Your Favorite Anthias!

chomoney · Feb 8, 2016

Thinking through a harem for my new tank, and with so many to pick from, I have to pose the question: what is everyone's favorite type of anthias - and more importantly - why?

Right now I am between bartletts and ventralis for my harem. I may lean toward ventralis as my true favorite, but I am a bit nervous about the high cost and temp requirements of a deep water species.

ca1ore · Feb 8, 2016

My favorite anthias are invariably the ones I cannot find or cannot successfully keep .....

The ventralis is a stunning fish, perhaps the nicest looking of all; but it is hard to find, expensive and really needing of low temperature and low light as you note. My 'practical' favorite is the bimaculatus, though it requires a large tank and plenty of swimming room. I also really like the tuka, though the few times I have tried them I have been unable to get them to survive more than six months, and never even close to that in a mixed reef display. otherwise, resplendent and bartlet would round out my top 5.

chomoney · Feb 9, 2016

ca1ore said:
My favorite anthias are invariably the ones I cannot find or cannot successfully keep .....

The ventralis is a stunning fish, perhaps the nicest looking of all; but it is hard to find, expensive and really needing of low temperature and low light as you note. My 'practical' favorite is the bimaculatus, though it requires a large tank and plenty of swimming room. I also really like the tuka, though the few times I have tried them I have been unable to get them to survive more than six months, and never even close to that in a mixed reef display. otherwise, resplendent and bartlet would round out my top 5.

Couldn't agree more on your points. While I'm incredibly tempted by many types, I'm trying to will myself into making those that I can actually keep my "favorites."

reef_ranch · Feb 9, 2016

Go for the Ventralis harem if that's what you really want. They are by far my favorite Anthias because of their color and small size. I have found that once you get them eating, they are quite hardy even under the bright lights and warm temps of our reef tanks.

eatbreakfast · Feb 9, 2016

My favorites are flavoguttatus, they have nice colors and patterns, and while more difficult than many anthias, are nowhere as difficult as ventralis.

For larger species bimaculatus can't be beat. Males and females are both beautiful, and it is a hardy species.

For a common, easy species I am a big fan of dispars. They accept most foods, school well, and a male displaying to his harem is really stunning.

chomoney · Feb 9, 2016

acesq said:
Go for the Ventralis harem if that's what you really want. They are by far my favorite Anthias because of their color and small size. I have found that once you get them eating, they are quite hardy even under the bright lights and warm temps of our reef tanks.

... Just when I had talked myself out of it!

Any tips on acclimation to temps and lights you can share?

reef_ranch · Feb 9, 2016

I put mine in a smallish QT tank -- 10g or so and get them feeding. This is the critical part since once you get them eating, they are pretty hardy. Cyclopeez is the trick if you can get it. If not, I try different small frozen foods and baby brine. Once eating, as with all new fish TTM and Prazi is a good idea, but I'll admit that with my last batch of four I just observed them for two weeks in QT before moving them to the DT. Not a smart move, but they have been in the DT for two months along with my year old female with no issues.

As to the light acclimation, I have kept them in two different tanks. The first had few caves or overhangs for the paid that I had and they hung out in the water column seemingly with no issue. My current DT has a big arch and they spend at least 75% of their time under the arch. Based on that, I would recommend having some overhangs. As far as temp is concerned, I've never had an issue. I keep my tank at 77 but in the summer months, it can get to 80.

Also, keep in mind that they won't mix it up with big fish at feeding time, preferring to stay out of the feeding frenzy waiting for food to float their way. Unless you have a big tank, keep them with smaller less aggressive fish.