TankBud

Purple queen anthias

Pseudanthias tuka

Also known as Purple Anthias, Yellowstriped Fairy Basslet, Tuka Anthias, Purple Queen

SaltwaterFish

Purple queen anthias (Pseudanthias tuka)
Jenny (JennyHuang) from Taipei · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
4.7 in
12 cm
Minimum tank
75 gal
285 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Serranidae
Origin
Western Pacific from Indonesia and the Philippines to the Great Barrier Reef, over outer reef slopes in large aggregations.

Overview

The purple queen anthias is a peaceful plankton feeder for the open middle water of a reef tank. It is for experienced keepers who can commit to frequent feedings.

Did you know

The purple queen anthias will only eat food that is still drifting in the water. It ignores anything that has landed on the rock or sand.

Caring for the purple queen anthias

Give purple queen anthias at least 75 gal (285 L), with strong, constant flow and open swimming room in the middle of the tank. They are reef safe and ignore corals and clams.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feeding is the hard part, since they are notoriously fussy about food in captivity. Offer copepods, mysis, enriched brine shrimp and micro-pellets three to five times a day. Aim each feeding into the current so it drifts past them before it settles.

The purple queen anthias is peaceful and community safe, and it does fine alone or in a group. Males are deep magenta, while females are purple with a yellow stripe along the back. Breeding it is hard.

Good to know

The purple queen anthias, Pseudanthias tuka, is an anthias in the family Serranidae. It also goes by purple anthias, yellowstriped fairy basslet and tuka anthias. As with other anthias, the dominant fish in a group is a male that began life as a female.

In the wild

Purple queen anthias live in the western Pacific, from Indonesia and the Philippines to the Great Barrier Reef. They gather in big mixed-sex shoals over the outer reef slopes, hanging in the current to snatch plankton. Their diet is almost entirely zooplankton picked from the water column.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The purple queen anthias is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a purple queen anthias need?

A purple queen anthias needs at least 75 gal (285 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a purple queen anthias need?

A purple queen anthias is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a purple queen anthias eat?

A purple queen anthias eats copepods, mysis, enriched brine shrimp and micro-pellets. Feed it three to five times a day, aiming the food into the current.

How big does a purple queen anthias get?

An adult purple queen anthias reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).

How can you tell a male purple queen anthias from a female?

Males are deep magenta, while females are purple with a yellow stripe along the back.

Related species