Having trouble confirming anthias ID

[jdavid]

So for a while now I have wanted a fathead sunburst anthias. I can only find pictures of them very small, and in person I've never seen one longer than 2".

But according to live aquaria they grow to 5".

While searching for a pic of an adult I found this, listed under a different species name

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So this one is apparently a Pseudoanthias ventralis, can anyone confirm?

Below is a picture of what I believe is definitely a Fathead Sunburst Anthias (Serranocirrhitus latus)
(Like that c and p?)

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So, any store owners, educated reefers, anthias expert, etc, able to confirm the ID on the first fish?

 

[dawgface]

Both identifications are correct.

As far as fatheads I've never seen them in captivity above 3" myself.

 

[jdavid]

Have you had one?

 

[KrisDeitz]

I had a few fat heads. Great fish just very shy

 

[jdavid]

JDavid;972770 wrote: Have you had one?

Jesse I meant the ventralis.you edited your post lol

 

[dawgface]

Yes I attempted them on 2 occasions. Both attempts started with a harlem and seemingly all initial signs signaled success i.e. eating, social, no harassment and no stress. Again in both situations the start was one missing and then almost weekly one by one the others died for no apparent cause. The first attempt being a little more successful if you judge by timeline. I think I kept them for 2 or 3 weeks longer than the second batch.

For me I'll not try them again... too finicky for me.

 

[jdavid]

Do you need to have more than one? Or can you just keep a single one?

As far as the fathead is concerned, Dylan had one by itself and it did well. So if I have to have multiple ventralis, I'd rather just have a single fathead instead. Small tank.

 

[dawgface]

I think all species of Anthias do better in groups. Safety and security in numbers. I tend to think that that maybe accurate but at a level unfeasibly met in most if not all home aquariums.

Fatheads are easier than ventralis but are still not by any means easy, reportedly.... never had them.

 

[jdavid]

Hmm... I definitely won't jump the gun on purchasing an anthias. This needs to be well thought out.

 

[jdavid]

Considering what else I'd like to keep, etc. might work might not.

 

[jc_k]

My squareback anthia ( completely grown ) when I got it didn't eat for about 4-5 days and when it started eating I added 2 really small females... It beated the crap out of them (the male) I need up taking them back. I was told that it might happen but I never actually thought about it that much.

 

[dawgface]

This looks to be a bloat of a fathead! If any of them get 5" this is likely what they look like!

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[jdavid]

Oh, sweet

 

[jdavid]

I want one badly

 

[lant]

Fatheads/Sunburst Anthias are an exception to the harem rule. They have more hawkfish in them then other anthias. You can definitely keep just one in your tank. Here is a fathead I had in my 240 circa 2004. He was about 2.5" and barely grew at all.
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[jdavid]

So this fish could go in a 60 cube without issue

 

[lant]

JDavid;973243 wrote: So this fish could go in a 60 cube without issue

It's probably your best bet in such a small tank.

I don't think they need a lot of space. You can keep them in a 30g if you maintain water quality. You have to feed the tank heavily because they take a really long time to eat, and the food has to be literally blowing in their face.

 

[redstang]

JDavid;973243 wrote: So this fish could go in a 60 cube without issue

I'm planning on one for my 60 cube as well. Everything I've read has said the fathead is the only anthia besides the Waitei that can thrive in this small of a tank. I've also read that these do best individually vs a harem. No personal experience though. I've just been researching them like you are.

 

[marquiseo]

I had a harem of ventralis before. I kept them for almost 7 months before I had to sell them. I had to sell them because I was moving out of state for military training then relocating here to Georgia afterwards. I started with 1 female. I acclimated the female for 2 hours. Sadly, it died a few days later. So I claimed my guarantee and purchased 2 females and 1 male. A local reefer had informed me that his anthias never made it pass acclimation. So, I experimented by not acclimating them and they all survive. Based on my small experiment, I didn't acclimate(besides temperature) any more anthias but I did quarantine.

SN: The one pictured in the original post is the one from Hawaii. The one I had was from Cook Islands. The male is pictured as my avatar.

I, also, had a duo of Fathead Sunburst. As other have stated, they don't school and are more of a solo act. I had one about 3" and the other slightly smaller. Great fish to get. I saw some available at Bob's Tropical Fish in Augusta, GA, that's if you don't want to wait for shipping. I forgot the price but it is less than Liveaquaria. I was there last weekend and saw they still had a few available.

 

[marquiseo]

Also, ventralis are seasonal. I bought mine from Liveaquaria when they had the females on sale. The only other place at the moment is Bluezooaquatics