tdgates10, to answer your question from your PM, I would do the following. Since you have 7 fish, especially ones that have a lot of energy to expend, I would at least get a 40G tank. PetCo sells them for relatively cheap, and you can always use an extra tank. If you can find a better deal on a bigger one, do it. Especially with 7 fish. Normally, Lee recommends doing one fish per tank while in QT. In this case, its a little different seeing as how you ordered 7. If you can set up 7 10G tanks, more power to ya. If not, get a single big one. I would say you could actually split the group up, but while being in QT for at least 8 weeks, you'll most likely see males come forth out of each group, then when you went to add them, you'd have males fighting
. I guess in this case it will be an exception of some sorts.
So, to cap off, do the following:
1. 40B or bigger - check this forum, craigslist.com, newspaper adds, etc.
2. Use PVC in the QT tank for them to hide in.
3. Give the tank in a Med-Low light
4. Put it in an area where you spend a lot of time. Sort of a high traffic area (keep reading, it'll make sense). Anthias are VERY shy in the beginning, especially dispars. Reason I'm saying high traffic is because by the END of the QT, you'll want the fish to be able to "recognize" you, and not be so freaked out by some sort of movement outside the tank. Mine used to hide if I was less than 10ft from the tank
. Get a dark colored sheet, and hang it around the edges of the tank, so that only the top-down view will be visible. This way you can feed them, and the tank will still get some lighting. Leave it like this for about a week to a week and a half. Check on them if you like, but don't do it too often in the first week. You will need to remove it for siphoning excess foods, wastes, etc. After a while, you can take the sheet off, but do your best to keep your traffic to a minimum, or move a little slower while you do whatever it is you do around the tank. Increase the activity a little more each 5-7 days and they'll be used to you and whoever is around the tank in no time. I learned this from a guy who keeps some of the most finicky anthias.
5. Get a plastic sponge filter and put it in your sump/dt. The return section of a sump is good for this. Leave it there for as long as you can. Then, when the fish come, it will be "seeded" with bacteria that break down wastes. The bigger sponge the better.
6. Unfortunately for you, this is undoubtedly going to "shock" your QT tank. Your going to have to do large (50-70%) water changes, every other day. If not daily. You'll have to keep a
REALLY close eye on Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates. Any time any of the first two start to go up, do a water change. Try and keep the 3rd one down below 50ppm if you can. Things like siphoning out fish wastes and uneaten foods will greatly keep these levels down.
7. Aggression - Seeing as how Anthias have a "picking" order, you're going to see some aggression. One, maybe two of the group will keep the others in check. Chase them a little, try and chase its own reflection, etc. The most dominant will end up being a male; that is, if they send you all females (hopefully). Before the end of the QT, you'll most likely see one that looks different from the rest in terms of color, size, fin shape, etc.
8. 360reefer has another good point. You should always deworm your new additions. I couldn't believe that fish that are imported in this trade have a 40%+ chance of having some sort of intestinal worms. Get some PraziPro like 360 said and treat the tank. If you like, get some of
THIS food and feed it to them while they're in QT. It will most likely be more effective than treating the entire tank with PraziPro. Just be sure you feed them enough before you start the dewormers, so that they have some "storage" fats to rely on, as this food is not very nutritious, IIRC.
Feeding Directions: Gently spread food over water surface so that it floats. Feed exclusively for 3 consecutive days a week for 4 weeks. Do not use other foods during these 3-day periods. Feed as much as the fish will eat 1 or 2 times daily. May be used with external water treatments, antibiotic/fungal or anti-parasitic treatments. For scavengers and small fish, crush pellets to desired size.
9. Carbon - Run it, get a hang on back filter, bigger the better, and stuff that bad boy with carbon. Change it weekly, if not more. Don't skimp out on this, it helps absorb Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates.
Lastly, if you have any problems getting them to eat, go talk to Kevin Pockell at Aquatic Dreams. He's got experience with getting anthias to eat, maybe he can give advice.
