putting anthias in my dt

[Kona26]

right now I have 1 female (orange) anthias is in qt. I would like to get 2 more...male and female. should I get the other 2 first and qt them all at the same time....or can I put the one I have in my dt when done then qt the other 2 and put them in a diff times. will this create and issue between them..?

[hkgar]

All at once. Best bet to have them all get along. Even then there is always a question. What Anthias are you getting? I added 1 male and 3 females and after QT, when introed to DT the females slowly died, one at a time.

[Kona26]

Lyertail

[Kona26]

Yeah I think all at once would be better

[hkgar]

I think I should have added that I think my male killed them off. Often times females you get may be changing to male and then an established male will kill them off. They just don't like competition.

[Kona26]

is it better to start out with 3 females..? How many can I have in a 125g long..? or can I change up the type of anthias..?

[dson78]

From everything i have learned on this forum, all at once is the way to go.

[ca1ore]

I think there are so many factors at play it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Although I don't have them in my current tank, I kept Lyretails for many years with good but not really long-term success. Best was to introduce a bunch of smaller females and let them sort out the pecking order. Eventually one will turn into a male, but it can take a while. You have to feed them a lot, and frequently, to ensure that the low gal on totem pole gets enough to eat otherwise you will likely see them die off from the bottom up. I did add additional fish to an established group a few times, but it only works if the residents are small or you can be sure that none of them are turning male. Also, bigger the tank, better the chances of harmony.

[mbauma]

I just moved a trio of lyretails from QT to my DT that came from DD. They did great together during QT and hang out for the most part in my 140.

[hkgar]

I just moved a trio of lyretails from QT to my DT that came from DD. They did great together during QT and hang out for the most part in my 140.

All female?

[mbauma]

1 male/2 female

[eatbreakfast]

I think there are so many factors at play it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Although I don't have them in my current tank, I kept Lyretails for many years with good but not really long-term success. Best was to introduce a bunch of smaller females and let them sort out the pecking order. Eventually one will turn into a male, but it can take a while. You have to feed them a lot, and frequently, to ensure that the low gal on totem pole gets enough to eat otherwise you will likely see them die off from the bottom up. I did add additional fish to an established group a few times, but it only works if the residents are small or you can be sure that none of them are turning male. Also, bigger the tank, better the chances of harmony.

+1 to everything here.