Ruby Anthias (Paranthias colonus)

The Ruby Anthias (Paranthias colonus), also sold as the Creole Anthias or Pacific Creolefish, is the anthias for people who have been burned by anthias. Instead of the finicky, harem-bound Pseudanthias most hobbyists try first, this eastern Pacific planktivore is a big, robust, open-water swimmer that takes prepared food almost immediately and holds condition beautifully. The body is a soft rose-lavender that deepens toward brilliant orange-red along the dorsal ridge and the deeply forked tail, with a scatter of tiny pale spots below the dorsal fin. In a large reef with real current it becomes the fish that never stops moving. This one is a medium. Browse the rest of our saltwater livestock and supplies to build the rest of the crew.

Care Guide

• Tank size: 125 gallons or larger for a single adult, 180 gallons and up if you want a small shoal. This is a genuinely large anthias, not a nano fish, and it needs open water more than it needs rockwork.
• Flow and layout: give it a long, open swimming lane with strong turbulent current. In the wild it hangs in the blue above the reef picking plankton out of moving water, and it behaves best when the tank lets it do the same.
• Water parameters: 72 to 78°F, pH 8.1 to 8.4, salinity 1.020 to 1.026. Stable and well oxygenated matters more than any single number, so keep gas exchange strong.
• Feeding: carnivorous planktivore with a fast metabolism. Feed small portions two to three times daily rather than one large meal. PE Mysis, enriched brine, finely chopped seafood, and quality marine pellets are all accepted. Adding live copepods during the settling-in period gets a new arrival eating faster.
• Lid: required. Anthias are strong, startled jumpers, and a fast open-water species like this one will find any gap in the top of the tank.
• Groups: keep one individual, or add a shoal all at once in a large system. Adding them one at a time invites the established fish to bully the newcomer.

Specifications

Compatibility

Best suited to a large, active community where nothing else is small enough to swallow. It mixes well with tangs and other bold mid-water swimmers, so the Purple Tang, Scopas Tang, and Yellow Foxface all make good company. Schooling fish such as the Blue Green Chromis and the Banggai Cardinalfish work once they are grown out, but very small or very slender fish are at risk from a full-size adult. If you want the classic reef anthias look at a smaller scale instead, the Lyretail Anthias covers that ground. Corals, clams, and ornamental shrimp are safe, and the only real trouble comes from housing two adult Ruby Anthias in a tank too small for both to claim their own water column.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Piscine Energetics PE Mysis frozen staple
• Ocean Nutrition Frozen Mysis Shrimp for feeding variety
• Vitalis Marine Pellets 1mm as a dry staple between frozen feedings
• Nutramar Tigrio Live Copepods to start a new arrival feeding
• Selcon Vitamin Booster for soaking frozen food on a fast-metabolism fish

FAQ

Is this easier than a normal anthias?
Generally yes. Most Pseudanthias arrive thin and refuse dry food for weeks. Paranthias is a bigger, sturdier fish that usually switches to prepared foods quickly. The trade-off is size: it needs far more tank than a Lyretail does.

How many times a day does it need to eat?
Two to three small feedings is the realistic minimum. Plankton pickers burn through calories, and one feeding a day slowly wastes them down. An autofeeder or a midday pellet drop makes this easy.

Can I keep more than one?
Only in a large system, and only if you add them together. Two adults introduced at different times in a modest tank will spar over the open water they both want.

Will it eat my corals or cleanup crew?
No. It picks food out of the water column and ignores corals, clams, snails, and full-grown ornamental shrimp. Very small fish and newly added shrimp are the exception once it reaches adult size.