sunburst anthias question.....

snookin321 · Apr 24, 2010

i got a sunburst anthias about 3 weeks ago who has been eating like a pig until a couple days ago.....all he does now is just hide behind my rockwork and would sometimes perch on some rock or on the sand..doesent look like he is breathing heavily from what i can tell......looks like he is eating but not for sure because he is never out and about anymore always hiding....and i usually feed twice a day.....doesen't look like he is being harrassed by my two clowns actually before he would be the bully when it came to feeding time.....so any comments or help is much appreciated....thanks in advance!

CoralBandit · Apr 24, 2010

sorry to hear hopefully it comes around, I really dont know what you could do besides try adding vitamins or garlic to the food to see if it entices it further. Mine eats but it clearly eats and the ones that I have seen in the past that behave that way dont usually make it :( I hope im wrong and Im sorry I dont have better advice good luck buddy thats one of my fav fish

snookin321 · Apr 24, 2010

thanks any info is helpful......yea he quickly became one of my fave fish, but just seeing him like that sucks! hopefully he does come around but as you said not looking good!

wrasseluver · Apr 25, 2010

I would see if you could get some live food. Brine shrimp or mysis shrimp

Aquascaper · Apr 25, 2010

All Great advice!!!

Sometimes these guys are hard to collect and can suffer damage during collection that doesn't show up for a few weeks....

nice observation skills there!!!

Ok- hes eating- so let's give him the best- live foods, vitamins, garlic, is definately a +

No labored breathing- Great- that would point us away from internal parisites- but we should still do some small water changes Even if all pars "test" OK because we don't yet have a grasp on which variable has effected the behavioral change...

Check for steady temp- lessen the tanks photo period for a few days-
even a 24-48 hr lights out probably wouldnt hurt

Observe the other fish in the tank closely- we want to keep ahead of any possible contageous variables...

Keep us updated...

and Thanks for Chiming in Early...

Early behavoral change detection is Key to animal health!!!

Kudos my friend,
'Scaper

Oiseau Reefer · May 8, 2010

Agreed on the collection of this fish they are a difficult species to catch/net and like most other anthias they are brought up to the surface to fast which causes health problems that don't show up for 2weeks to a month after being collected. Anthias do really well in tanks that have very large turnover rates and very oxygenated water. at nights an airstone that I rigged up in the filter sock part of my sump runs to boost the oxygen level at night coals fish inverts all have shown great improvements ! Good luck with you little guy if he does surcome to the swirlly bowl don't get discouraged anthias are sensitive animals and until their collection is improved you may puchase several before you get some healthy ones

snookin321 · May 8, 2010

hey guys thanks for all the great advice here.....but several days after i posted that the little guy gave up.......i tried the garlic thing , got some live brine from my LFS and did even a water change.....didnt think about adding a airstone will keep that in mind next time......as for the other fish they are all doing fine.........not really sure what happend.......kinda bummed too he was my favorite fish in there......maybe if i come by another one i will try again.....we will see.....thanks again all for the help!

Bigevill1 · May 14, 2010

I know I am alittle late here, but I found out the hard way last year that sunburst anthias need very high oxygen levels to thrive. I had a gfi blow while I was on vacation and I lost all 6 of my sunburst anthias as well as a few other high oxygen demand fish.

stunreefer · May 14, 2010

Next time, QT to ensure it's eating vigrously and accepting a variety of prepared foods. Treat with prazi as anthias commonly have internal parasites and/or flukes. I use Prazipro as it's safe, easy and not too harsh on the fish (do NOT treat until it's restored fat reserves).

I don't buy the "need high oxygen" part. Generally, these fish are collected rather deep, where there is less oxygen in the water. The only fish I can think of that we keep in aquaria that actually would require "higher than average oxygen content" would be an Achilles tang, and even then I believe it has more to do with replicating their natural environment helping them rather than oxygen content. All the fish and coral we keep require oxygen in the water.

Anthias are easily stressed compared to other fish, and as oxygen depletes in the water column (as in Bigevil1 case above) it wouldn't surprise me they would be one of the first to go as they succumbed to major stress.