Lyretail Orange Female Anthias - Pseudanthias squamipinnis - Scalefin Anthias - Jewel Lyretail Anthias

Lyretail Orange Female Anthias - Pseudanthias squamipinnis: The hardiest and likely the most territorial of the Anthias, the Lyretail Anthias is one of the most commonly seen Anthias schools in the wild. In captivity it is recommended to keep only a single fish in smaller aquariums (around 55 gallons). If you wish to keep a group, it is best to house no less than 1 male and 8 or more females in a 180 gallon aquarium or larger. Can be kept with other peaceful community fish and care should be taken to ensure that you keep only one male per tank as they will likely fight with each other to the death.

The Lyretail forms large schools that can number more than 2000 individuals. These schools are organized in a strict hierarchy with a relatively small number of territorial males at the top and non-territorial, low-ranking males and females filling out the bulk of the school. Anthias are protogynous hermaphrodites, which means that females can change into males. Territorial males will do their best to bully and harass females to prevent them from changing into males. Once they change into males, the former females will try to climb their way up the pecking order. For males who make it to the top, the reward is territory and a harem of females to chase around that territory. Within the females of a harem exists another hierarchy with the larger females usually dominating the smaller ones. If the ruling male dies, the dominant female will change sex (over about two weeks time) and take over the territory and the harem. This social structure is far from egalitarian and is all about who can kick the most fin. Thus, I am only getting one fish. I don’t want to put up with the squabbling. Aquarists who try to maintain groups of these fish usually keep one male along with a harem of around eight females. This way the male’s attentions are divided up among the females so that no one female gets all of the grief. This usually works if you have a tank large enough to keep such a school and as long as none of the females try to turn male while the dominant male is still around.

Because of their higher metabolism and constant activity in the water column, Lyretail Anthias require multiple feedings each day. Most Lyretail Anthias prefer dimly lit tanks, though there are a few that will learn to adjust to brighter lights of reef aquariums and will spend most of their time swimming in the water column and will need ample open water column to do so.

Maximum Size: The Lyretail Anthias grows up to 5 inches.

General Size Specifications:

• Male - Approximately 3” – 6”
• Female - Approximately 2” – 4”

Minimum Tank Size Suggested: The Bartlett’s Anthias prefers a tank of over 125 gallons

Water Conditions: Keep water quality 72-78°F; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12

Natural Environment: Inhabit reef faces and slopes/drop-off areas

Habitat: Lyretail Anthias are found near Tonga/Fiji

Diet: The diet is consistent with other members of the Anthias group - zooplankton and floating filamentous algae. In the aquarium, it should be fed a varied diet of mysid shrimp, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, frozen preparations and other meaty items for zooplankton feeders. They prefer to be fed small quantities, several times daily.

Breeding: Lyretail Anthias species all share the trait of being hermaphroditic. If a dominant male perishes, the largest female of the group will often morph to take its place.

FREE SHIPPING on order over $500 on all Fish, Corals, Inverts, Package Deals, and Live Reptiles excluding Live Rock, Sand, and Natural Sea Water! If order under $500 Shipping Charge will be calculated base on the actual shipping weight. All livestock orders are shipped via Next Day Air. If other shipping method is chosen we will modify the shipping method. Live Rock and Sand are ship using 2nd day service. Dry goods, Aquarium Supplies, and Reptile supplies are ship using ground service unless Specified. All livestock orders must be shipped overnight via UPS or FEDEX Priority Overnight to reduce transit time. Orders generally ship within 1-2 business shipping days. All LiveStock are shipped Wednesday and will be deliver Thursday Morning. You will receive a confirmation email with your tracking number when your order has shipped. How much is Saturday delivery? Saturday delivery must be made by special request by email or phone. Saturday delivery is an extra $26 charge. Availability In the interest of meeting your schedule, if 70% of your order is in stock, it will be shipped. Any missing items or substitutions will be marked on your order and your total will be adjusted accordingly. If you would prefer to be contacted if we are missing items, please let us know when placing your order in the comment field. However, this may delay your order. Due to the nature of our products, we cannot backorder live animals. SHIPPING AND BILLING ADDRESSES: If your shipping address is different from your credit card billing address, please make sure your card issuer has listed this shipping address as an "authorized" address. We verify all addresses with VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Signature Required UPS generally requires a signature for delivery. You or someone authorized by you, must be present to sign for a shipment if you choose to have it delivered to your home or office. Arrive Alive Guarantee Under the following circumstances we WILL NOT be able to honor our warranty:

• Orders not received on the first delivery attempt.
• Orders not held for pick up at the FEDEX/UPS facility when temperatures are greater than 90 degrees or lower than 40 degrees.
• Orders placed during extreme weather will not be cover under our alive arrive guarenteed.
• If the weather delay a flight, or closes an airport, you live stock will be delayed. Fedex has no control over the weather, nor does Freshmarine.com.
• If your Live Stock is delay, Damaged, or Never Delivered due to severe weather condition, Fedex will not honor GUARANTEES, and therefore neither can Freshmarine.com.

FreshMarine.com only ships within the continental U.S. excludes Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico