Venting-I Hate my Anthias!

[scumonkey]

I had 2 females in a qurantine tank, bought 3 more from NY aquatics(nice fish), and added them all to my tank at the same time.
The biggest one from NYA looks like its just turned into a male.
Well after only 11 days the biggest one has killed off all the females :irked:
Now all he does is lay on the sand - fighting with the snails and crabs!
He pushes them with his tail, then turns around and butts them with his head.
I thought these fish were supposed to swim in the water coloum (they did in the red sea on my last dive trip), Not lay around on the sand fighing with anything that moves?! ( if he keeps it up his days are numbered- catch and flush)!
Has anyone else had a similar experiance with these fish?

 

[jiggy]

what kind of anthias? i have a few different types and none have done anything like that.

 

[scumonkey]

Pseudanthias squamipinnis-Lyretail Anthias
Well I decided I was gonna try and take this sand skimming monster out of my tank.
I thought it would be next to impossable......HA!
As soon as I put the net in the water the Bastage swam right for it and started attacking it. I was able to easily scoop him out (cause he wouldn't stop attacking), BUT....He bit onto the net and would not let go!
I actually had to pry it out from his mouth. I wanted to flush the little Prickle, but my roomate talked me into throwing him into my fuge.
I don't know if I damaged him taking the net out of his mouth but, If he lives he's gotta go!!!!

 

[DEEPWATER]

Man send that fish to training school ..Fighting with helpless snails i just had to give a bit of humor to cheer you up ..

Seriouly thou ,,Some fish just have F---ed up additudes ,Not all fish are humble as the book says .

I have 2 clowns ,one skunk and one gold bar maroon clown in a90 gal ,they both get along and share the same mushroom colony .when they should be beating the hell out of each other

I also have 2 sunbrust and one lyretail that all get along

Only thing you can do is keep an eye out ..if it keep it up sell him to someone with an aggressive tank .dont flush it the fish doesnt mean any harm

 

[regal]

Your fish is a psycho. He must have lost his mind since someone took him off the reef.

 

[loismustdie]

I see all kinds of combos (1 male to 3, 5, 7 females) of all types of anthias. As much as I love these fish, eventually, you will only have 1 male left.

 

[scumonkey]

I see all kinds of combos (1 male to 3, 5, 7 females) of all types of anthias. As much as I love these fish, eventually, you will only have 1 male left.

So this is normal for anthias? Please let me know before I think about trying them again....I don't want just one, and if they kill each other off like chromis do sometimes -I'll just mark them off my want list!

 

[loismustdie]

Me and Randy (prattreef) got into a discussion about this exact topic. His opinion is that there is just not enough water volume/mass/territory in our tanks to prevent this from eventually happening.
Before I get flamed on this one, please keep in mind that this could be over the course of weeks to months to years. Size of the anthias upon purchase, size of tank, husbandry, etc. all play a role.

 

[prattreef]

I agree Chris. The dominance heirarchy issues are complex and not allowed to be played out naturally in our systems because of territory and population densiity ( a very small # of individuals). On occasion, certain groups seem to work it out, but this is the exception and not the rule, but as you say it may take months or even years for this to play out. Your best bet is to start with all females and let one turn.

Not sure about the sand thrashing thing though. How big is this system we are talking about?

Randy

 

[loismustdie]

Hey Randy... I know... I need to get out to you.

Before I get flamed on this one, please keep in mind that this could be over the course of weeks to months to years.

what kind of anthias? i have a few different types and none have done anything like that.

Just as an example on this one, type of anthias matters as well. It took 2 years for it to play out with my larytails (1 male to 5 females), but less than six months for it to happen with my evansi anthias (same ratio). I now only have 1 male evansi left.

 

[Pseudo]

Anthias are nothing but pretty damsels.

Kasei

 

[prattreef]

In this regard, I agree. But I do like them I'm just not surprised by the results. RD

 

[loismustdie]

Anthias are nothing but pretty damsels.

Angles are nothing but prettier tangs.
kasei "because your tank sucks" is nothing but a big a-hole.
j/k... nothing but love kasei.
You get your resin?

 

[Pseudo]

Havent been around to pick it up. Thanks though.

Kasei

PS: My tank is going to be TOTS in a few years... Just you watch.

 

[loismustdie]

lol... I bet it will.

 

[pecan2phat]

I have 7 squamipinnis in a 120g tank. One turned male after about 6 months and a second female just turned into a male about 3 months later. Each male stays like clockwork on one side of the tank each and they do constantly harrass the remaining 5 females but has not killed any yet.

 

[scumonkey]

My tank is a 112 and besides two green chromis (who don't fight),there are no other fish.
There are also a million hidding places, swim throughs and caves....

Anthias are nothing but pretty damsels.

Kasei

After this I agree.....but if I knew that I was going to have to watch out for this kind of behavior- I would have bought a few damsels that I think look better!