Lyretail Anthias

[stang1]

We popped into the lfs at the weekend and finally found a fish that I've been wanting for a while.
Our new female Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) is such a pretty thing, I had to show her off. She's settled into the tank really well and occasionally has a swim with our clownfish!

 

[Lynden]

Pretty! Looks like she is turning into a male already...

 

[stang1]

Thanks Lynden!
I have heard and read of that happening. How will I know if she does change into a male, are there any obvious signs to look out for?

 

[bobf]

Thanks Lynden!
I have heard and read of that happening. How will I know if she does change into a male, are there any obvious signs to look out for?

Seems to happen 'automatically' if you have a single fish - see below from here;

Wetweb Media

Lyretail Anthias...Females Turning to Males - 10/06/06
Good evening.
<<Hello>>
I recently purchased 3 female Lyretail Anthias, and they all appear to be healthy and getting along with one another.
<<Excellent...one of the better/hardier species for aquarium keeping in my opinion>>
I was wondering if the most dominant will eventually become male?
<<Indeed she will>>
How long does this normally take?
<<Hmm...have seen it begin almost immediately...completed in as little as a few weeks time>>
I know all Anthias can undergo a sex-change when a harem's male dies, but I was unsure about my situation because they were all female.
<<No worries mate, the dominant female will "convert." You may even want to consider adding another female to spread the aggression among "pecking order" of the remaining females. Having "too few' can sometimes be worse than having too many>>
Sorry if this was a silly question.
<<Not at all my friend>>
Dan
<<Regards, EricR>>

 

[stang1]

Thanks for that Bob!

 

[bobf]

Thanks for that Bob!

Welcome - good resource Wetweb media by the way, run by Bob Fenner author of one of the better books around - "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist"

 

[Miss Wiggle]

wow beautiful, i'd love a big enough tank for a big group of them, they had some in our lfs a while back and they were beautiful

 

[stang1]

Thanks Alice.
I was originally told they could only be kept in a group but after plenty of research and asking advice, I was told that you could keep one on its own. She's settled in really well but she could eat for England!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah from my knowledge you either keep 1 or a really big group with about 6 females to every male. i think a big group of them would look lovely in a nice 100g tank maybe when we move we'll upgrade the marine tank!

 

[stang1]

They do look great in a shoal, we saw some at Bournemouth Oceanarium and I fell in love.
I bet you will end up upgrading your tank and if you do I want photos!!!
We are sorely tempted to change our 137G Pleco tank into marine but I can't part with our Plecos!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

They do look great in a shoal, we saw some at Bournemouth Oceanarium and I fell in love.
I bet you will end up upgrading your tank and if you do I want photos!!!
We are sorely tempted to change our 137G Pleco tank into marine but I can't part with our Plecos!

won't be while we're in this house as we haven't the room, but if we move we will hopefully have some more space and a bigger marine tank is quite high up on our list

 

[stang1]

I don't blame you for wanting a bigger marine tank. We said we were quite happy with our 48G one but every time I see a bigger marine tank setup, I want one!
Since we've set up the marine tank, we tend to spend most of our time looking at that. The fish in the other tanks are starting to feel left out...

 

[Fighterfish]

lovely anthias. How much was it i was looking to get one or two instead of my chromis.

 

[stang1]

lovely anthias. How much was it i was looking to get one or two instead of my chromis.

Thanks SF.
She cost £20 at our local Maidenhead Aquatics. They did have males as well but they didn't look as colourful.

 

[Fighterfish]

Thanks. I might go take a lokk at my maidenhead aquatics then and see if i can get them down to £18.