Related FAQs: Fancy Basses, Subfamily Anthiinae, Anthiines 2, Anthiine Identification, Anthiine Systems, Anthiine Selection, Anthiine Compatibility, Anthiine Behavior, Anthiine Feeding, Anthiine Disease, Anthiine Reproduction,
Related Articles: The Bass family, The Sunburst/Fathead Anthias, Red Sea Reef Slopes,
Anthiine Species Accounts:
Pseudanthias bimaculatus; the Twin
or Two-Spot Fancy Bass by Bob Fenner
Pseudanthias squamipinnis; the
Lyretail Fancy Bass by Bob Fenner
The Sunburst or
Fathead Anthias, Serranocirrhitus
latus by Bob Fenner
/The Conscientious Marine
Aquarist
Fancy Sea Basses, The
Anthiadinae
Part I To: Part II
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Bob Fenner
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Pseudanthias squamipinnis
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Small, reef colonizing, colonial, often whimsically
colored and exorbitantly priced, fancy sea basses, or
commercially-called Anthias are the least hardy
members of their parent family. Most are just unsuitable for the
conditions provided by their captors. Follow along with me and I'll
offer my suggestions for keeping these delicate fishes.
Classification: Taxonomy, Relation With Other
Groups
Continuing in our discussion of true bass family members,
Family Serranidae, we have the Subfamily
Anthiadinae. These small, at times breathtakingly
beautiful little basses lack many Serranid specializations and may have
a Pseudochromid (Dottyback family) affinity.
Common genera and sub-genera include popular
Anthias, Pseudanthias, Mirolabrichthys (e.g. the
purple queen, tuka), Callanthias, Franzia
Nemanthias, Serranocirrhitus, among others (see Randall,
Pyle). The systematics of this group is not well-elucidated and many
new species are to be expected.
Survey of Nominal Species,
Aquarium Notes:
Genus
Anthias: Eleven Spp.
Anthias olivaceus Randall & McCosker
1982. Central Pacific. To about three inches. This image shot in
Aitutaki, the Cook Islands. |
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Genus
Holanthias; Deepwater Anthias: Nine
Species:
Genus
Luzonichthys; Slender Anthias: Six
spp.
Luzonichthys waitei (Fowler 1931), the
Magenta Slender Anthias. Western Pacific. To three inches in
length. Should be housed in a large system in a small group.
Appreciates live foods. No external sexual differences. Fiji 2017 |
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Genus
Nemanthias; Threadfin Anthias: One
species:
Nemanthias carberryi Smith 1954, the
Threadfin Anthias. East Africa over to the Maldives. To four inches
in length. Best kept in a large system in a haremic setting, one
male, several females. A male in captivity. |
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Odontanthias borbonius (Valenciennes
1828), the Checked Swallowtail. To 15 cm. Indo-Pacific, South
Africa to Palau, north to Japan, south to Indonesia. http://fishbase.org/summary/Species
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Genus
Plectranthias; Perchlets:
Plectranthias sp.
Photo by Josh Evans
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Genus Pseudanthias; Fairy Basslets or Anthias:
Three subgenera (Franzia, Pseudanthias, Milabrichthys):
Thirty-eight spp.:
Pseudanthias bartlettorum (Randall &
Lubbock 1981), Bartlett's Anthias. Western Pacific. One of the
hardiest Anthiines for aquarium use. To three and a half inches in
length. Aquarium image of female, male. |
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Pseudanthias bimaculatus (Smith 1955), the Twin or
Two-Spot Anthias. To four and a half inches in length. Distributed in the
Indo-West Pacific, eastern Africa to Indonesia. This male and female at
right in separate aquariums. A very shy species. |
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Pseudanthias bicolor (Randall 1979), the
Bicolor Anthias. Indo-Pacific, Mauritius to the Hawaiian Islands.
To five inches in length. Also a hardy large reef aquarium species.
One male by itself or with several females. Aquarium and
Hawai'i pix. |
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Pseudanthias cooperi, Silverstreak or
Red-bar Anthias. Males with reddish to orangish heads, tail and dorsal fins;
females reddish-brown. Both have grey stripe below the eyes. Males with
reddish blotch when excited. To 14 cm. Indo-West Pacific. Here in Mauritius
2016. |
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Pseudanthias dispar (Herre 1955), the
Dispar Anthias. Indo-west Pacific. To almost four inches in length. Hard to
keep if not immediately trained to take food. Best fed a few times daily.
Females have slightly longer pelvic fins. A gorgeous male in the Singapore
Aquarium, Sentosa Island and N. Sulawesi males and females from the last. |
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Verticals (Full/Cover
Page Sizes Available) |
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Pseudanthias evansi (Smith
1954), Evan's Anthias, Yellowback or Yellowtail Anthias. Indian
Ocean, eastern Africa coast over to the Maldives. To five inches in
length. A difficult aquarium species. Similar to the hardier
Pseudanthias bartlettorum, which
has a yellow dorsal fin. Below: Aquarium, Maldives and N. Sulawesi
images of males. |
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Pseudanthias fasciata (Kamohara 1954),
One-stripe Anthias. To 21 cm. Indo-West Pacific; Southern Japan to
Australia's GBR. Photo courtesy of John Boe and RMF. |
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Pseudanthias hawaiiensis, Randall
1979, the Hawaiian Longfin Anthias. Looks very similar to
Pseudanthias ventralis but found only in
Hawaii. Up to four inches in length. The male pictured on the left, and the
female on the right. Images from the Kona side of the Big Island of Hawai'i.
JasonC at right, BobF below. |
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Verticals (Full/Cover
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Pseudanthias hiva Randall & Pyle 2001.
Males to 10 cm. females to six. Eastern-Central Pacific; Marquesas.
Nuka Hiva pic of a female showing the definitive orange-red bar
below the eighth dorsal fin ray. |
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Pseudanthias huchtii (Bleeker 1857), the
Red-Cheeked Fairy Basslet. To five inches in length.
Indo-Australian distribution. A female off of Mabul, Malaysia and a
male off of Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia. A relatively hardy
aquarium species, can be scrappy.
http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/
Country/CountrySpeciesSummary.cfm?
Country= Indonesia&Genus=
Pseudanthias&Specie
s=huchtii |
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Pseudanthias hypselosoma Bleeker 1878,
Stocky Anthias. Maldives to Australia, southern Japan. To 19 cm. in
length according to Fishbase, though I've never seen one over
four inches in the wild. Mabul, Malaysia and N. Sulawesi
pix. |
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Pseudanthias ignitus Randall & Lubbock 1981, the
Flame Anthias. Indian Ocean; Maldives, Similan Islands. To three inches in
length. Not often (enough) seen in the west. Photo courtesy of Peter
Martis |
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Pseudanthias lori (Lubbock & Randall
1976), Lori's Anthias. To five inches in length. Indo-Pacific.
Best kept in a small group, as they are here at a marine livestock
wholesale operation. Close up of an individual in Mabul, Malaysia
and in a wholesaler's cubicle in L.A. |
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Pseudanthias luzonensis (Katayama &
Masuda 1973), the Yellow-Lined Anthias. To five and a half inches
long. Males with three yellow lines and red spot on their dorsal
fin. Males off Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia. |
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Part I To: Part II
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