Different Lyretail Anthias?

mfinn · 12/26/2015, 10:12 AM

I was wondering if there were any differences between Indian Ocean Lyretail Anthias and Indonesian or Fiji Lyretail Anthias?

I see the Indian Ocean Lyretails have a separate category on liveaquaria.

Anyone know what the differences would be?

TangingOut · 12/26/2015, 10:21 AM

I think the main difference is seen in the male. Indian ocean is predominately orange with red and Fiji is a mix of purple/orange/red.

mfinn · 12/26/2015, 11:01 AM

I'm also wondering besides appearance, if there are differences in hardiness?

twon8 · 12/26/2015, 11:26 AM

The females from the Indian Ocean seem to be a brighter orange

Here is an Indian Ocean male

davocean · 12/26/2015, 11:40 AM

The fiji males are purple, Indian Ocean red.
I'm not sure I'd agree either of the females are more orange, but the Indian ocean variety have a blue line around the eye, and I think that makes them prettier.
I actually have 4 Indian ocean females, and a fiji male, which for me seems the best of both worlds, as long as it stays this way and none of the females turn.
I don't think there is a difference in hardiness.
Diet will also be a factor in colors, a varied diet and multiple feedings help to keep them their brightest.

mfinn · 12/26/2015, 11:49 AM

I had some a short while ago and some of them had almost electric blue around the eye.
Is that from a certain area, or diet?

davocean · 12/26/2015, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davocean

the Indian ocean variety have a blue line around the eye, and I think that makes them prettier.

twon8 · 12/26/2015, 06:30 PM

Buddy55 · 02/08/2017, 07:45 PM

I wanted to put my two cents in on this. This thread is not too old and it came up in a search. I had the brighter Indian Ocean female who was doing well. I planned to keep her alone but wrasse tend to attack single females in my experience. So I ordered more females from the same supplier and the Fiji females came in. I went ahead and put them in and it is very easy to tell the difference between the females. The Fiji females are not as bright or orange, more red. They would not comingle and the Fiji would not eat hardly. They got skinnier and the Indian Ocean female got bigger, but not because she was turning into a male. After three months all the Fiji died and the Indian Ocean female is alone but more Hardy now. Still as female as could be. I am going to get some Indian Ocean females from LiveAquaria so that I know what I'm getting. I had a bad experience with the Fiji.

JsL30629 · 12/12/2018, 08:27 PM

Reviving this thread as I was doing research. A Dr Foster Smith representative posted this reply:

"There are numerous species of marine fishes that have a broad range across the world. The Lyretail Anthias is one such fish that can be found throughout the Central and South Pacific Ocean, Indonesia and Philippines, and in the Indian Ocean and up to the Red Sea. Although the females of these fish from around the world look very similar, with slight variation in the hue of their orange coloration, males from these three distinct regions look different. For this reason some marine biologists and taxonomists have segregated these fishes from each region. All three of the fish listed below can be found in the two books listed below:

Basslets Hamlets and their Relatives, A Comprehensive Guide to Selected Serranidae and Plesiopidae- Rudie H. Kuiter, TMC Publishing 2004.

World Atlas of Marine Fishes- Rudie H Kuiter, Helmut Debelius, IKAN Publishing 2006.

Indian Ocean Lyretail Anthias- Pseudanthias squamipinnis- Formerly Serranus (Anthias) squamipinnis, Peters, 1855.

These fish are prevalent in the Indian Ocean from the East Coast of Africa, up to the Red Sea and over to Maldives and Sri Lanka. Males of this species have a long filament off of the first dorsal spine, deep lunate tail, and are vivid purple/red coloration with yellow and orange on their sides.

Indonesian Lyretail Anthias- Pseudanthias cheirospilos- Formerly Anthias cheirospilos, Bleeker, 1857.

These fish are prevalent in both Indonesia and the Philippines, Males of this species are reddish/purple with yellow outlining their scales in the sides of the fish back to the caudal peduncle, a bluish anal fin, and a blue outline on the edge of the caudal fin which is more truncated that their Indian Ocean counterpart.

Fiji Lyretail Anthias- Pseudanthias cf cheirospilos- Broken out from Anthias cheirospilos with the abbreviation cf which stand for resembles or looks like, and appears to be an undescribed species.

These fish are abundant in the Coral Sea, Papua New Guinea, and over to the Central and South Pacific. Males are mostly purple, and young males have a yellow anal fin, and the entire caudal fin is blue, and not as deeply lunate as their Indonesian counterpart. These fish lack the yellow markings or spots on their sides.

The care for all of these fishes listed above is identical. They require a large aquarium with plenty of swimming space, and frequent feedings of meaty foods such as enriched frozen mysis and enriched frozen brine shrimp. We feed all Anthias offered in the Divers Den section of the LiveAquaria.com web site 6-8 times per day."

Apercula · 12/13/2018, 02:46 AM

My Maldives pair, the male changed from female after purchase.

Divers Den picture of the trio, the male in the picture died in quarantine and one of the females changed to the male above.

