Thoughts on anthias in 90

[Wolf89]

What do you guys think of 2-3 lyretail anthias in 4 foot long 90 gallon tank?

 

[1WildBill]

They are a very active fish. I have 4 in my 75 and the tank is very active and colorful. Just pair them with other semi aggressive fish and you should be fine.

 

[WolfTangAquarist]

We have 2 in our 55 gallon one male and one female. Both are very active compared to what I’ve heard of them disappearing into the rockscape. Very colorful fish and we have not had any aggressive showings from them towards other livestock.

From my understanding to save heartache it’s best to get a known one male and the rest females. This is the advice our LFS gave us to reduce the possibility of aggression.

 

[Daniel Waters]

What do you guys think of 2-3 lyretail anthias in 4 foot long 90 gallon tank?

It would be best to have multiple females to disperse aggression. And "aggression" in regards to anthias is not necessarily the same as aggression you might see with other fish. In fact, you might not even realize, recognize, or characterize the group behavior as "aggression". The male will constantly assert his dominance over the female hierarchy, and I think in a small tank and small numbers that this can be more stressful to the fish over a period of weeks and months.

Some anthias can be very timid, although I think lyretails are only slightly so compared to others. I think it's usually best to introduce anthias into a tank first or with other less aggressive fish. Otherwise, they can be very bad about staying hid and not coming out (once again, lyretails aren't as bad as other anthias in this respect also).

Lyretails aren't huge fish, but they aren't necessarily super small. They are active and will appreciate active flow and open swimming space (mine used to stay in the upper third of the water colum but that may have been due to the power head locations). Multiple feedings a day are ideal, but lyretails are definitely more adaptable to getting by with feeding once or twice a day.