Purple Queen Anthias

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Western Indo-Pacific: distributed from Mauritius to the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. Inhabits upper outer reef slopes exposed to strong ocean currents at depths of 10 to 30 meters.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Member of the family Serranidae. Compressed body, pointed snout, and highly elongated lyre-shaped caudal fin. Reaches approximately 12 cm.

Social Behavior: Peaceful, highly gregarious, and shy in aquaria. Forms large tight schools swimming in unison near reef branches. Protogynous hermaphrodite.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Males are electric purple with an oblique yellow stripe on the head and a yellow or orange dorsal fin. Females are brilliant purple with a bright yellow stripe running along the back to the tail tips. Marked dimorphism.

Aquarium Setup: Requires a large, mature tank of at least 400 liters with strong water movement and excellent oxygenation. Plenty of rocky hiding spots are mandatory. Cover is essential. High jumping risk.

Diet and Feeding: Obligate planctivorous carnivore. Requires frequent feeding (4-5 times daily) with live copepods, rotifers, cyclops, and baby frozen brine shrimp. Most specimens reject dry food.

Water Quality: Pristine and stable parameters. Temperature 22-27°C, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity SG 1.020-1.026. GH 15-25. Requires an oversized protein skimmer to handle the organic load from frequent feedings.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Reef safe. Must be housed only with extremely peaceful fish and kept in groups of at least 6-8 specimens (one male and several females). Active or boisterous tankmates will prevent it from feeding, leading to death.

Aquarium Breeding: Not successfully bred in captivity due to the prolonged planktonic larval stage.

Risks and Diseases: Very high initial mortality rate due to fasting stress. Extremely sensitive to oodinium and external parasitic infections.