Hey I'm curious about squareback anthias. Does anyone know what the best amount to get at one time would be so that they school? Also, are they hermaphrodite? Thanks for the help.
Squareback Anthias?
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It's going to depend on the size of your tank. Square Back's get pretty sizeable. I would start with a minimum of 5 and then get as many as you can afford and will fit. The more you get the more comfortable they are as a school and the more life they bring to the aquarium.
Now this is all based on you having several hundred gallons. If you are playing with less than 200 I would recommend looking for a smaller sized anthias.
Dave B
Now this is all based on you having several hundred gallons. If you are playing with less than 200 I would recommend looking for a smaller sized anthias.
Dave B
500 gallons is great. In that case get like 20. I have a mixed school of about 30 different Anthias in my 750g and I'm looking to get more. Most of mine are Kasheui - Not very bright colored but stay small. I have some dispar and a few small orange anthias. And the flasher wrasses love hiding within the pack of them.
Once you get the initial pack accustomed to tank life, adding more is pretty easy in my experience.
But you want to start with as big a group as you can manage. You want the first fish to start eating vigorously and then they are all copy cats. In singles or small groups they are shy and pretty anxiety prone. As you are aware their metabolism is high and they require multiple feedings a day. If you get a small group that is afraid in your tank and hides in the rock avoiding tank mates and food your experience will not be a good one.
Dave B
As @o2manyfish noted they get large. If you are going with this fish I would strongly recommend going with captive bred from Biota. Known age roughly. Eating prepared food. Sized appropriately to start. You get to watch age and transition maybe later. Also as noted they get large and at a somewhat fast rate.
I own 4 purchased from Biota. Amazing fish and very healthy. They do shoal but as with anthias they do Anthias things which means a hierarchy forms and the aggression will move down hill. Largest to the next largest to the next largest working on down to the smaller of the bunch. Knowing that they are eating prepared foods makes it super easy to keep them alive even as they work through the squabbles.
Feed plenty of dry quality food via auto feeder throughout the day. One quality frozen food at night. I use TDO x-small, small, and large in the auto feeder. I feed LRS reef nano and regular frozen at night. As I watch their hierarchy form I pay attention to the smaller one to make sure it is getting food. I feed in front of one of my return pumps and it will spread it out via flow. If I think the smaller one wasn't getting food I'd watch what it liked the best, feed the larger group of fish on one side, then focus spot on the other.
In the end I have very healthy, and thick, pink squares that will spend time together, apart, and spread out. They are also very fast once they get accustomed to the display and other fish. No problems with them eating with some of my larger fish like Zosters, Pyramid butterflies and Gold Lined rabbit.
I own 4 purchased from Biota. Amazing fish and very healthy. They do shoal but as with anthias they do Anthias things which means a hierarchy forms and the aggression will move down hill. Largest to the next largest to the next largest working on down to the smaller of the bunch. Knowing that they are eating prepared foods makes it super easy to keep them alive even as they work through the squabbles.
Feed plenty of dry quality food via auto feeder throughout the day. One quality frozen food at night. I use TDO x-small, small, and large in the auto feeder. I feed LRS reef nano and regular frozen at night. As I watch their hierarchy form I pay attention to the smaller one to make sure it is getting food. I feed in front of one of my return pumps and it will spread it out via flow. If I think the smaller one wasn't getting food I'd watch what it liked the best, feed the larger group of fish on one side, then focus spot on the other.
In the end I have very healthy, and thick, pink squares that will spend time together, apart, and spread out. They are also very fast once they get accustomed to the display and other fish. No problems with them eating with some of my larger fish like Zosters, Pyramid butterflies and Gold Lined rabbit.
The species is born a female. They are hermaphrodite. The dominate female in the group will transition to male. So if you buy captive bred you will receive X number of small females and the transition will happen over time on its own. You don't need to do anything other than provide TLC.
If you are buying from a collector then maybe you can order specifically but I've not done that so have no experience. I can only speak of mine buying through Biota direct. In fact if you are to ask me a source for purchase I'd recommend Biota and captive bred just because their conditioning of eating prepared food, size, and I feel it is the right thing to do.
@o2manyfish mentioned the type and numbers he has purchased so can probably provide his view. He purchases fish on a different scale than me or most I'd wager. His experience is valuable as he has a different selection criteria, scale of display, and knowledge of caring for fish.
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