Anthias

[dragonboy]

What is the hardiest anthias? I can never seem to keep Lyretail they always die on me. Are square or bicolor anthias hardy?

 

[cranberry]

Were you keeping a male or female lyretail?
The lyretail is one of the hardest anthias out there. Did you get them all at the same place?

 

[dragonboy]

I was keeping male and yes all from the same store.

 

[cranberry]

Females are hardier. If they die in your tank, find another source

 

[srfisher17]

IMO & IME; all anthias are on the difficult side. I think lyretails are one of the easier species, along with bartletts and dispars. Pink Squares are quite difficult; they are deepwater fish and much bigger than most anthias. They are very difficult to acclimate and will lose a lot of their brilliant colors in bright light. I've kept a lot of anthias and am convinced that they do better in pairs or trios---or even 1 male with several females.

 

[flower]

I read somewhere that they need near perfect water. I bought 4, I have one left, 1 I am pretty sure the anemone ate the last casualty. I think the last one will make it, its been 3 months.

 

[nycbob]

anthias will do better in a group. they also need small feeding 2-3x per day.

 

[maryg]

I have two male anthias. Had them for a while now. I feed them once a day. They are pretty easy.

 

[dragonboy]

Hmmm... I think I'll give a try again next time but for now I'll just wait till I get my bigger tank.

 

[cranberry]

The hardiest fish I ever owned was a female lyretail that lived through a tank crash and a poisoning. She lived 8 years.
You really have to have a nice size tank to keep a trio and it's even more so recommended to keep a harem over a trio. I have 3 different species of anthias. Two kept as a single specimen and one is a trio.