Orion December 28, 2013 Share December 28, 2013 Has anyone been successfully keeping them for a year or longer? I tried to keep a single female before, but she only lasted for 4 months. I fed the tank 2-3 times a day with a variety of foods. Cyclopeeze, roggers, pe mysis, etc. all of a sudden one day it started to hide and not eat. A few days later she was gone. I am thinking of trying these again in the 57. Any tips or tricks to keeping them fat and healthy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmatt56 December 28, 2013 Share December 28, 2013 I haven't had Bartlett Anthias, but my school of 6 Carberryi Anthias have been very hardy. They survived my power outage that killed my sunset anthia. They can also go 2 days with no food if you leave for a weekend. They look very similar. Best of luck! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion January 4, 2014 Author Share January 4, 2014 Thanks Matt. Anymore input from the membership? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangspeed January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 I'm only 4 months in on my trio. So far so good in my 90. Pretty strong current from a wp40 and wp25, which I have read might make a difference. Marine scene's main display tank has multiple male bartletts IIRC and they have not killed each other. That display is a wonder of broken "rules" though, and I am jealous every time I see it. -- Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 I think they're best in larger groups. My observations of my school of dispars (very similar to Bartletts) is that they act like flocks of birds. What one decides to do, all the others follow. I noticed the other day that one started eating SA hatchery diet pellets, and by the end of the day, more than half of them did as well. Before, they wouldn't even touch it. Same goes for hiding. One hides, all the others follow into the same hideout. Then they all come back into open water. So I think socialization is important. Try a group of 6 and you may have better luck. I recommend feeding many times per day though, at least in the beginning. sent from phone. please excuse brevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 i had 4 for 10 months....now I have 3...don't ask me where the other one went...its just mia...but the other 3 are doing great now and it is just shy of one year...I thought one of females was going to change over to a male (I have 1 male 2 females) because it was acting funky for a couple of days, but it all went back to normal...I think for some reason it didn't like me changing my bulbs as that was the only change in the tank the day she started her behavior. I do feed them 3 times a day though....so not sure if that is any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion January 4, 2014 Author Share January 4, 2014 Thanks everyone for your input. All good advice, and its good to see that these can live in our tanks just fine. Perhaps keeping one by itself wasn't a good idea, and ill get a group of them if I go that route again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 i wish i could keep anthias, but since the tank is at work I dont feed during the weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 I agree that they are really social. Mine move as a group and I do think that's the secret ti their success in captivity along with multiple small feedings... Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 I have kept Bartletts for years. They need to eat frequently(I feed 4 times a day), and do best in groups of 6 or more. They get too aggressive with each other in smaller numbers. It is still not unusual to have one disappear every 6 months or so. They really add a lot of lotion and color to a big tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore January 4, 2014 Share January 4, 2014 I have kept Bartletts for years. They need to eat frequently(I feed 4 times a day), and do best in groups of 6 or more. They get too aggressive with each other in smaller numbers. It is still not unusual to have one disappear every 6 months or so. They really add a lot of lotion and color to a big tank. Any idea of their natural lifespan? I mean, they are constantly swimming little minnows. Can't imagine they have the metabolism and longevity of, e.g., a big pomacanthus angelfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer January 5, 2014 Share January 5, 2014 I am not really sure of their lifespans, but I expect it would not be real long given their activity level. I have kept them for almost 4 years in this tank, and I have lost about 4 to misc causes. They do tend to pick on each other a bit and I always attributed the attrition to that. Some day when I have my 400 gallon dream tank, I will have at least a dozen of these guys.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camelcruiser January 5, 2014 Share January 5, 2014 I would be careful with getting to many for a 57 gallon tank, they like a lot of room to swim. I have had mine for a year and a half there was one male and 4 females and now 2 males and 2 females. They paired up and stay on seperate sides of the tank, but it's a 6 foot tank also. I kept a few in a 4 foot tank that didn't do as well. Good luck if you decide to get some they are one of my favorite fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k January 5, 2014 Share January 5, 2014 6 Anthias by themselves would be fine for a 57g tank, but with every additional fish, their territory shrinks resulting in overcrowding and possible suicides or aggression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion January 6, 2014 Author Share January 6, 2014 6 Anthias by themselves would be fine for a 57g tank, but with every additional fish, their territory shrinks resulting in overcrowding and possible suicides or aggression. The only open water swimmers I have currently are two occ. clowns. The rest of the fish(scooter dragonet, diamond goby, jawfish) are bottom dwellers. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huly January 6, 2014 Share January 6, 2014 We have had ours for over a year! He thinks he is a tang and hangs out with them. We only have one in our tank though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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