Lyretail Anthias

Gtinnel

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I think I'm going to add a small group of anthias to my tank and I'm leaning toward lyretails since they're relatively hardy as far as anthias go.
My tank is a 125g with a low bioload and I already have low nutrient issues so adding the extra food to the tank several times a day won't be an issue.
A pet store near me is supposed to get 3 females and one male lyretail on Tuesday and I am considering getting 3 of them. Would 3 lyretails work in a 125g tank or will they likely fight until I only have 1. Also, if I do get them would it be best to get 2 females and 1 male, or get 3 females and let one become dominate and change?
 

Red_Beard

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I think you’d be ok with 3. Especially if you have nooks and crannies in your rocks they can get out of sight for a bit. Were it me, I’d get 3 females. It is better than prime time drama tv watching them squabble and one eventually turning male. Mine started changing in about 2 weeks. It is really quite fascinating.
 
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Gtinnel

Gtinnel

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I think you’d be ok with 3. Especially if you have nooks and crannies in your rocks they can get out of sight for a bit. Were it me, I’d get 3 females. It is better than prime time drama tv watching them squabble and one eventually turning male. Mine started changing in about 2 weeks. It is really quite fascinating.
They should have plenty of options for hiding in my rockwork. Do yours stay out in the open mostly or do they hide? I've read people that say they stay out and others say theirs hide, I know every fish is different but just wanted to get your experience with yours.
Most of the fish I have in my tank stay in the rockwork and only come out for food. The only fish I see swimming around is my clownfish and my melanurus wrasse.
 
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Gtinnel

Gtinnel

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3 would be fine. I always recommend getting small females, as they will eventually all end up male at some point.
I had heard that it's better to get females and let the most dominant change, because if the male that you get isn't the most dominant he will be killed so a female can change and take his place. I didn't know how true that was though its just what I've read.
 

Red_Beard

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They should have plenty of options for hiding in my rockwork. Do yours stay out in the open mostly or do they hide? I've read people that say they stay out and others say theirs hide, I know every fish is different but just wanted to get your experience with yours.
Most of the fish I have in my tank stay in the rockwork and only come out for food. The only fish I see swimming around is my clownfish and my melanurus wrasse.
Mine are out all day. They are the first ones up in the morning and some of the last to bed. I have noticed that the lyretails keep a little closer to the rock and the dispars hang more in the open towards the top FWIW.
 
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Mine are out all day. They are the first ones up in the morning and some of the last to bed. I have noticed that the lyretails keep a little closer to the rock and the dispars hang more in the open towards the top FWIW.
Swimming near the rocks is fine I am just hoping to avoid anymore fish that hide all day.
 

Saltyanimals

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I have 3 females now and one is clearly more dominate which will eventually turn to a male. However it's been several months and no physical indicator of change. I read it starts with spots or color change starting on the fins and the rest can happen quickly. I'm not seeing any physical change indicators. I've had a different pair on a previous tank with two females. Same situation.. Clear dominance, but no change for 8+ months. Both sets grow fine > 2 inches so good size anthias.

Given these two experiences, I'm debating on adding a male to my trio. Concern here is how this will break down the current hierarchy. Post above suggested the new male could be killed by the lead female if it wasn't clearly dominate. However I'm wondering if it was to quickly establish dominance, that it would stop the females from any further change if any was already in progress.
 

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I think I'm going to add a small group of anthias to my tank and I'm leaning toward lyretails since they're relatively hardy as far as anthias go.
My tank is a 125g with a low bioload and I already have low nutrient issues so adding the extra food to the tank several times a day won't be an issue.
A pet store near me is supposed to get 3 females and one male lyretail on Tuesday and I am considering getting 3 of them. Would 3 lyretails work in a 125g tank or will they likely fight until I only have 1. Also, if I do get them would it be best to get 2 females and 1 male, or get 3 females and let one become dominate and change?
I would highly recommend a tight fitting on top regardless of how many you get as they will fight and jump out if they can!
 

ReefGeezer

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I have 3 IO Lyretails in my 90, 2 females and a male. The females are bigger and dominate the male. 3 should be fine in your 125. 3 females are probably the way I'd start if I had to do it over again.
 

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I would get all females and watch the change. I have 7 Lyertails in a 112 gallon tank and one is changing to a male. It is fascinating to watch over the weeks. They are all out during the day. At night they wedge themselves in crevices of rocks. They get fed 3 times a day by auto feeder and once or tice a day by me. I sometimes think that is still not enough. The bio load in my tank is huge. Constant water change and export.

Live stream of tank at: http://live.innovusaquaculture.com
 
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Gtinnel

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However I'm wondering if it was to quickly establish dominance, that it would stop the females from any further change if any was already in progress.
My understanding was that once they start the process of changing that it won't stop, but I don't know for a fact.
 
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Gtinnel

Gtinnel

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I would get all females and watch the change. I have 7 Lyertails in a 112 gallon tank and one is changing to a male. It is fascinating to watch over the weeks. They are all out during the day. At night they wedge themselves in crevices of rocks. They get fed 3 times a day by auto feeder and once or tice a day by me. I sometimes think that is still not enough. The bio load in my tank is huge. Constant water change and export.

Live stream of tank at: http://live.innovusaquaculture.com
Beautiful fish, now I really want to setup a Webcam looking at my tank.
The store didn't get the fish in so I still don't have any anthias. I still plan on getting some in the future though. I just worry that having 1 male and 2 females won't be enough females to distribute the males aggression.
 

Saltyanimals

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I would get all females and watch the change. I have 7 Lyertails in a 112 gallon tank and one is changing to a male. It is fascinating to watch over the weeks. They are all out during the day. At night they wedge themselves in crevices of rocks. They get fed 3 times a day by auto feeder and once or tice a day by me. I sometimes think that is still not enough. The bio load in my tank is huge. Constant water change and export.

Live stream of tank at: http://live.innovusaquaculture.com


That's where I started with 4 females with plans to allow one to change. Now left with my 3 females and still no change with a beautiful male available at my LFS. That male is what started me down this research route to see if I want to gamble with introducing him to the tank. It is 180g so plenty of room and he is fairly larger than the dominate female which is why I think he may hold his own and not let the female fight his introduction.

Plan B is to add trio of resplendents. These frequent feeders along with 4 larger tangs will definitely test my bioload solutions.
 

robert serafino

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I have 9 in a 180 lyertails 2 males 1 sub male 6 females. The males split the females and the sub male stays in the rocks the other males let he eat at dinner time.
 

robert serafino

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Screenshot_20210804-104011_Gallery.jpg
 

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