Multiple Male Anthias

[Shallow Planet]

So I ordered 10 Barlett Anthias. 8 of them are male...

What should I do? My tank is a 5 foot 150g tank with only a tang and damsel currently.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

This will be a problem. They will fight till only 1 or 2 are left. I would return them and exchange for females.

 

[Shallow Planet]

Yeah the issue is it was an online vendor. I wouldnt buy all males in person. Im thinking I might have to just try and get rid of them locally...

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Yes you can try exchanging/selling them to local fish stores or other hobbyists.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Add a lot of flow and feed frequently. Bartlett's bicker, but aren't as likely to kill each other off like lyretails are.

@ca1ore

 

[ca1ore]

Not unusual. Many of the online vendors don't even give you the option to buy females versus males. You don't say how large they are. That can go a long way to determining success (generally, smaller is better; though not too small). Also depends a bit on whether they are sub-males or not. I've got 10 in my tank, and probably 7 are males, but its a 450 with lots of flow and I feed them a ton. Also keep in mind that you will almost certainly lose some of them to shipping/acclimation stress. Agree with TJ that Bartlett are more 'chippy' than homicidal.