rocket098
Active Member
I wanted to share the knowledge I learned from getting square anthias to eat and feel comfortable in the aquarium. The square anthias is a shy deep water fish. When you first get them it is best to keep a corner of the tank dark so they can retreat there. I have Kessil lights so turning one of is an option to provide that deep water lighting they may be use too. Once you see them swimming more and more out under the lights you will know they are getting acclimated to your setup. I would recommend to keep the side of aquarium dark for a while longer unless you have big caves they can hide in. The hardest part is getting them to eat. I highly recommend getting a fat looking fish from the start as it may take up to 3 weeks before they will feel comfortable competing for the food with other fish. Mysis and brine got my male eating. The female finally was enticed by blood worms. Don’t try pellets and flakes initially as it only turns them off from food. You will see them spit them out and not be as eager to try to get food in future Feedings. When you feed move away from the tank because they will feel more comfortable going after the food until they get to know your face. Also feeding as the lights are ramping down will help them feel safer. It took my male 2 weeks to start to eat and 3 for my female. Maybe they where getting food from other sources but I didn’t see them eat for that long so don’t panic if it’s taking some time. When you see them start to show interest in the food don’t be scared to overfeed those couple days. I believe when food hits their belly they start to feel the desire for more food. Lastly you may need to distract other more competitive fish while you feed the anthias. I would put in a nori clip for the tang gang and then try feeding blood worms or mysis. Good luck to all with this beautiful fish.
