Question about my Purple Queen Anthias

7duster3

7duster3

Member
Hey guys, i picked up a purple queen anthias from my lfs 2 weeks ago and am concerned about it. I have only seen it out maybe 3 times since being introduced into my 60 gal. I have yet to see it eat anything and it just hides in my rock all day. Is any of this normal?? I feed pellets, flakes, frozen mysis and brine, clam and algae sheets. Is there anything i should be worried about or is this normal?
Tank mates:
royal dottyback
mated maroon pair
2 chromis
fire goby (purple)
lawnmower blenny
-thanks
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Watch for aggression from the dottyback and the clowns. In that sized tank they're probably not willing to give up much territory.
Additionally, Purple Queen's have dismal survival records. They fail in even the most peaceful of tank settings. The fact she's still alive tells me that she is eating something. Continue what your doing. Anthias have a tendency to have internal parasites. I would say quarantine and treat with Prazi Pro, but that this point, I would leave her alone.
 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
The anthias is about 4 inches, both clowns show zero aggression as far as i know and the dottyback sleeps in the same cave as the anthias does. I tried my luck with one many months ago and it lasted weeks if that. I don't want to lose this one. Do they eat off of the rocks?
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
In answer to your question: they don't eat (much) off the rocks; like most Anthias, they are planktivores. generally considered an 'expert only" fish. like most Anthias, they usually do better in groups (1M + 2-4-F) IMO, now that its in the tank, all you can do is hope it will start to feed . Try some Cyclopeeze, IME, the best food for reluctant Anthias. I've kept a lot of Anthia; but this one species I've never succeeded with. I had a trio eating well a while ago; but they all died after about 6 weeks in my DT. I QT all fish with copper and a de-wormer; so I had the fish a total of 12 weeks or so and they came from a great source. I can't even guess what happened. I think my experience is fairly typical. This was the 3rd, and last, time I try this beautiful fish. I usually agree with our host's description of fish; but not this one. Every source I know considers this a very difficult fish.
 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
I am aware that they do better in packs but i did not want to purchase the other 3 the lfs had as they were still in bags from the new shipment. Plus i didn't want to chance all 4 in my 135. I will try the food mentioned and see what happens. They are beautiful fish and add a lot of color to my tank. CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR ME!!
 
kraylen

kraylen

Member
I would take that poor P.Tuka back to the store.
People really need to research before they buy fish they know nothing about. An old customer I had didn't know crap about anything but she wanted a school of them because they were purple.... she ordered 25 of them!!!!! they...all....died.....
Basically what I'm saying is, not only did you pick up one of the most difficult anthia(next to ventralis) to keep but when I kept my P.Tukas I had to be there hours on end taking care of them. They won't accept prepared foods for weeks on end... I had to get live phyto, mysid, brine etc etc.... slowly they would eat... If anyone walked by the tank too quickly they would hide for days.
P.Tuka are very shy, very hard to keep fish.. it's a shame they are sold so often and so cheap and they die 99% of the time.
I miss my P. Tukas, they are still alive and healthy in Phx, AZ after 3 years.
 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
News Update:
My anthias is still alive and swimming around a little more. I have seen it for a few minutes then it goes back into hiding. Still no sign of eating but i did see it moving around a lot during feeding time under the big cave i have. I will keep you all updated, Thanks again.
P.S. If that lady ordered 25, i'm sure you weren't complaining when you rang her up.
 
kraylen

kraylen

Member
Originally Posted by 7duster3
http:///forum/post/3193035
News Update:
My anthias is still alive and swimming around a little more. I have seen it for a few minutes then it goes back into hiding. Still no sign of eating but i did see it moving around a lot during feeding time under the big cave i have. I will keep you all updated, Thanks again.
P.S. If that lady ordered 25, i'm sure you weren't complaining when you rang her up.
250 dollars worth of fish is nothing really.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3193279
yeesh, how about them yankees?
Yeah, $250 for fish really isn't that much. But the $80 billion or so that Steinbrenner paid to win the World Series this year is getting into real money
 
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