no luck with anthias

[Anonymous]

Got three deepwater anthias a few weeks ago, two female, one male. The male lasted about a week, until it started to have problem swimming. It got worse until it can only stay vertical, and use it tail fin to stay in the water column without sinking to the bottom of the tank. He also breath heavily as if there is not enough oxygen. Both females were fine.

Then yesterday, one of the female is having the same problem (vertical and heavy breathing), and this morning, I can't find her, possibly dead among the rockwork.

Any body know what can cause this?

 

[Jimmy G]

I'm not sure what kind of anthias you have but they are not the easiest fish to keep. As you said, they come from deeper water ( our reef tanks are bright) and they do best with multiple small feedings a day.

Some species are harder than others and IME Bartlett's Anthias are pretty hardy and I have had a pair in my reef for 3 years.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like they weren't decompressed properly on collection

 

[Len]

Yup. Those are clear symptoms of swim bladder problems. Lately, it seems a lot of deepwater fish are available for fairly affordable prices, but sadly, it also seems most of these fish are improperly collected (hence, the cheap prices).

 

[Anonymous]

That's what I suspected, but my wife keep telling me I should stay with keeping and breeding Betta :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

They are Pseudanthias flavicauda, IFRC

 

[Len]

P.flavicauda only recently became available a few months ago, but more then half the ones I've seen in stores have decompression issues. This year, there seems to be number of deepwater fish previously unavailable (or very expensive). Alas, most come in in very bad conditions.

 

[Anonymous]

Too bad, those are good looking fish

 

[Anonymous]

I called the place about the bladder problem, and they said no warranty of any kind on walk-in purchase. The old owner used to give credit if I have any complaint, but I guess I don't have much of a record with the new owner.

Anyway, they do have 2 wks warranty on mail-order. Now that I only have one female (she is doing great, BTW... knock on wood), and I wonder if it is a good idea to mail order one to give it another try? I will be paying more, around $60 or so for three. What do you all think?

 

[Len]

You can get three of them for $60?! Or did you mean $60 each? I have a pair that is doing well; they're very nice fish, but mine don't have much personality (like my Bimac anthias do)

 

[Anonymous]

It is $60 more for mail order than walk-in with the shipping, etc.

Interesting fish, and I don't care about personality. If I do, I would have an eel or something.

 

[Anonymous]

I brought a pair, a male and a female three days ago, and I have a feeling that the male will have problem in a few days. He seem to have to use his fins more than needed, as if he is swimming against some current (but there is none, as I can see how easy the other fishes are having). This reminds me of the bladder problem, and so I am going to wait and see.

 

[Anonymous]

Alright, now this is really upseting me.

The old female is nowhere to be found.

This just reminds me that when I brought the first batch of Pseudanthias flavicauda, all the cardinal fishes I have in my tank disappeared one by one. They were doing really well for years.

After i brought the second batch, the old one disappeared. The only fish that make it thru both incidence is my mandrainfish.

Now, does anyone have similar experience?

Or I just want to get an excuse for my bad fishkeeping?

 

[Snowboarda42]

Its up to you if you want to keep trying getting these fish. Just make sure you get them from a place with a money back guarantee, that way you don't end up in the same situation you had in the first place.

If I were you, look into something thats not so deepwater dwelling. It will definitely keep swim bladder issues down, and the fish will be more used to the bright lights, which might be why they are hiding.

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

I think I got the first female down pretty well, since she was eating and doing really well for a month, until the new comers arrived.

And you are right about the guarantee. The issue is that I can't prove anything if I can't find the dead fish. There is extensive rockwork in my tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Found the first female last night resting inside a cave. She seem to be got bully out of her usual spot since the newcomers arrived.

She seem to be a bit staved, but I can't get her to get out the cave to eat. She used to dart out when I put food in there. Any solution?

 

[bleedingthought]

What kind of lights are they under? And what are the other fish in there?

 

[Snowboarda42]

You might take a piece of flexible tubing and a turkey baster/injector and spray some mysis in front of her cave and see if she comes out. Anthias are REALLY shy in the beginning.

I take it you're down to one now?

 

[Anonymous]

Currently, I only have one of the two MHs on, so it is only 400W. There used to be four cardinalfish and a mandarin fish, but the cardinals disappeared within first two days of the introduction of the first three anthias.

One female and one male of the three got the bladder issue, and they died. I then brought a pair to replace them, which is about a week ago. So three of them (one old female that survived, and a pair of new female and male) were swimming in the same area within the first few hours, and were eating together.

Then the next day the old female went hiding, and I did not see her until yesterday, so she is still doing fine, just not near the place where the food is.

So right now, I can see the pair eating and still alright. Keeping my fingers crossed on the male, and hope he is without the bladder issue. The old female disappeared again, and I don't know where to feed her. I think she will starved to death. She was never shy at all, just after I released the new pair that she behaved differently.

These did not seem to mind about the bright light, but I do noticed that they tends to swim more boldly in the water column when the light is off during day time.

 

[Anonymous]

With a fish like this I'd watch it in the store for at least a week , maybe 2. See if you can put down a deposit maybe and have him hold it for a week. If they won't or someone else wants to buy it then pass. If the fish is eating and not swimming with distress or odd position after a week then maybe think about buying them.

I'd also do an extended quarantine / conditioning period if at all possible before introducing them into the main tank.