CHROMIS & ANTHIAS SPECIES

THIS THREAD CONTAINS SPECIES PROFILES & INFORMATION ABOUT CHROMIS & ANTHIAS
PLEASE DONT POST QUESTIONS HERE, PLEASE USE MAIN SALTWATER FISH THREAD.

Scientific Name: Chromis viridis
Family: Pomacentridae
Size: 3½ inches
Temperature: 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Origin: Indian and Pacific Oceans

The green chromis makes an excellent aquarium fish, as do most chromis fish found in local fish stores. It is almost always available at reasonable prices, and the only word of warning is that it is best kept in groups of six or more fish of the same species. In those numbers, it will establish a pecking order within the group, and peace will usually reign. It will not bother any other fish, and it is an excellent fish for reef tanks. Single fish usually do not do well, and without its fellow chromis species, a single fish will usually waste away and perish.

A green chromis will spend most of its time swimming in the open water of an aquarium, so it needs plenty of space in the middle- to upper-water column. When it has established a school, or shoal, a green chromis will often spawn in an aquarium, but it is virtually impossible to raise any babies. Commercial aquaculture is well on its way to providing fish to the hobby, but large numbers are usually taken from the wild.

Chromis of all kinds do very well in the home aquarium. A chromis will usually eat any prepared foods, including flake. It should, however, be presented with a wide variety of food including some meaty foods. It is important that it is fed as often as possible because it is a constant feeder on the reef. If deprived of food many times a day, it can fail to thrive.

Scientific Name: Pseudanthias squamipinnis
Family: Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Size: 6 inches
Temperature: 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Origin: Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean

Of all of the anthias, the lyretail is just about the most cantankerous and territorial. Even though it is found in the wild in huge swarms over a reef, in an aquarium it is usually best to keep a single fish, and not to have any other anthias, or any other fish that look like anthias, or any fish that compete for food in the water column in the tank with the single lyretail. If you want to keep lyretail anthias in a harem, like other anthias such as the threadfin or the peach, then you need to have a really big tank, 150 gallons or larger. Even then there will be lots of fighting and jostling within the school until the social hierarchy is determined, and you may lose some fish in the process. What is worse, the jockeying within the harem never ceases with these fish.

Since it is a zooplankton feeder, it needs to be presented with a variety of meaty foods such as enriched brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, finely chopped seafood, and any of the frozen diets designed specifically for plankton feeders. It needs to be fed small amounts many times a day, and it is important to make sure that all of the fish in the harem are getting enough food, because one way in which lyretail anthias exert dominance over each other is to try and deny the fish below them on the social ladder access to food.

Scientific Name: Pseudanthias dispar
Family: Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Size: 4 inches
Temperature: 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Origin: Pacific Ocean

The peach anthias is found in the wild in great numbers, and in an aquarium it needs to be kept in schools of at least 10 to 12 fish. Because it needs a lot of swimming room it should be kept in as large a tank as possible, with a 100-gallon tank being the minimum size. The school should consist of one male and all the rest females, but because the peach anthias is hermaphroditic, if the harem loses the male the dominant female will become a functioning male. Males are distinguished by having a bright red dorsal fin and very extended ventral fins.

The peach anthias can be difficult to acclimate to an aquarium, and it should never be put with fish that are at all aggressive. It is excellent for a reef tank, and will appreciate the strong water movement, as well as having plenty of places in the rocks and coral to hide in when it needs to. Getting peach anthias to feed can initially be a problem, and it may require live brine shrimp (enriched) before it will accept other frozen or prepared foods. Because it is constantly looking for food in the water column, it is a good idea to feed it very small quantities, but many times a day.

Scientific Name: Pseudanthias pleurotaenia
Family: Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Size: 8 inches
Temperature: 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Origin: Western Pacific Ocean

The squarespot anthias takes its name from a square or sometimes rectangular spot on the side of the male fish. This spot may vary in size from being very small to almost taking up more than half of the fish’s side. The colors of this fish are very vibrant, but they vary tremendously depending on where it came from, and from fish to fish. Newly introduce specimens need to have plenty of places to hide, and the other fish in the tank should be very docile. Most importantly, is that its tankmakes not be other anthias, and that the squarespot anthias does not have to compete with other fish for plankton in the water column.

If you have a large tank (150 gallons or more) and you really insist on it, you can try to keep a harem of squarespots, meaning a single male with six or more females. All of the squarespots should be introduced into the tank at the same time, and they will do best if they are the only fish in the tank. It is suitable for a reef tank, as long as it is provided with plenty of places where it can get out of the bright lighting that is typical of a reef tank. Feed it on enriched brine shrimp or mysis shrimp, or any of the frozen prepared foods designed for plankton feeders.

Scientific Name: Nemanthias carberryi
Family: Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Size: 4 inches
Temperature: 74 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Origin: Indian Ocean

The threadfin anthias is a wonderful fish with lots of things to recommend it to the hobbyist. It is beautifully colored, almost always on the move, and once it begins to take food in an aquarium it is a good feeder. Since the threadfin anthias takes its food only from the water column you need to present it with food many times a day, always in small quantities, and always making sure it is eating all of its food. It is a zooplankton feeder, and therefore will take any small or finely chopped meaty foods such as enriched brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp or frozen foods.

Best of all, it is an excellent fish for a reef tank, where it really appreciates the strong water movement and excellent water quality. Threadfin anthias are found in schools numbering in the thousands on the reef, and they have a distinct social structure within the school, based on single male fish with multiple females in “harems.” In aquariums it is best kept in harems consisting of one male and up to ten females, with four females being the suggested minimum. It is hermaphroditic, and if the male of a harem is lost, the dominant female will become a male. The male is distinguished by the long extension of the third dorsal ray, which gives it the name threadfin. This fish is very fast moving, and need lots of open space to swim in. It is also a renowned jumper, so its tank needs to be well covered.

My Lyretail Anthias.

2 "females" late August 2008, day they were removed from quarantine to main tank. Female is in quotation marks because the larger is actually a sub male, prevented from turning full male by the male of the trio (not pictured)


My full male from the trio purchased died from a bacterial infection that didnt show until a month after they were out of quarantine.

Submale, beginning to show some signs of fullmale coloration, Dec. 6, 2008

December 15, 2008 full male color pattern established

December 25, 2008 Fully dominant male, with female, and Tomini tang