Can't tell if dispar anthias are eating???

[reefpatrique]

I got a crew of 4 dispar anthias last Friday from LFS and added them to an existing tank containing a tomini tang, 2 ocellaris, and 3 blue-green chromis. I was worried about them when I brought them home because they hid and weren't showing off their notorious water column sociability. Day by day, they have been increasingly making appearances together out from under their trusty LR. It looks like they're all getting along swimmingly. While I'm encouraged that the anthias are becoming a lot more sociable, I am worried about whether they are eating. I picked up some LFS house-made frozen meaty food which they were feeding on there and have been dutifully feeding 3x+ per day. I've also been throwing in some pellets and/or flakes in every fourth feeding or so. However, whenever I do a feeding, the anthias do not come into the water column. They must be eating . . . right? Is there anything I could be doing to get them out into the open to feed? (For one hot minute I contemplated removing all the LR so that I could see the anthias actually eating, but my experience with haste in this hobby stayed my hand. Also, my water column is definitely suffering at the moment, but I'm willing to stick it out and overfeed to make sure that the anthias have a buffet they will eat from.)

Cheers

 

[Big G]

Welcome to R2R!

Dispars can be a bit flighty and hide out until they feel safer. Often they like the smaller pieces of food. Have you tried turning down the lights a bit for awhile?

 

[reefpatrique]

Thanks! I don't have the lights on yet (trying get the nitrates/phosphates under control), though the tank is against a window that receives a 3-4 hours of sunlight a day. Do you think that putting the black backdrop up would improve their timidity to eat in the open? Also, is it possible/likely they're eating even if not out in the open at this point?

 

[Qasimja]

your best bet is to feed the tank and walk away so they cant see you

 

[reefpatrique]

As a week-in, weekend update on this, the anthias seem to be adjusting well, though they are still adjusting, to be sure. There are one or two that are out in the open more than the others, but increasingly I see them out in the open as a group of four. Very, very satisfying to see this progress.

I read a bunch of conflicting information on the Inter-Webs about the best ways to adjust anthias to a new tank -- e.g., turn lights on, keep lights off; move the hiding places around, leave everything in place; turn flow up, turn flow down. The best takeaway I have from this is that unless you have a high probability of certainty that you're doing something wrong or that something needs immediate attention, the best thing to do is to pick a single course of action, stick with it, and have patience.

Now, onto my next anthias challenge, #reefsquad: any advice on how to wean anthias (mostly) off of frozen food to pellets and/or flakes, and how long should I expect this to take?

 

[GoVols]

I'd just keep them on frozen food, it's better for them and contains less phosphates

 

[javisaman]

I'm keeping dispars in my QT right now. Had them in there for over a month. I found that they like high light and flow. From what I read, they are a shallow water species and accustomed to those conditions. I was lucky enough that mine started feeding on day 2, frozen enriched brine. I soak in selcon, which seems to improve the smell of the food and make it more appetizing. I also started by using a syringe and squirting food directly at a powerhead that was pointed towards them. They seem to go crazy for frozen calanus as well.