lyretail anthia ?

[Stanley-Reefer]

I bought a harem about 6 mos ago--one male and 4 females. The 4 females quickly killed 1 and I had 4 total. Male has been male and now I have him and one of the females that swim out and two females that cower in the rocks. When they come out, he runs them back in.

Weird or normal? This is my only only exp with anthias since I started in 97.

[namxas]

Most anthias do have social hierarchies, and there will always be dominant fish. IME, female lyretails are a lot more resilient than males, and a strong dominant female is a force to be reckoned with. We ended up with a single specimen that we kept for a good 8 years. She ended up being a secondary male after awhile.