Anthias group losing members
 

I recently picked up a make and 4 female lyretail anthias... 2 females have since died. Can I just add more, or will they be killed?

the general consensus on anthias has changed slightly http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...cott%20michael .......in most cases its probably best to keep one if any.....

From the article:
Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) - This is a wide-ranging species that is common in the aquarium trade. It is highly variable in color - female are orange, males are usually purple. The Lyretail Anthias is a hardy and aggressive anthias species. It is best to keep solitary individuals, unless you have a large aquarium. If you want to keep a group, it should consist of one male and 8 or more females and should be housed in an X-large tank (e.g., 180 gallon tank or larger). Make sure the females you introduce are not undergoing sex change if they are to be housed with a male. During aggressive encounters, individuals will chase and nip at each other, or may even lock jaws.

So when I read this article last time, I apparently made a wee bit of a mistake. I thought that he said that Lyretails do well in groups of 1M, 4-5F. My tank is only 160G. What's done is done. So far, there has been no aggression from the male, so hopefully it stays that way (a little bit of bickering between him and my McKosker's though). So... what should I do? Should I tough it out, leave the group as is with 1 male, and 2 females, or should I try to add a few more females? I hate seeing fish die, so the more death that I can avoid, the better.

Lyretail are hard to keep in general.

This past Christmas I bought 2 female and a male. And my buddy Bignose did as well.

He lost all three. I have a male left. They are constant foragers. I added an auto feeder and NLS pellet. The male is fed three times a day now and is doing fine.

Anthias are also disease prone.

I would say keep one. If you can keep it alive, consider more later. Make sense? I personally will not add more. They are costly to lose.