Flame) I added 4 groups, starting with a group of 12 in December 2017, then June 2018 I added a further 10, followed by 9 in May 2019 and finally 10 in January 2020. That makes by my maths 41. As a guess I think I have 30-35 left. I have a number of males and although I get a bit of handbags and mouth wrestling I haven't seen any damage on any of the fish. These spawn regularly at the same time as the lyretails.
P. Bimaculatus (Scribbled) I put a small group of 6 in the tank around March 2019 and added a further 8 in Feb 2020. I added another 7 small females in January 2021. I think most are still alive, not only that but they have grown huge! I have 2 males. These are quite feisty but not overly aggressive.
P. parvirostris (sunset) When I bought my first group of Ignitus there was one of these in the tank with them. as I was leaving the shop with my ignitus I looked over and this little fish looked so lonely, I had to go back and take it as well. He is still in the tank, In February 2021 I got 5 females for him.
That's my anthias journey. I feed 3 times per day on Callanus, micro pellets, frozen brine, lobster/fish eggs, mysis. In the winter they get adult live brine shrimp weekly and in the summer midge larva out of my pond. The tank is 2000l and is decorated with 150k of LR to provide lots of sleeping space, the turnover in the tank is 80,000l/h (SPS rate). There is lots of CUC to keep the rock and substrate clean.
I hope this missive helps you decide if anthias are for you
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