Bartlett's Anthias

[Natterjak]

Anyone have experience with Bartlett's Anthias? I currently have 4 of them in my tank right now, and at the time that I purchased them I knew I had one male and possibly 3 females. Well, it looks like I actually have 2 males and 2 females - and each male hangs out with a specific female (I have seen the larger male chase away the other female).

There's occassional aggression - mostly by the larger male who chases the other pair back to their area. When I got the Bartlett's, I had read that it was better to have multiple females for each male. So my question is, should I get more females, or just leave things as they are? I would remove the other male, but I don't think that's going to be possible.

 

[Apon]

Never had them , but I would get more females if you have the room or can you catch 1 pair.

 

[LeviT]

I don't know either but I'd guess cutting back to 1 male would be ideal but if that's not an option cross your fingers and hope for the best. I'm sure you have done the same but here are some .com retailer comments on them.

http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDetail.asp?cid=10&pid=291&did=1
http://www.reefhotspot.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2349&osCsid=59d3736846a93929ac141a01784c3b9f
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1128&N=0

 

[Natterjak]

Yeah, I may have to wait it out and see. I never really noticed the split between the two pairs before, but I can definitely tell now. The other male is getting bigger and the coloration more pronounced, and I can actually see the larger male herd his female around while chasing the other female away. One pair pretty much sticks to the rocks while the other swims out in the open. Funny enough, they all seem to sleep in the same area at night.

Trying to get a male and harem of these has definitely turned out differently than I'd hoped! I instead have 2 pairs of Bartlett's, and 1 pair of Dispars (sold to me as Bartlett's)!