The Lyretail or "Sea Goldie" Anthias is the most common and popular anthias, well suited for life in large reef aquariums. They are shoaling/schooling fish, consisting of one male per 5-10 females. We recommend an absolute minimum of 3 lyretail anthias in a tank. 6 or more is best to achieve a healthy ratio of male to female anthias and disperse aggression. It is also recommended to purchase all anthias as females and allow a male to transition, unless they are currently housed with a dominant male. The male and dominant female will grow largest, up to 5-6 inches long. The remaining females will vary in size based on their status in the harem, where some full grown females can stay as small as 2 inches. Still, we recommend a minimum of 125 gallons for up to 6 lyretails, with properly maintained filtration and water quality. Anthias often get a bad reputation for needing to eat frequently. While this is true for most anthias species, we find that the lyretail anthias in particular can remain perfectly healthy with one large feeding per day. Enough food should be added so that they are hunting for about 5 or more minutes. Or, split up feedings using an auto feeder - lyretails will typically accept pellet food without issue once conditioned. They are significantly easier to keep than any other schooling anthias! Schooling fish like anthias and chromis are more prone to certain infections such as Uronema. While we proactively treat our systems with Metronidazole and remove infected individuals, this may not be sufficient to eradicate the parasite. We highly recommend quarantining anthias before adding them to a display. Contact us for more information about uronema and quarantine. Bonus - Midas Blennies naturally school with Lyretail Anthias, too! Add a Midas blenny to your tank and watch it mimic your anthias, very interesting to observe. A well maintained school of lyretail anthias can be an extremely rewarding addition to your tank! They are a personal favorite here at MN Aquatics.
