🐠 Painted Anthias (Pseudanthias pictilis)
Marine Reef-Safe Shoaling Fish • Pink, Orange & Blue Gradient • Genuinely One of the Larger, Easier-Feeding Anthias • Moderate Marine Fish
 
📋 The Painted Anthias (Pseudanthias pictilis), also known as the Pictilis Anthias or Painted Goldie, is a genuinely dazzling species — males show a pink front half fading into bright reddish-orange toward the tail, with a pale blue patch and a distinctive blue oval marking on the caudal fin, while females display a softer pinkish-orange front and pale yellow rear.
Native to steep outer reef slopes across the Western Pacific, including New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, and Tonga, this species naturally aggregates over deep water, typically between 20 and 30 metres, feeding on zooplankton in the current.
Here's a genuine plus: as one of the larger Pseudanthias species, the Painted Anthias is meaningfully easier to feed than smaller, pickier relatives like the Purple Queen Anthias, and adapts well to captivity. Given its deep-water origin, it genuinely does best with subdued initial lighting and plenty of caves and crevices to retreat to, becoming bolder as it settles in. It's a genuinely capable jumper, so a tight-fitting lid is essential, and males are territorial toward other males — house as a single specimen, a mated pair, or a harem of one male with several females.
 
💗🩵 Highlights
🎨 Pink-Orange-Blue Gradient: A genuinely dazzling combination of colours
📏 One of the Larger Anthias Species: Meaningfully easier to feed than smaller relatives
🌗 Prefers Subdued Initial Lighting: Reflects its natural deep-reef origin
🌿 Genuinely Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
⚠️ Genuine Jumping Risk: A tight-fitting lid is essential