Sunburst Anthias vanished before my eyes?

keithinjax

Member
Put him in my 24 aquapod with 18lbs live rock and i haven't seen him once since he left the bag. He went straight to the back of tank and i haven't spotted him once. Sunburst Anthias a shy fish? If he was stressed, could the hermits have got him already and left not a trace?
I'm not tearing all the live rock apart to find him but will he screw my water up quickly or is there enough live rock to take care of it?
by the way... that was the quickest 35 i've ever lost, even vegas didn't take it that quick!
and i have Vanautu Rock so he could hide in so many spots it is crazy... so if your thinking, "you have to be able to spot him" trust me i've done it all but stand on my head!
 

keithinjax

Member
That picture was from my cycling stage just to show you the way the rock was setup. I have corals and clowns and a blue spotted jawfish now.
 

viper_930

Active Member
As said, give it some time to adjust.
Sunburst anthais are naturally very shy. IMO they should not be kept singly. Here's one of them I had a while ago.
 

keithinjax

Member
The sunburst anthias doesn't swim around much compared to other anthias. However i would probably not do less then 30 gallons. I'm thinking of going in and taking out my anthias and diamond goby as they both need larger tanks. I have a blue spotted jawfish that has jumped out of my tank into the sump three times now... once after i had eggcrate on top of tank. Not sure how he accomplished that. But he also seems that 65 gallon plus would make him more comfortable.
 

shiby1510

Member
Yeah the sunburst is very pretty... I have a 30g with a 30g sump/fuge... and thought they wouldn't work... I've been looking for a schooling fish that would fit in my tank.. cuz I heard the chromis don't work very well.. would it be possible if I got say 3 sunbursts... do they school?
 

keithinjax

Member
Only thing i can add is mine has been in tank for over a week and they are very shy and prefer very little light. I wouldn't have added him if i'd known ahead of time. Rather have an active fish who prefers attention. My 2 cents...
 

viper_930

Active Member
As I said, sunbursts are extremely shy, and even more so when kept singly. They're definitely more bold when kept in groups. I'd get a couple more if I didn't have a darn mantis.
Also, they're mouths are very small. My sunbursts were about 1" and couldn't eat anything bigger than a grain of sand. In the wild they feed on zooplankton in the water. I was hatching baby brine for mine.
 

keithinjax

Member
thats good info about their diet. I was wondering about that since i never have seen them come out when i was feeding. Thanks!
 
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