What can I do to keep Anthias alive?

[Miami Reef]

I want anthias fish. I really appreciate their hot pink coloration.

I’ve had them about 1 year ago with once feedings a day with frozen…none survived.

I currently have 4 anthias and I feed about 4-5 times a day with frozen LRS.

I’m thinking of having an auto feeder for the tank but I don’t like pellet foods because they either float straight to the sandbed or they float to the overflow. There’s no middle ground. The fish don’t eat it.

I noticed my fish like when the food is in the middle of the current.

Can flakes help my dilemma? Or if I stick with frozen, what’s the best number of feedings?

 

[LIreefguy]

What type of anthias do you have
Most can get by on 2 feeding a day

 

[Miami Reef]

What type of anthias do you have
Most can get by on 2 feeding a day

They are Lyretail.

 

[Miami Reef]

But I also want to purchase Cranberry and Dispar’s

 

[JCM]

I've kept a number of anthias species. Lyretail are one of the easiest. Dispar are pretty easy too. They'll need to eat 3-4 times a day.

I kept my group of dispar/ignitus for about 5 years. I used an eheim auto feeder with 1 mm NLS pellets. The key is to have the feeder drop the food into a feeding ring placed above a powerhead. This keeps them from going down the overflow. Once they've saturated enough to sink, they drop into the powerhead and get blown across the tank. As you mentioned, anthias want to catch food in the current, not pick it off the substrate.

 

[LIreefguy]

I feed mine 2 times a day with mysis

never had a issue

I have 3 different kinds too.
Have 17 total 3 died. Sometimes the weakest will die off over time had mine for 5 years

 

[punchy7080]

My dispars were picky at first but finally started eating when I offered can ‘o cyclops. They now also eat frozen mysis. I feed them twice a day.

 

[JCM]

I feed mine 2 times a day with mysis

never had a issue

I have 3 different kinds too.
Have 17 total 3 died. Sometimes the weakest will die off over time had mine for 5 years

What species are you keeping?

 

[mexi757]

I have two sunburst and only feed once a day. Have had them for about a year now no problems.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

I have 3 Sunburst Anthias. I broadcast feed the tank twice a day 4 cubes. (or that equivalent) Mysis, Enriched Briny, and my own homemade mix of clams, oysters, and shrimp. My one CBB also demands more than one feeding a day. Recent photo of one.

 

[TuxUrchin07]

I feed them twice a day and they are very fat and healthy. I feed with the flow off tho

 

[stanlalee]

Lyrtail's are pretty easy to keep. I fed whatever (frozen, pellets...I don't do flakes ever unless I decide to get into goldfish) a few times a day. Main thing is large enough tank, the right amount of them and the right sex to have. I had 1 male and 3 females in a 6ft tank.They ate like pigs and outlasted the tank. I would suggest a group of at least three with one male to keep the females from jocking for hierarchy. If you don't have swimming room or enough for a small group it's not the fish for you (even though lyrtail's are easy enough to keep singular in a smaller setting).