The Purple Anthias is also commonly referred as Purple Queen Anthias and Amethyst anthias. It grows up to 6 inches in the wild and should be kept in a tank not less than 35 gallons. Since the Purple Anthias is peaceful, it is imperative to keep it with peaceful tank mates, and not with aggressive tank mates. It does not bother any invertebrates or corals and therefore the Purple Anthias is considered a reef safe species. It is a carnivorous fish that mainly feeds on mysid shrimp and vitamin-enriched brine shrimp that helps in maintaining its color. It is best to feed the Purple Anthias with live foods to make its immune system strong. It should be fed at least three times a day for its continued good health. The Purple Anthias requires an aquarium with lots of ledges and rockwork to relax under. Also, provide it with ample space to swim, and clean, well oxygenated water. The Purple Anthias can be kept ideally in small groups of one male with 5+ females. It starts its life as a female and when required, a female can be changed to male. Male Purple Anthias are much more colorful and often have filamentous streamers which it uses for its mating dance and to deter other males.
The Purple Queen Anthias is a beautiful fish colored in light purple. These fish do well when kept in groups and are peaceful towards other fish. They make great addtions to any community or reef tank. The Purple Queen prefers lots of rockwork and ledges to relax under. They will accept small live foods like Mysid, Brine, or Grass shrimp.The family of Anthias are closely related to Seabasses, which include Groupers. These fish begin life as females and will change sex based on the requirement of their "harem". Anthias gather in huge schools around reefs where they swim within the school waiting for food. These schools can be seen in the hundreds and are made up of small "harems" of a single dominant male, less dominant males, and many females.
