Resplendent Anthias Faded Colors

[Pseudodiego]

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to add anthias to my 250-gallon reef tank and would appreciate some advice from those with experience.

I’ve been recommended Resplendent Anthias because they’re considered relatively peaceful compared to other anthias species and are known to be fairly durable. However, I have a concern based on what I’ve observed at my local fish store.

They have a few Resplendent Anthias that have been kept for a couple years, but their coloration looks quite dull—much less vibrant pink than what I’ve seen in photos or videos. After doing some reading, I came across information suggesting that deep-water anthias may lose color under strong lighting.

So my questions are:

-Is it true that Resplendent (or other deep-water) Anthias tend to lose coloration under intense lighting?
-Is this avoidable with the correct feeding regime?

Any firsthand experience or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to add anthias to my 250-gallon reef tank and would appreciate some advice from those with experience.

I’ve been recommended Resplendent Anthias because they’re considered relatively peaceful compared to other anthias species and are known to be fairly durable. However, I have a concern based on what I’ve observed at my local fish store.

They have a few Resplendent Anthias that have been kept for a couple years, but their coloration looks quite dull—much less vibrant pink than what I’ve seen in photos or videos. After doing some reading, I came across information suggesting that deep-water anthias may lose color under strong lighting.

So my questions are:

-Is it true that Resplendent (or other deep-water) Anthias tend to lose coloration under intense lighting?
-Is this avoidable with the correct feeding regime?

Any firsthand experience or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

In my opinion, fading colors in anthias are not closely related to diet or lighting intensity. It is more an "artifact of captivity" where the fish just loses color over time in captivity, probably due to other environmental issues - water quality and water flow primarily.
I've kept deepwater Sacura anthias under bright lights and they looked great for many years.

There can also be a hormone component, where fish lose or change color due to different hormone levels than they would have in the wild. That in turn might result from different male/female groupings than they would normally see in the wild. One exception to that are green (male) bird wrasses - those tend to become even darker in captivity due to hormone imbalances. Freshwater discus colors are strongly correlated to hormones for example.

One thing about lighting though - it may be that the LFS just has poor lighting over the tank, and the fish look dull as a result. Try looking down on the fish from the top and see if they look any brighter.

 

[Pseudodiego]

In my opinion, fading colors in anthias are not closely related to diet or lighting intensity. It is more an "artifact of captivity" where the fish just loses color over time in captivity, probably due to other environmental issues - water quality and water flow primarily.
I've kept deepwater Sacura anthias under bright lights and they looked great for many years.

There can also be a hormone component, where fish lose or change color due to different hormone levels than they would have in the wild. That in turn might result from different male/female groupings than they would normally see in the wild. One exception to that are green (male) bird wrasses - those tend to become even darker in captivity due to hormone imbalances. Freshwater discus colors are strongly correlated to hormones for example.

One thing about lighting though - it may be that the LFS just has poor lighting over the tank, and the fish look dull as a result. Try looking down on the fish from the top and see if they look any brighter.

Thanks for the reply.

Is not the light over the tank. The other fish look great in that display tank (300 gallons). They had a few new resplendent Anthias for sale and those had an strong pink color under worse lightning.

So what would you say I should do if I want to maintain their colors?

Thanks.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the reply.

Is not the light over the tank. The other fish look great in that display tank (300 gallons). They had a few new resplendent Anthias for sale and those had an strong pink color under worse lightning.

So what would you say I should do if I want to maintain their colors?

Thanks.

Focus on good water flow and really good water quality.

One more thought:
Red yellow and pink colors ARE the only ones that can sometimes be enhanced by feeding. Carotenoids could be lacking in their current diet. Omega One and New Life Spectrum both make pellets with extra carotene.