3 vs 5 Anthias?
- Thread starter harrylikesfish
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I dunno about that but 5 is a better number to start when enclosing those lil murderers in a glass box; because sometimes if 3 becomes 2 then 2 becomes 1
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User1
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It depends on the Anthias but generally has many as you can safely house in your aquarium. By safe I mean gallon / space, retreat space, sleep space, coral maturity, tank maturity, etc. For example let us say you pick the lyretail or sea goldie anthias and grab 7 of them. All females. The dominate female will switch to male over time and by doing so will be aggressive keeping the other ladies in line.
Two keys in keeping Anthias is that you need enough to distribute the aggression so they can all eat and breath. If you have only 2 or 3 that isn't enough to spread the aggression and they will slowly starve, stress out, and die. However, if you have 7 or 12 then the aggression is spread wider leaving everyone time to eat, sleep, and retreat as needed. Happier harem.
They are not like Chromis. With Anthias there is a reason why it happens. Transition and harem order. There is no way around it. You need to buy enough to spread the aggression of keeping the others in line.
The last thing is you need to feed several times a day. Not because they are hungry per say but again tied to the pecking order of the harem. Some may miss food due to hiding or taking a time out. If you spread spot feeding throughout the day, using a auto feeder above return line, food will get around raising the chances of everyone eating. Then you have your primary feeding and they may get that also.
tl; dr - as many as your tank can support, multiple daily feedings, mature tank.
Two keys in keeping Anthias is that you need enough to distribute the aggression so they can all eat and breath. If you have only 2 or 3 that isn't enough to spread the aggression and they will slowly starve, stress out, and die. However, if you have 7 or 12 then the aggression is spread wider leaving everyone time to eat, sleep, and retreat as needed. Happier harem.
They are not like Chromis. With Anthias there is a reason why it happens. Transition and harem order. There is no way around it. You need to buy enough to spread the aggression of keeping the others in line.
The last thing is you need to feed several times a day. Not because they are hungry per say but again tied to the pecking order of the harem. Some may miss food due to hiding or taking a time out. If you spread spot feeding throughout the day, using a auto feeder above return line, food will get around raising the chances of everyone eating. Then you have your primary feeding and they may get that also.
tl; dr - as many as your tank can support, multiple daily feedings, mature tank.
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