Jestersix

Anthias recommendation?

gmdcdvm

Supporting Member
Hello,
My son really would like to add a group of anthias to our tank. I have been doing a lot of research to find out which would be the most likely to be successful. I wanted to see what you guys thought or what your experiences/success have been like. Plan is to put them through QT first prior to adding. Feeding several times a day will not be a problem if necessary (my wife likes to feed too much as it is now, haha). The plan would be to have 3 to 5 of them depending on cost. Probably a budget of $300-600 depending on the type.

Gerry
 
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How big is the tank? Lyretails get surprisingly large, I discovered, and a little aggressive in smaller tanks.

I think they are the hardiest and one of the prettiest, though!
 
I had a very similar experience with Bimacs - maybe I didn't start with enough (4), but the male bullied down to a single female, then started going after other small fish in the tank. 225g
 
I have two Bimacs which I put through copper + Metro medicated quarantine with some chromis. The male chased around the female in the display tank for a few days but there is only modest aggression now. Overall aggression level in my tank is low. I plan to get a third Bimac in the new year when I will be at home long enough to quarantine.

Bimacs are more expensive then lyretail but look a lot nicer. The nicest looking anthias I have seen in person are Sunburst but I didn't have a tank then.

Purple Queen Anthias are also super nice looking but they have a reputation of being very hard to keep since they require many feedings a day (8+ times). I have an auto feeder which activates 4 times a day and I feed some frozen once a day if I am around.
 
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Based on my experiences, Lyretails do not live very long. I got 5 about 3 years and ago and lost 3 in the past year. No visible sign of diseases or stress; just slowly disappeared.
Not sure is true but my buddy told me Anthias usually don't last too many years in aquarium?
 
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