🐠 Ventralis Anthias (Pseudanthias ventralis)
A Metallic Purple Body With Yellow Highlights • A Secretive Deep-Cave Dweller • A Striking Rarity for Patient Keepers
 
📋 The Ventralis Anthias, also known as the Longfin Anthias or Longfin Basslet, shows striking differences between the sexes: males have a metallic purple body with a yellow head and intricate purple spotting along the back, while females show a subtler metallic purple with a solid yellow dorsal stripe.
It ranges across a wide stretch of the Western and Central Pacific, from southern Japan and the Mariana Islands to the Marshall Islands, Great Barrier Reef, and as far as the remote Pitcairn Islands. It's a secretive fish by nature, typically encountered alone, in pairs, or small groups within deep caves and rubble along steep drop-offs. Every Ventralis Anthias we ship is feeding well, and patient, consistent feeding helps it settle in at its own pace, with dim lighting and plenty of rockwork to explore.
It's fully reef safe and does best kept as a harem of one male with several females, or singly, with only one male per tank, since two together leads to serious aggression. A mid-sized or larger female tends to settle in more readily than a fully mature male. It reaches up to 7cm, so plan on at least 115L for one fish, and 190L or more for a group.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Metallic Purple With Yellow Highlights: Striking colour differences between sexes
🕳️ A Secretive Cave Dweller: Lives deep within rubble and drop-offs
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: Settles in at its own pace with patient feeding
🌿 Fully Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
👫 One Male Per Tank: Keeps the harem calm and peaceful