Lyretail Anthias

[yellowtruck75]

How many Lyretail Anthias can be put together in a 125 long reef? My LFS has 3 female Lyretail Anthias that I am considering. Can a male be introduced later and what ration should I keep for female to male?

[verde_ad]

The dominent female will become male over time, so if you add the male too late there will be problems. I would just stick with females and let them figure out who will become the male. 3 should be alright in that size tank, but they may beat up on each other too much. Anthias are generally better in larger groups. This is comming from Scott Michaels book, not my personal experience.

[yellowtruck75]

BTW the current fish I have in my tank is a powder blue, copperbanded butterfly and a green mandrin.

[maro1]

Anthias are generally better in larger groups. This is comming from Scott Michaels book, not my personal experience.


What is a Larger group?


Mar

[Charlie97L]

it depends on the species... i know for most it's 1 male to 3-4 females... for lyretails *ideally* you'd have an 8:1 ratio female:male.. however, i've known them to be kept just fine in the 4:1 ratio.

[verde_ad]

The more aggressive the species the bigger the group, usually. Lyretails are one of the more aggressive anthias, so a 6-8:1 is a good ratio. The problem with smaller groups is the male will pick on the females until they refuse to eat. They need to have the aggresion spread out over many fish or else things could/will go wrong.

[Artik]

Anthias should be kept singular, except in a very large tank with 7 or more

[yellowtruck75]

So how many Lyretails would you suggest for a 125? If not Lyretails, what species do you suggest in a group for my tank?

[verde_ad]

bartletts and dispars stay much smaller. You could easily have a 6:1 ratio in that tank.

[yellowtruck75]

Are bartlett and dispar anthias the type that you get all females and the dominate one turns into the male eventually?