12/26/2015, 10:12 AM	#1
mfinn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Olympia. WA. Posts: 8,648	Different Lyretail Anthias? I was wondering if there were any differences between Indian Ocean Lyretail Anthias and Indonesian or Fiji Lyretail Anthias? I see the Indian Ocean Lyretails have a separate category on liveaquaria. Anyone know what the differences would be? __________________ 240 gallon soft coral tank 50 gallon lps tank

12/26/2015, 11:01 AM	#3
mfinn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Olympia. WA. Posts: 8,648	I'm also wondering besides appearance, if there are differences in hardiness? __________________ 240 gallon soft coral tank 50 gallon lps tank

12/26/2015, 11:26 AM	#4
twon8 Formally registered membe Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: slightly sw of richmond, va Posts: 5,920	Different Lyretail Anthias? The females from the Indian Ocean seem to be a brighter orange Here is an Indian Ocean male __________________ Anthony Richmond Reef Club "and as things fell apart, nobody paid much attention." Not building a wall but making a brick Current Tank Info: 300g DD display, 60g frag tank Last edited by twon8; 12/26/2015 at 11:38 AM.

12/26/2015, 11:40 AM	#5
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	The fiji males are purple, Indian Ocean red. I'm not sure I'd agree either of the females are more orange, but the Indian ocean variety have a blue line around the eye, and I think that makes them prettier. I actually have 4 Indian ocean females, and a fiji male, which for me seems the best of both worlds, as long as it stays this way and none of the females turn. I don't think there is a difference in hardiness. Diet will also be a factor in colors, a varied diet and multiple feedings help to keep them their brightest. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

12/26/2015, 11:49 AM	#6
mfinn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Olympia. WA. Posts: 8,648	I had some a short while ago and some of them had almost electric blue around the eye. Is that from a certain area, or diet? __________________ 240 gallon soft coral tank 50 gallon lps tank

12/26/2015, 10:21 AM	#2
TangingOut Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 1,511	I think the main difference is seen in the male. Indian ocean is predominately orange with red and Fiji is a mix of purple/orange/red.

12/26/2015, 06:30 PM	#8
twon8 Formally registered membe Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: slightly sw of richmond, va Posts: 5,920	__________________ Anthony Richmond Reef Club "and as things fell apart, nobody paid much attention." Not building a wall but making a brick Current Tank Info: 300g DD display, 60g frag tank

02/08/2017, 07:45 PM	#9
Buddy55 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 171	I wanted to put my two cents in on this. This thread is not too old and it came up in a search. I had the brighter Indian Ocean female who was doing well. I planned to keep her alone but wrasse tend to attack single females in my experience. So I ordered more females from the same supplier and the Fiji females came in. I went ahead and put them in and it is very easy to tell the difference between the females. The Fiji females are not as bright or orange, more red. They would not comingle and the Fiji would not eat hardly. They got skinnier and the Indian Ocean female got bigger, but not because she was turning into a male. After three months all the Fiji died and the Indian Ocean female is alone but more Hardy now. Still as female as could be. I am going to get some Indian Ocean females from LiveAquaria so that I know what I'm getting. I had a bad experience with the Fiji. __________________ 90 gallon DT w/40 gallon sump

12/12/2018, 08:27 PM	#10
JsL30629 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Newark, CA Posts: 801	Reviving this thread as I was doing research. A Dr Foster Smith representative posted this reply: "There are numerous species of marine fishes that have a broad range across the world. The Lyretail Anthias is one such fish that can be found throughout the Central and South Pacific Ocean, Indonesia and Philippines, and in the Indian Ocean and up to the Red Sea. Although the females of these fish from around the world look very similar, with slight variation in the hue of their orange coloration, males from these three distinct regions look different. For this reason some marine biologists and taxonomists have segregated these fishes from each region. All three of the fish listed below can be found in the two books listed below: Basslets Hamlets and their Relatives, A Comprehensive Guide to Selected Serranidae and Plesiopidae- Rudie H. Kuiter, TMC Publishing 2004. World Atlas of Marine Fishes- Rudie H Kuiter, Helmut Debelius, IKAN Publishing 2006. Indian Ocean Lyretail Anthias- Pseudanthias squamipinnis- Formerly Serranus (Anthias) squamipinnis, Peters, 1855. These fish are prevalent in the Indian Ocean from the East Coast of Africa, up to the Red Sea and over to Maldives and Sri Lanka. Males of this species have a long filament off of the first dorsal spine, deep lunate tail, and are vivid purple/red coloration with yellow and orange on their sides. Indonesian Lyretail Anthias- Pseudanthias cheirospilos- Formerly Anthias cheirospilos, Bleeker, 1857. These fish are prevalent in both Indonesia and the Philippines, Males of this species are reddish/purple with yellow outlining their scales in the sides of the fish back to the caudal peduncle, a bluish anal fin, and a blue outline on the edge of the caudal fin which is more truncated that their Indian Ocean counterpart. Fiji Lyretail Anthias- Pseudanthias cf cheirospilos- Broken out from Anthias cheirospilos with the abbreviation cf which stand for resembles or looks like, and appears to be an undescribed species. These fish are abundant in the Coral Sea, Papua New Guinea, and over to the Central and South Pacific. Males are mostly purple, and young males have a yellow anal fin, and the entire caudal fin is blue, and not as deeply lunate as their Indonesian counterpart. These fish lack the yellow markings or spots on their sides. The care for all of these fishes listed above is identical. They require a large aquarium with plenty of swimming space, and frequent feedings of meaty foods such as enriched frozen mysis and enriched frozen brine shrimp. We feed all Anthias offered in the Divers Den section of the LiveAquaria.com web site 6-8 times per day."

12/13/2018, 02:46 AM	#11
Apercula Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 707	My Maldives pair, the male changed from female after purchase. Divers Den picture of the trio, the male in the picture died in quarantine and one of the females changed to the male above.