PLEASE!!! Help with my new anthias

I am a little concerned. I got my anthias on Thursday, and he still won't eat. Is this ok? A you see in the pic, he is spending a lot of time at the top of the tank, as if looking for food. However, whenever I feed, it just swims away, ignoring the food. Is this normal? How long will it last without eating? It is a good size, apparently healthy specimin. Please help
 

nerdy

Member
I have heard that anthias should really be bought in pairs as they do a lot better with a partner. I had this problem when I purchased one and he looked depressed most of the time. When I put the pair in they both did well.
 

ryebread

Active Member
I would try soaking Brine or Mysid shrimp with some Garlic extract to entice him to eat. They can be finicky.......takes some time.
 
How do I do it.
I am soaking frozen cubes of brine & mysis shrimp with chopped garlic and water. Do I then try to separate the shrimp from the garlic, or am I putting pieces of garlic in the tank as well? Please let me know so I can feed them in the morning.
 

stacyt

Active Member
Most people soak the food in garlic extract. There have been several company's lately that have developed a product just for the aquarium hobby. Most LFS should have some sort of product for soaking the foods in.
 

logan15

Active Member
no theres a few products out there kent marine garlic extreme,zoe,zoecon,selcon,Gnc once maybe a garlic extract the thing about anthias are they have very complex diets and need to be feed often like as much as 2 times a day thats why there not often seen all over the board.They also eat zooplankton pellets I know swf.com dosent sell food so check my profile and send me a email and ill give you the link
Heres a pic of the zooplankton pellets incase youve seen them at your lfs mine has them right now
Hope this helps,
Logan
 

ryebread

Active Member
Here is what I have always used........it is very, very potent and only requires a couple of drops in most cases........smells good too. :)

Kent Garlic Extreme
Garlic Xtreme contains a powerful source of garlic that can serve many purposes in aquariums. Used as a food soak, Garlic Xtreme is a strong attractant, enticing finicky eaters to begin feeding sooner. Additionally, Garlic Xtreme may be used directly in aquarium if fish are not eating. Garlic Xtreme contains no artificial ingredients or steroids, and does not need to be refrigerated!
 

ryebread

Active Member
You can always use regular garlic as you are doing but, you will need to liquify it.......start smashing.
 

sucram

Member
I just got 3 anthias, none of which ate the first day. The next day I tried formula 1, which they didn't eat, then mysis mixed with plankton, which they tried and spit out. I ran out and bought frozen brine and added a few drops of Zoe, 2 of them ate them like mad, but the largest (possibly turning into a male) didn't bother to eat, hopefully it will today. Try the frozen brine, and if not, I'm sure it'll eat live brine.
 
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