Bartlett's Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum) Breeding Guide

Why Bartlett's anthias Pseudanthias bartlettorum is not bred at home: a haremic, plankton-feeding broadcast spawner with tiny pelagic larvae kept only as a schooling display fish.

Overview

Pseudanthias bartlettorum is a small reef anthias of the western Pacific, recorded from Palau, the Caroline and Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga, reaching about 9 cm and living down to 30 m in current-swept reef faces and drop-offs. It forms large schools of a few males and many females, but there is no documented method for breeding it in a home aquarium.

Social Structure and Reproduction

The species lives in large schools consisting of a few males and several dozen females and juveniles, and shows subtle sexual dimorphism: males have a thickened, slightly pointed upper lip that can be moved, while females have a terminal mouth. Wikipedia provides no information on spawning behaviour, sex change or captive breeding, so reproductive detail beyond this haremic structure is not described.

Why It Is Not Home-Bred

Anthias of the genus Pseudanthias are planktivores that feed on zooplankton and, like most reef serranids in this group, spawn by releasing eggs and sperm into the water column, producing minute pelagic larvae. Rearing such larvae demands specialised hatchery systems and continuous live-food cultures that cannot be reproduced in a home aquarium, and no hobby-scale breeding of this species is documented.

Aquarium Husbandry Notes

Rather than a breeding project, the species is kept as a schooling display fish in a spacious reef. It needs strong water flow reflecting the current-swept reef faces, slopes and channels it inhabits, and it feeds on zooplankton, so multiple daily feedings of small foods are required to keep it in condition. A larger group with only one or few males reduces social conflict.