Nemanthias carberryi

[csababubbles]

I just purchased a trio of the Nemanthias carberryi I have two options: put them in a 125 with no other anthias or put them in a 220 with a pair of Nemanthias carberryi. Would the resident anthias fight with the new ones? Or do they tend to form a pecking order in a large enough tank? If one of the trio is a male, could he switch back to a female with the presence of an existing male? Or is this just a recipe for disaster?

 

[leebca]

From what I can tell from the post, I would say, "Yes." All those are possibilities.

With the larger aquarium it helps, but these fish tend to swim in the open, if I know the species you're referring to.

 

[csababubbles]

yes the existing ones I have swim in the open and only hide in the rocks at night or when hiding, and even then only for a second or two. so everybody will be in everybody else's face pretty much all the time.

Are you also saying "yes" to whether an existing male anthias has the ability to turn into a female if another male comes into the tank?

 

[leebca]

I don't know for sure that part of it. An established male may die trying to hold on to its gender than change.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

I don't believe that a male will turn into a female. A female can turn into a male if the male of the group dies.. but not the other way around.
If you have a male in the 220 and one of the trio is a male, I would not add them to that tank. Two males will fight. If you are sure the trio is all female, they should be OK but do realize in larger groups the females may fight as well. They do live in large groups in the wild but it is hard to duplicate this in captivity. In large groups there is also a chance that one of the females can turn into a male even with a male present. That usually doesn't turn out to good

 

[csababubbles]

it would be an interesting experiment to see what happens if I were to put them all together but I don't want to risk any of them dying so into the separate 125 they will go....thanks for all the help!