Anthias pair or solo?

[mushy coral]

I have a 30 gallon tank that just finished cycle and i moved my corals from my old tank in it so now i need some fish for movement in the tank. Been thinking of adding anthias in this tank cause they have bright color and always seem to out in the open. Should i get one male only; one female only; or a pair? Will the only female turn into male? And if i got a pair should it be a bigger male and a smaller female; or 2 females with one bigger; or 2 same size females? Which of those would be better in long term? And if anyone know the name of this anthias species cause here at my place they just call it by the look “pink anthias”. Thanks!

 

[i cant think]

I have a 30 gallon tank that just finished cycle and i moved my corals from my old tank in it so now i need some fish for movement in the tank. Been thinking of adding anthias in this tank cause they have bright color and always seem to out in the open. Should i get one male only; one female only; or a pair? Will the only female turn into male? And if i got a pair should it be a bigger male and a smaller female; or 2 females with one bigger; or 2 same size females? Which of those would be better in long term? And if anyone know the name of this anthias species cause here at my place they just call it by the look “pink anthias”. Thanks!

They seem to be “bleeding heart anthias” (Pseudanthias cooperi).
One thing I will say is a 30 is too small for anthias as most of the time they are a species that wants to be kept in a group and in too small of a territory with no reason to hide in groups, they will often kill each other off.
However, if you look at the deeperwater, solitary species like Serranocirrhitus latus (SunBurst Anthias) and Odontanthias blotchii (Blotched Anthias), you may find your tank is suitable for them.

 

[mushy coral]

They seem to be “bleeding heart anthias” (Pseudanthias cooperi).
One thing I will say is a 30 is too small for anthias as most of the time they are a species that wants to be kept in a group and in too small of a territory with no reason to hide in groups, they will often kill each other off.
However, if you look at the deeperwater, solitary species like Serranocirrhitus latus (SunBurst Anthias) and Odontanthias blotchii (Blotched Anthias), you may find your tank is suitable for them.

Thank for the id. The 2 species you recommended are not popular here at my place and to be honest i have never come across any of them on the market here.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would not add an anthias to a 30 gallon tank, they are constant swimmers and need space to swim. Most anthias are recommended to be in 75+ gallon tanks. They also need several feedings per day which will be challenging to the water quality in such a small tank, anthias don't do well in poor water quality. Anthias can also get aggressive. I don't think its a good idea, you should stick to fish that are recommended to be in 30 gallon tanks IMO.

 

[mushy coral]

I would not add an anthias to a 30 gallon tank, they are constant swimmers and need space to swim. Most anthias are recommended to be in 75+ gallon tanks. They also need several feedings per day which will be challenging to the water quality in such a small tank, anthias don't do well in poor water quality. Anthias can also get aggressive. I don't think its a good idea, you should stick to fish that are recommended to be in 30 gallon tanks IMO.

Do you have any viable options for open swimmer thats not clowns, goby or cardinals? And btw will a royal gramma fit in this tank?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you have any viable options for open swimmer thats not clowns, goby or cardinals? And btw will a royal gramma fit in this tank?

Yes, RG will fit in the tank, other basslets can also fit like yellow or blue assessor. Damsel's are swimming fish that can fit in your tank, but add them last as they are aggressive. Blennies are often out in the open as well.

 

[reefpanda]

I have Chromis and Dispar Anthias in my 25 gal

 

[betareef]

I have a 30 gallon tank that just finished cycle and i moved my corals from my old tank in it so now i need some fish for movement in the tank. Been thinking of adding anthias in this tank cause they have bright color and always seem to out in the open. Should i get one male only; one female only; or a pair? Will the only female turn into male? And if i got a pair should it be a bigger male and a smaller female; or 2 females with one bigger; or 2 same size females? Which of those would be better in long term? And if anyone know the name of this anthias species cause here at my place they just call it by the look “pink anthias”. Thanks!

I have a single Cooperi in a small tank with various other damsels. He/she is great. Swims and hovers mid tank when he/she comes out of coral (which is often). Occasionally pulls an aggressive damsel into line (a good thing). At this point, prefers bloodworms and brine shrimp to flake.

