RW09903 June 23, 2014 Share June 23, 2014 Hi Wamas, I stopped by petland this weekend and saw a ventralis anthias for the first time. Its a beautiful fish! Has anyone here cared for these lil guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 I've never kept one but they are pretty. From what I've read online they are not the best fish for a reef tank because they don't like the bright lights much and like to hide. They are also from cooler waters so like it in the mid to lower 70's. http://www.qualitymarine.com/News/Species-Spotlight/ventralis-anthias-(05/20/11) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 June 24, 2014 Author Share June 24, 2014 Yeah, I read that they are found in deeper waters. I want to see if anyone had success keeping them. Thanks for the link too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 (edited) i guess it depends on how you measure success. the primer on RC has some great info and personal experience encounters probably larger in numbers than you will find here. our own "copps" replies there with his success if i remember correctly. i've had no issues bringing them in and qt'ing and treated them but the acclimation period to aquarium life and responsiveness to being fed by a human took months not weeks but that is just like most deep-water anthias so expect to take some time with them and if you aren't going to do that make sure someone else is being diligent in that regard prior to your purchase. once acclimated and adjusted, they are hardy in that they've lived over a year now without issue. not really "successful" in my book quite yet but it's something. Edited June 24, 2014 by monkiboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 monkiboy, How are they with the bright lights? Did they need to adjust to that? So do you see tank temps as an issue or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 monkiboy, How are they with the bright lights? Did they need to adjust to that? So do you see tank temps as an issue or not? they tend to stay out of them even after a couple months. they'll navigate through them but having a more dimly lit section or outcropping of coral they can seek as refuge is important as they tend to spend a lot of time hanging out in the shadows and less in birightly lit open water. in qt, i have on a chilled qt system with just ambient light from a blue shaded window coming in which works nicely i like to think and i slowly layers of the blue shade cloth over months while getting them to eat whatever i need them to. by the time they are in the reef tank they are acclimated to the point that they do not scurry away when lights come on. i prefer to have lights that can increase intensity slowly and not on/off which shocks them i've noticed. in doing so, they still stay mostly to the caves and darker sections of the reef but will venture to open water with a frenzy for food and do so more and more over a longer period of time but never really open water bright light fish in my experience. i never experimented going much higher than 74°F in the tank they were in and generally are in 70°. this is easily achieved for folks with multiple tanks in one system by controlling the flow rate through a separate tank in the system and having the chiller return water to that tank before it draining into the larger collective system's sump or other tank. the fish are sensational and full of color. whenever i see them available i grab them up as i can't help myself and after getting through proper treatment they've always done well for me. hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 Great info, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RW09903 June 25, 2014 Author Share June 25, 2014 Challenge accepted! Might be my next project.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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