Purple queen anthias

[Acronuts]

Hello everyone,
I am interested in keeping a small harem of these gorgeous fish.
I know very little about them and want to find out as much as I can.
How many I can keep in a 180g reef tank?
Besides mysid shrimp what else will they need to eat?
Is there an area that these fish come from that are healthier than others?
Will they fight any exsisting anthias in the aquarium?
Are they ok with the brighter metal halides than lets say t-5's?
Thanks in advance!

 

[MikeB]

Purple Queen Anthias (Mirolabrichthys tuka)

That article says 1 male to 7 females in a 125. I would say that for the 180

 

[Eggs]

I may be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere that they are difficult to keep.
Hopefully someone else can chime in.

 

[SDguy]

Very difficult to keep. The most successful story I have read was a public aqaurium which fed live foods multiple times per day. Many, many hardier choices for anthias in captivity...

 

[detguy123]

Very difficult to keep. The most successful story I have read was a public aqaurium which fed live foods multiple times per day. Many, many hardier choices for anthias in captivity...

have to agree here..i have not heard of very many success stories on these guys..alot better choices out there..wish they were easier to keep they are very pretty

 

[inactive]

I used to keep these Anthias last year, they were a pain in the butt. Besides being hard to feed they are extremely shy. Simple vibrations would make them dart and hide for a while. I would constantly make myself sick over these fish worrying because one day either the male or female would not eat for days at a time.

I would also stay away from these fish if you like to work on your tank. The consistent commotion may spook them into hiding to death. Same things can also be said about the Ventralis Anthia x2