Anthias

[kevin34]

I want to get a group of lyretail anthias but dont want to spend all that money at one time. I was planning on getting the male first and then getting 3 females in groups of 2 and 1. I dont want to QT 3 fish at once in my small 20g. Would this be ok adding the females at different times?

 

[jackri]

Sounds ok... males sound like they can be pretty dominant. How big is your main tank?

 

[kevin34]

125. only other larger fish going in are going to be a lieutenant tang and a purple tang

 

[stanlalee]

whatever you do dont add the females seperately. I made that mistake (adding the male and two females after a female was already there). That was the longest and most relentless fish fight I have ever seen in my life! I'm talking about until they had to take intermitten rest just to continue cause they were out of breath. okay it was only like 3 minutes but thats a life time for a fish fight. The female already there will fight the new ones and there's a good chance the new one will be willing to fight back since it was all of 5 seconds after I dropped them in the tank that they started fighting. I would get all the females together. really all at once is the best approach but if not male then all the females. Dont get the females then the male. the last thing you want is a male who's not dominant. then you'll end up with a female going male which would be a nightmare.

 

[kevin34]

thanks a lot. Did the 3rd female you add get killed by the others? or did they eventually relax? just wondering. I will get all 3 females at once though. I am just worried about how 3 of them would be in a 20g QT for 4 weeks. I know how much they need to eat. I would imagine I would have to do a water change every other day haha.

 

[kevin34]

The male I wanted to get was the maldives lyretail. Would the females also have to be from maldives? or can they be from anywhere. I noticed the maldives lyretail has different coloration.

 

[stanlalee]

the female that was already there loss the fight and went to last on the heirchy but they all chilled out. the male helps there since he's ruling them all. if a male see's two females fighting he will come over and chase them both to keep dominance. well that didn't happen on the first day because they were fighting before I could even get the male out the shipping bag. the maldives male will be fine, its just a color variation. the maldives females are the same as any other female lyretail.

 

[kevin34]

Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/2936217
the female that was already there loss the fight and went to last on the heirchy but they all chilled out. the male helps there since he's ruling them all. if a male see's two females fighting he will come over and chase them both to keep dominance. well that didn't happen on the first day because they were fighting before I could even get the male out the shipping bag. the maldives male will be fine, its just a color variation. the maldives females are the same as any other female lyretail.
thanks a lot. what about the 3 females being in QT together? could one take control and change gender in the time they are in QT? Could they fight constantly in there?

 

[stanlalee]

they should be alright. the two that came together never fought. dont think they'll be in there long enough or comfortable enough to form a hierarchy to that point.

 

[kevin34]

everyone that told me to get a group said 3 females. what would be wrong with 2? is there a reason you decided to add a 3rd female? I really want to make sure there is room in my tank for the 2 tangs I am getting after the anthias are in.
stocklist is
sixline
2 true percs
jawfish
the anthias (3 or 4)
lieutenant tang
purple tang

 

[stanlalee]

its just an attempt to spread out the aggression. with just two females the male and even the other female are more likely to focus on the weakest link. with three or more the male is turning every which way and no one female gets too much negative attention. I know I'm probably overstating the aggression. usually its only during and right after feeding where they do alot of chasing, otherwise they dont do much more than occasionally get out of each others way. then at night its funny, all of a sudden they practice safety in numbers. there is no magic number. you may get a pair, three or four to work its just the more you have the more likely they will coexist. one male and three females was the magic number for me (thats all I tried though. went from one female to the 3:1).