Keeping Dispar Anthias. Tips?!

[mandyplo]

Just ordered a pair of dispars! They will be here next Wednesday. I have so far bought some zooplankton, Cyclopeeze for them and already have brine and other frozen foods. I know they like critters like amphipods and Copepods, should I pick some of these up for them too?

What do you guys do to keep your anthias happy? I've heard they're a little on the difficult side to keep happy, does anyone have any tips for me? My only other fish is a blue chromis and a yellow watchmen goby. Got rid of the clowns cause they were getting aggressive.

I have tons of caves and hiding places in my rock work too.

[Proteus]

I kept a variety of anthias and started them on Cyclopes. Then started to introduce mysis. Out of 6 dispar only lost one which wasn't eating from the start.
Fed twice a day as directed

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

As long as you have non-aggressive fish or large fast swimmers, lots of hiding places, and feed at least twice daily, you're good to go. Sounds like you have a pretty good setup for keeping anthias.

[ScubaSteve]

I recommend getting some capelin roe (the fish eggs they put on sushi) and feed them along with the cyclopeeze until you can get them on prepared foods. They're high in protein and are the perfect size for the anthias. Anthias are more picky about size and texture than taste in my experience. Feed often (I feed from 3 to 6 times a day).

I might also recommend having a batch of live brine shrimp hatching when you get them. I find that one or two feedings of live baby brine will get them eating and onto other foods.Baby brine can work wonders with very picky eaters. Anthias are pelagic feeders, so they love little food particles in the current.

Give them lots of flow. In the wild they tend to shoal in areas with high currents and swim head on into the current, catching food at they go. You'll often find them swimming like mad in your tank head on into a current, staying in the same place. Put their food into high current areas. They tend to ignore food if it "looks dead".

Other than that, be patient and don't stress out if they do weird stuff. Just keep working with them until you achieve success.

[mandyplo]

Okay, thanks everyone! I have two Koralia Hydor 1050 gph powerheads. I think they will enjoy them :) So these eggs that go on sushi, where would I pick those up? Is that something I can get at a grocery store? And also the hatching brine, no clue where to get that either. Thanks guys this has been helpful :) I'm a little less worried now :P

[fishytime]

how big is the tank?

[kole]

Never thought of capelin roe as a food source for the tank. Capelin arrive on our beaches in June or July I Will try to get some next season.

[Willito]

IMO and IME, dispars and alikes should be kept in groups of six or more. This will allow them to behave more naturally and feel more comfortable. I had a group of 14 dispars and 8 Lyretail in medium sized tank and it was a sight to see. Having said that, I would never do dispars again becuase they fade dramatically to a very pale coloration overtime. My Lyretails faded too but not as much. Obviously they were missing something in their diet which I could not provide them with and it's not from not trying.

Dispars are peaceful and school very well together almost full time.
Lyretails are much more agressive but don't hang out together as much, and easy to feed.

[mandyplo]

Well, some good news!!

The anthias arrived alive and healthy. One is a deep orange/red with a purple dorsal fin, the other is a more yellow/orange with a light pink/yellow dorsal fin. Could the drastic color differences mean male/female? who knows!

Anyways they are beautiful and the good news is the deeper orange/red/purple one has partnered up with my one blue chromis and they are best buds, they sit in the current of one of my powerheads all day schooling together. I just fed everyone some P.E Mysis and this is the first day I have seen the Anthias eat! Once he tasted the first piece of mysis he went on a feeding frenzy, didn't stop catching pieces in the current until they were all gone! Only the one anthias schooling with the chromis ate though. So One down, one to go!

As I am typing this I am noticing the second anthias hanging out with the first anthias and the chromis. So the three are currently schooling together (First time I am seeing this since wednesday) All very good news. Maybe there are still some small pieces of Mysis in there for the second Anthias to eat... I have not seen the second one eat at all so I have my fingers crossed.

I'm too scared to lift the lid and add more mysis for the second one as I don't want to scare him from the group... This is the first time he has come out of hiding and is hanging with the group. I will add some more later perhaps.

Anyways just thought I would update and let everyone know how they are doing. So far so good!!

[Leah]

Maybe get some Garlic Extreme and soak the mysis in it and feed.

[mandyplo]

So I'm thinking of adding a few more anthias to make everyone a little happier in being able to swim as a school. Would you guys reccomend I add the same types of anthias (So just add more dispars?) Or can I add 4 Lyretails, and have 4 lyretails and 2 dispars in total. Will they all school together or are they generally aggressive towards eachother? Thanks in advance.

[Proteus]

I had 4 different species together. They never schooled together and the only bad guy was a male lyretail

[mandyplo]

I had 4 different species together. They never schooled together and the only bad guy was a male lyretail

Hmm okay thanks :) So if I want them to school together, my best bet is going with 4 more dispars eh...
At the moment my 2 dispars are schooling with my 1 blue chromis. Its pretty damn cute.

[ScubaSteve]

More anthias doesn't always mean more fun. When you get them into a school they form a well defined pecking order. This usually involves having the smallest one being beaten on until it dies, then the next and so on. Oh, and the dominant female can change to male, which causes the dominant male to kill that one too. Big happy families... Dispars are less prone to this but it does happen. Unless you have a really big tank, I'd stick with the pair and get a compatible but different species. I keep 3 different species of anthias together without issue.

[mandyplo]

Crazy how different everyones experiences are... Heres 3 different people telling me to get 6 or more anthias as they do better in larger groups and like to school, and now heres someone telling me they will kill eachother if all the same species and you have more than 2...

[Enigma]

Crazy how different everyones experiences are... Heres 3 different people telling me to get 6 or more anthias as they do better in larger groups and like to school, and now heres someone telling me they will kill eachother if all the same species and you have more than 2...

They may be like green chromis: either buy a large school or one or two. They'll kill each other off, as well.

[Coralgurl]

How are your anthias doing? I just bought 3 and LOVE them. They are eating but I did go get more varieties of food just in case.

[mandyplo]

How are your anthias doing? I just bought 3 and LOVE them. They are eating but I did go get more varieties of food just in case.

Hi Coralgurl, my anthias are doing AWESOME! I absolutely love them too! Both of them are eating like fiends now and they both swim out in the open with the chromis and the tang in one big group haha. I'm kinda obsessed with them to be honest... I have 2 and I really want more :( I want to maybe buy 2 lyretails next...

[Coralgurl]

Great to hear!

Mine were really timid the first day but now they are out all the time and get in with everyone for feeding. They swim together and definitely add color to my tank. Awesome addition!

[mandyplo]

Great to hear!

Mine were really timid the first day but now they are out all the time and get in with everyone for feeding. They swim together and definitely add color to my tank. Awesome addition!

I completely agree, I absolutely love mine they are my favorite fish in my tank. And so peaceful + well behaved!

[shootingstar]

Hi Coralgurl, my anthias are doing AWESOME! I absolutely love them too! Both of them are eating like fiends now and they both swim out in the open with the chromis and the tang in one big group haha. I'm kinda obsessed with them to be honest... I have 2 and I really want more :( I want to maybe buy 2 lyretails next...

Mandy,
I have Dispar's and Lyretails together, of course you know your welcome to see them in person if you like.
Cathy

[mandyplo]

Mandy,
I have Dispar's and Lyretails together, of course you know your welcome to see them in person if you like.
Cathy

Thanks Cathy! I think Anthias are my new favorite fish... Brayden and I are in the process of planning our big tank move (The tank is coming to my house). When we're all finished with it I'll take some pictures and come by to visit you and your tank and tell you how everything went :)