Pseudanthias bimaculatus

ThRoewer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Messages
1,251
Reaction score
1,944
Location
Fremont, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Last Saturday I picked up 5 small Pseudanthias bimaculatus females. I had my eye on this species for a while but shied away because they get kind of big and need multiple feedings. But after my experience with Philippine Pseudanthias cf. ventralis that get along just fine with one feeding a day I decided to give them a shot when my local store had a good number of them last week. All the larger ones looked pretty shredded with all fins damaged to some degree, likely by infighting and aggressive tankmates, and also a bit undernourished. The smaller ones looked better with fins mostly intact and not too much caved in bellies. So I picked the 4 nicest looking and the best looking of the midsized to have a clear boss of the gang.

They turned out to be very hungry fish. A spoon full of live Tigriopus disappeared within minutes and the live adult Artemia got devoured even faster. Luckily they went equally aggressive after frozen Artemia, Mysis, and even pellets. They have no issues with picking food off rocks or the ground, so feeding them isn't an issue at all. There is no way for them to hide that they belong to the Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)

They are not shy or skittish fish but rather quite outgoing. And it seems they learn quickly.

Here a video of them in their 10 gallon QT:




At this point I feed them only in the evening, first TDO small pellets and later frozen Mysis followed by frozen Brine Shrimp. That seems to be sufficient. Though, to keep their bellies full all day, 3 or more TDO pellet feedings spread out over the day would definitely be better.
 

Haydn

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 28, 2017
Messages
451
Reaction score
951
Location
leicestershire
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Good choice, Bimacs have become one of my favorite anthias. I found they get slightly larger than Lyretailed and IMO both sexes are much prettier and they are incredibly hardy. They can be a bit feisty but if they are enough places for fish to get out of the eyeline of the chaser no damage is done. I found they will eat most foods including micro pellets and don't need lots of feeds per day (although little and often is best)

The one downside I have found is when one changes to a male, it will only last 5 to 8 months. Whether they exhaust themselves with the change and subsequent activity, maintaining it's position I don't know. The up side even with my group of 16 there is only one male at a time.
 
OP
OP
ThRoewer

ThRoewer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Messages
1,251
Reaction score
1,944
Location
Fremont, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
...
The one downside I have found is when one changes to a male, it will only last 5 to 8 months. Whether they exhaust themselves with the change and subsequent activity, maintaining it's position I don't know. The up side even with my group of 16 there is only one male at a time.
The clock might be started by the sex change... Though, that kind of short lifespan of males is a bummer. I generally prefer fish that live long, 10, 20, or more years. Anything less than at least 3 years is hardly worth the trouble to put them through quarantine.

BTW, are your guys spawning? It shouldn't be impossible to raise the larvae.
 

Haydn

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 28, 2017
Messages
451
Reaction score
951
Location
leicestershire
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The clock might be started by the sex change... Though, that kind of short lifespan of males is a bummer. I generally prefer fish that live long, 10, 20, or more years. Anything less than at least 3 years is hardly worth the trouble to put them through quarantine.

BTW, are your guys spawning? It shouldn't be impossible to raise the larvae.
Yep mine spawn regularly just before the lights go off. The male will court (divebomb) the largest two or three females to get them in the mood. A female will swim upwards in the water column followed by the male, at the surface they release eggs and sperm. The other fish then swarm in and eat the eggs. The male moves onto one of the other females and it repeats till the lights go off.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 38 52.1%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 39 53.4%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 15 20.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 18 24.7%
  • Other.

    Votes: 6 8.2%
Back
Top