Female Lyretail Anthias

General : These fish are for the intermediate to advanced hobbyists. They require optimal water quality, brisk water movement, and frequent feedings or they wither away. One male with one or more females in a larger size aquarium (120 gallons or more) would be best.

Feeding/Diet: These fish require frequent feedings of meaty foods. Live brine shrimp may have to be offered at first. Frozen mysis shrimp, plankton, and bloodworms are all good choices that should be offered daily. Dry prepared foods can be used as a supplementary food source, but should not constitute a majority of their diet. A refugium would be an excellent source of consistent live food for these demanding fish.
Compatibility: Anthias should not be housed with fish that are too aggressive. They should be kept one species to a tank and not more than a trio (one male with two females) in your tank.

Habitat: Provide plenty of rockwork and hiding places so that your anthias feel safe and they will reward you by staying out in the open. Anthias live in the powerful surges of the reef and will require extreme water movement in your tank. The tank's volume should run through your filters a minimum of ten times per hour (a 90-gallon tank should have 900 gph filtration) with closer to twenty times being optimum (1800 gph). You can use extra powerheads with the Aquarium Systems Natural Wave power strip to simulate the alternating water currents of the ocean.

Expert Care:
Squareback Anthias (Anthias pleurotaenia)
Bartlett's Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum)
Dispar Anthias (Pseudanthias dispar)
Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)
Fathead Anthias (Serranocirrhitus latus)