New Anthias Discovered in New Caledonia by QM Exclusive, Short Supply Chain Collectors.

A new species of Anthias has been discovered by Quality Marine exclusive collectors in New Caledonia.  Credit for first collecting this species goes to Antoine Teitelbaum, and credit for first seeing this species goes to Tony Nahacky.  When first received by QM, we were unable to conclusively identify them as any of the known species.  Antoine and Tony reached out to Jack Randall who confirmed QM Biologist’s suspicion that they are indeed a new species and is in the process of describing it for the scientific community.

This is a deepwater species, found in large schools.  Like other anthias, they are planktivores, primarily eating suspended zooplankton and other meaty foods in the currents. Early population estimates show that schools are made up of half females and half males.  Males are generally more brilliantly colored, and have a dorsal spine (3rd spine) that extends far beyond the dorsal fin.  As a new species, which is possibly endemic to that island chain, they have never been seen before in the marine aquarium trade.  The diver who collected these hasn’t named them yet, and so we haven’t listed a new scientific name.  However, we have talked with him about a common name, and he is using “New Caledonia Sunrise Anthias.”  It is a fitting name for this gorgeous animal, and we are following suit.

Captive Care

We are holding these fish in two large schools, in which we are seeing little to no aggressive behavior outside of the normal bossing that goes on between dominant males and females.  As a species, they seem to be less aggressive than many of the other Anthias this size.  Because of our success in larger groups, they will likely be held like this in the future, and should be held in at least small groups (pairs, harems, etc) in the store display and home aquariums.

After acclimation they immediately took Nutramar OVA; it took them settling in for a day or so before we got them to accept a wider variety of meaty foods.  We are feeding them Gamma mysis, enriched brine, krill, chopped prawn and other finely diced meaty foods.

Short Supply Chain

The QM exclusive vendor these came from is a Short Supply Chain in New Caledonia.  Short Supply Chains (SSC) are something we are very proud of here at QM.  Basically it boils down to us supporting the most sustainably harvested and managed collection sites and sourcing animals from collector groups rather than middlemen wherever possible.

This philosophy helps to reduce transit times to a matter of hours or days, rather than weeks. Shorter supply chains and fewer middlemen eliminate inconsistent levels of care, reduce stress in animals, increase survivability and decrease pressure on marine habitats.  In terms of our customers ordering from us, when they see our SSC terminology, they can be assured that the animals they are ordering come to us from our shortest supply chains, reaching the point of export from the point of collection within 24 hours.

Read more about SSC here: http://www.qualitymarine.com/About/Short-Supply-Chain

### Quality Marine

Celebrating over 35 years in business, Quality Marine continues to provide the Public and Retail Aquarium industry with the highest quality, most sustainable and widest selection of both wild and aquacultured marine fish and invertebrates. Quality Marine works tirelessly to support responsible operators that collect in a sustainable manner and protect the reef habitat. We encourage all industry professionals to do the same.  We continue to exhibit our commitment to helping make this industry a better one, to help protect our resources for not only the longevity of our trade, but also for the preservation of the environment.  As our business grows, we still focus on the keys to our success, Quality, Variety, and Service, second to none.