Not sure why people are always insisting on huge tanks for various types of fish. This one is less active than damsels, especially chromis (I have some Vanderbilts), and seems to be perfectly content.

 

[mushy coral]

I actually went out to my LFS yesterday and got my self a 3inches male Cooperi, he was shy and hide in the layout caves but his feeding response was great. I fed him frozen blended shrimp and drop pieces of it in front of the powerhead and he went out of the hiding spot to chase after the food. Hope that he will swim out of the cave and stay at the top half of the tank in few more days. Is there any way that I can make him eat pellet food when the light is out cause I want to feed him once before go to work in the morning and my light is not on until near noon.

I have a single Cooperi in a small tank with various other damsels. He/she is great. Swims and hovers mid tank when he/she comes out of coral (which is often). Occasionally pulls an aggressive damsel into line (a good thing). At this point, prefers bloodworms and brine shrimp to flake.

Not sure why people are always insisting on huge tanks for various types of fish. This one is less active than damsels, especially chromis (I have some Vanderbilts), and seems to be perfectly content.

 

[betareef]

I actually went out to my LFS yesterday and got my self a 3inches male Cooperi, he was shy and hide in the layout caves but his feeding response was great. I fed him frozen blended shrimp and drop pieces of it in front of the powerhead and he went out of the hiding spot to chase after the food. Hope that he will swim out of the cave and stay at the top half of the tank in few more days. Is there any way that I can make him eat pellet food when the light is out cause I want to feed him once before go to work in the morning and my light is not on until near noon.

I get the feeling, watching him feed on flake, that he does not like large pieces, so pellets would have to be the very small ones I think.

There are lighting controllers that will simulate sunrise, midday, afternoon, dusk, and night sequences. Next one I buy will be one that does this. Sunrise will start at 6am so they can feed. I am also lucky that external light comes into the room about this same time, so even without the fancy timer, I can feed mine as early the sky gets light outside.

 

[mushy coral]

Th

I get the feeling, watching him feed on flake, that he does not like large pieces, so pellets would have to be the very small ones I think.

There are lighting controllers that will simulate sunrise, midday, afternoon, dusk, and night sequences. Next one I buy will be one that does this. Sunrise will start at 6am so they can feed. I am also lucky that external light comes into the room about this same time, so even without the fancy timer, I can feed mine as early the sky gets light outside

I feed him the AF protein power which is pretty small and i think that it too small so he not seeing it as food lol. Beside flakefood, what else do u feed yours?

 

[betareef]

Th

I feed him the AF protein power which is pretty small and i think that it too small so he not seeing it as food lol. Beside flakefood, what else do u feed yours?

Frozen bloodworm and frozen brine shrimp.

 

[mushy coral]

Frozen bloodworm and frozen brine shrimp.

I do use brineshrimp before but have never use the bloodworm. May e i should give it a try. Will a mix of bloodworm, shrimp and pellets pop out the pink and red color of the anthias? Mine look bright pink, almost red at his head and the bar at the middle of his body but the tail part color is looking pale. And will he grow bigger cause his abdoment fin is not as long as i seen on the internet

 

[Tripod1404]

I do use brineshrimp before but have never use the bloodworm. May e i should give it a try. Will a mix of bloodworm, shrimp and pellets pop out the pink and red color of the anthias? Mine look bright pink, almost red at his head and the bar at the middle of his body but the tail part color is looking pale. And will he grow bigger cause his abdoment fin is not as long as i seen on the internet

Colors are more related to courting behavior than diet. Bright colors and long fins will be present on males that are kept with multiple females. Singly kept anthias will have meh colors.

 

[ga2040]

A solo male anthias can be kept. Just feed him frozen carnivore mix until they adapt to pellets.MIne eats everything except nori , which is expected as they are carnivores.

 

[X-37B]

This is my second tank with 2 anthias. First was a 120 now a 150.
They need alot of swimming space from my observations.
If you plan to upgrade to a larger system 2 small anthias could be kept in a 30 short term say 6 months but they need multiple feedings daily. I feed 4-5 times a day and they can consume large amounts of food.

 

[mushy coral]

So a male with females will have better color. Shame that this male will be the only anthias im going to keep in this tank XD