🐠 Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)
Marine Reef-Safe Shoaling Fish • Vivid Orange-Red With Elegant Trailing Fins • Genuinely Social & Active • Beginner-Friendly Marine Fish
 
📋 The Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis), also known as the Scalefin Anthias or Sea Goldie, is one of the most iconic reef fish in the hobby. Males display a fiery orange-to-reddish hue with elongated, trailing dorsal fins and a metallic pinkish-purple ring around the eye, while females show a softer, more rounded golden-orange colouration.
Native to a genuinely wide range across the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to Japan and southeast Australia, this species naturally forms large, mesmerizing shoals along reef slopes and drop-offs, feeding on zooplankton carried by the current.
This is a genuinely social, active species that spends most of its time constantly swimming through the water column — and a genuine bonus worth knowing: its confident, out-and-about behaviour can actually help coax shyer, more nervous tank mates out of hiding. It's also worth flagging that this species is a genuinely capable jumper, so a tight-fitting lid or mesh cover is essential. In the wild it lives in harems of one dominant male with several females — never house two males together, as this leads to genuine, serious aggression.
 
🧡🩷 Highlights
🎨 Vivid Orange-Red With Trailing Fins: One of the most visually striking anthias species
🐟 Genuinely Social & Active: Constant motion that can help draw out shyer tank mates
⚠️ Genuine Jumping Risk: A tight-fitting lid is essential
🌿 Genuinely Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
👫 Naturally Forms Harems: One male with several females; never house two males together