All fish / Serranidae

Thompson's Anthias

Pseudanthias thompsoni

Also known as thompson's anthias, thompsons anthias, hawaiian anthias, thompson anthias, ハワイアンアンティアス, 汤氏拟花鮨

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A fairly large anthias found in Hawaii, with an orange to salmon body, yellow tones on the head and fins, and a deeply forked lyre tail. It usually lives on deeper reef slopes and handles slightly cooler water better than most anthias. Keepers value it for its soft colours and its active swimming in the open water of big reef tanks.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

18 cm

Temperature

22 to 26 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

500 litres

Keep as

One male with several females, or a single fish in a large tank

Diet

Carnivore: frequent small feeds of mysis, enriched brine shrimp, copepods and fine marine pellets

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 8 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll

Breeding

It is a protogynous hermaphrodite: fish start out as females, and the dominant one can change into a male. It scatters eggs in open water and has planktonic larvae, so it is rarely if ever bred in captivity.

Good to know

It needs a big tank with plenty of swimming room and several feeds a day, and it tends to come into the trade only from Hawaii, which makes it scarce and expensive. Males can quarrel with each other, so keep only one male per tank.