Reef Discussion
If you are worried about actually keeping them alive, dispars are a good starting point in that they are one of the easier on the cheaper end of anthias.
Only issue I have with them (and most anthias in general) is that most shops will carry a heap of males because they are better looking, so you need to sex them and make sure you are either picking up all females or a single male and a the rest females.
They tend to do best in a group of 1m to 3f. I have found when you go 10 + to get the nice school you will get sub dominate males come up through the ranks, challenge and you will end up with a looser and you will eventually end up with 1m and 1f.
If you start with the 1-3 ratio it seems to be a level that the male can exert sufficient dominance on the group to stop that change from occurring/snow balling, but you seem to be able to add multiple anthia species in that same ratio and have even fewer issues ( i really like coopers, bicolours and bartlett's in the mix)
Athias really benefit from QT more than most of fish ive kept as well. With only one fish in there, hopefully this may not be as big of an issue.
Also note if buying them online, dispars seem to ship really poorly.
Only issue I have with them (and most anthias in general) is that most shops will carry a heap of males because they are better looking, so you need to sex them and make sure you are either picking up all females or a single male and a the rest females.
They tend to do best in a group of 1m to 3f. I have found when you go 10 + to get the nice school you will get sub dominate males come up through the ranks, challenge and you will end up with a looser and you will eventually end up with 1m and 1f.
If you start with the 1-3 ratio it seems to be a level that the male can exert sufficient dominance on the group to stop that change from occurring/snow balling, but you seem to be able to add multiple anthia species in that same ratio and have even fewer issues ( i really like coopers, bicolours and bartlett's in the mix)
Athias really benefit from QT more than most of fish ive kept as well. With only one fish in there, hopefully this may not be as big of an issue.
Also note if buying them online, dispars seem to ship really poorly.
Dispar Anthias are great fish, one of the few Anthias that I would wholeheartedly recommend. If you can get them on pellets, the battle's won. You can set up a feeder to drop some in there throughout the day to keep them fed. Anthias and planktivores in general can't deal with a few large meals, they need small meals throughout the day.
As for shipping, they're hit or miss up here in the northern hemisphere. They do tend to ship better when the weather's cooler so bear that in mind. I had a school when we had the 8' 240 gallon tank back in the 80s and they did pretty well as I recall.
As for shipping, they're hit or miss up here in the northern hemisphere. They do tend to ship better when the weather's cooler so bear that in mind. I had a school when we had the 8' 240 gallon tank back in the 80s and they did pretty well as I recall.
Not sure about NiCd, but I always quarantine one species (irrespective of harem size together). If you can, buy all juveniles and let them sort out dominance. Fewer losses this way.
Up to you, but I would go dispars. When lyretails grow up they can be very bold. Not an issue unless you ever decide to add mild mannered anthias. Only other thing is that there are regional colour variations in both species.
HTH,
Angie
I'm with Ange in that I QT the same species together.
There seems value in this on multiple fronts- Anthias eat better in groups (Once one sees one eating pellets the rest follow) , tangs etc are best to sort out there differences with no one else around and if things really arnt working out its easier to cut your losses and rehome at that point.
Rob, you are probably getting the fuji/indo dispars where you are as well. The aussie ones are a bit more finicky and also not as well coloured.
We do get those here as well through importers like Williamstown etc but you have to weigh up paying more for a fish that has been through hell and had possibly questionable collection practices but will look better in the long run vs a cheaper hand caught fish that has duller colours.
I think dispars are nicer overall than lyretails, I have not noticed any difference in hardiness but have found lyretails a bit more prone to the "highlander syndrome"
If it's about straight about hardness Bicolours are the easiest and toughest (price range) anthia.
They will generally push a tang out of the way to get to prepared foods within a hour of being in the tank. Some people have reported issues with this level of aggression when adding other anthias but I have only found it beneficial as other anthias seem to follow their feeding frenzy.
They are listed as semi aggressive, I have never seen them display any hostility (nipping fins etc) to another species and I can only see this listing being there due to the gutsy nature with food, which if you had a sea horse in there I can safely say that sea horse would never stand a chance in eating.
There seems value in this on multiple fronts- Anthias eat better in groups (Once one sees one eating pellets the rest follow) , tangs etc are best to sort out there differences with no one else around and if things really arnt working out its easier to cut your losses and rehome at that point.
Rob, you are probably getting the fuji/indo dispars where you are as well. The aussie ones are a bit more finicky and also not as well coloured.
We do get those here as well through importers like Williamstown etc but you have to weigh up paying more for a fish that has been through hell and had possibly questionable collection practices but will look better in the long run vs a cheaper hand caught fish that has duller colours.
I think dispars are nicer overall than lyretails, I have not noticed any difference in hardiness but have found lyretails a bit more prone to the "highlander syndrome"
If it's about straight about hardness Bicolours are the easiest and toughest (price range) anthia.
They will generally push a tang out of the way to get to prepared foods within a hour of being in the tank. Some people have reported issues with this level of aggression when adding other anthias but I have only found it beneficial as other anthias seem to follow their feeding frenzy.
They are listed as semi aggressive, I have never seen them display any hostility (nipping fins etc) to another species and I can only see this listing being there due to the gutsy nature with food, which if you had a sea horse in there I can safely say that sea horse would never stand a chance in eating.
$$$'s - I kinda put them in the same category as borbs- really easy to keep but because of the price tag not ideal for your first anthias.
I have not seen the retail cost of these but I remember the wholesale pricing was like $60 each compared to dispars at $6.50 each
I'm just catching up on this thread :rolleyes
@NiCd made his comment in reference to this comment in the first post
I hope this make sense :confused:
If I could get borbs for $60, I could retire and sell them. Landed here they're about $90, my cost, most of the others land in the $10-$25 range depending on size and country of origin.
You're also correct about the dispars, the Fiji ones are clean, the Indo ones I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. Here of late, Indo has been shipping out some real garbage fish. I got 12 dead Firefish a month or so ago, I froze them, but I suspect their livers are LOADED with cyanide. When possible, avoid Indonesian fish like the plague, that means Jakarta as well as Bali. Fiji is clean as well as Sri Lanka, Kenya Africa, The Marshall islands, Hawaii and Haiti.
Those are actually pretty cheap here in the USA, they land here at about $30 each.
$60 is for sunbursts, borbs here are like $180 W/S the shops will generally sell them between $250-$400
You used to be able to pick up imported sunburst in Sydney for $60 retail. Haven't seen any of those for a few years, don't know if they're still around. The current sunburst and ventralis you see at Sydney stores are all from the only local collector that regularly offers them, so they set the price. Occasionally imported ventralis are available but not much cheaper than the Aussie ones. Personally would avoid imported vents, too many unknowns and risks, yet similar $$$.
HTH
Angie
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