Thinking about adding Anthias?

Do you recommend a certain type of anthias? I have brs mesh for building screen tops so jumping isn't an issue. Maybe ill do an anthias along with a wrasse.

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Did you pick up another Lineatus? LA has them on sale this week.

 

i have had carberryi and bartlett's ... carberryi's i had years ago in my first tank i took down and this time i bought the bartlett's both types do well. i did try sunbursts and had one for a couple months, but i do believe maybe my bartletts were stressing it out, even though they never went after it but the bartletts are very active.

 

I currently have 3 types of antias. I have a lyretail, a barlett and a purple queen. The lyretails I originally started with 3, I had one that was DoA from the ride home (?), and one that was a jumper.

The Barletts and purple queen were recent additions from ibluewater. Both have been outstanding fish and readily accepted food about an hour after being in the tank. The only challenge I have seen so far is the purple queen since it seems to prefer very small food, like cyclopeeze & oyster feast. The barletts is doing fine and has stepped up to taking small pellets and mysis as well.

I was really reserved about the purple queen as I heard they can be really picky and can be like the mandarin of anthias as far as care level. I can say I feel at this point I am doing fine cause I really do beleive I have seen it grow since I have had it.

Since I added them at the same time the bartlett & purple have kind fo buddied up and almost always are in close proximity of each other.

Everything I read said to keep them as singles or multiples. With my current stocking I didnt want to add multiples of the same & wanted to get some color diversity, and have been really happy with the results.

 

I didn't have the best of an experience with Bartlett's. I started with 3 and they did fine for many months, then they all turned male and the stronger picked away at the weaker until there was only one left, then that one suddenly stopped eating.

Lyretails are easy, but are often mean. Bi-colored generally do well. I'd like to try some square-backs someday, or even some ventralis (rare and expensive).

I have not yet. Deciding what I'd like to do still. And I don't like to order blindly from LA. If I buy fish online I only do WYSIWYG. But thank you.

 

They did have 1 come through DD this week. I thought of you when I saw it.

As for the Anthias, ugh. They are tough to keep weight on them, I had basically the same problem as evolved, except with Carberryi Anthias. They all lost color very quickly even with a live brine drip on the tank (Bob Fenner's suggestion for these guys) and eventually even with 4-5 feedings a day (where they all ate aggressively) they just thin out and start fighting with each other.

Beautiful fish, but not very hardy IME.

 

Man, some very good info and first hand experiences here. Makes for a tough decsion.

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i have had my bartletts for over a year now. you can see them in my tank photo i use as my aviator. when they were sent they were all female one turned into a male. i tried to up load a video of them playing but it was taking so long to upload onto photobucket. i just said forget it.

i sure hope i don't have the same problem as evolved had with them. so far all is well. i would hate to lose them.

 

Your tank is considerably smaller than mine; might be the ticket for you. Maybe if I had started with more my outcome would have been different...

 

hopefully ... you just never know with fish what they will do its all a guessing game . lol