Royal Gramma Info

I am looking in to getting one of these beautiful fish but wanted to get some questions I have answered from those of you who have or had one. Are these a timid fish where they hide a lot where you can't see them and are they difficult to keep? Is it possible to have more than one in a 75 gal. What is the max size that they get?

 

not timid but may dig a cave and sit in it. you can't have two. they get maybe 3 inches

 

Thanks for the input

 

I had two (one in each of my tanks- 20g and 38g). They were never timid, but I wouldn't say they were active swimmers, as they would pick a spot in the live rock and call it home. They would stay out where you could see them, but usually were never more than a foot from their "home". Both were very easy to keep as they ate just about everything I fed them (live or freeze-dried brine shrimp, pellet food, raw table shrimp pieces, flake food) and were pretty hardy (had them for about 4 years). They both got along with all of their tankmates. The 38 had 2 Ocelleris Clowns (tank raised), Flame Angel, Gramma, and a few Green Chromis. The 20 had an Ocelleris Clown (tank raised), Coral Beauty Angel, and Gramma.

 

They are pretty hardy, mine went in too early and survived the cycle.

Mine is very social, hangs out all over the tank during the day. He does sleep at night, in the same hole in the liverock. You want to make sure it has a cave to sleep in, or it will make one by digging a hole in the sand under your rock. He eats anything and everything I put in the tank for food and pods as well. I joke that he thinks he's a tang, because he nibbles on filamentous algae and some of my macros (I moved them to another tank). They are definitley a bright and colorful addition to any tank, and are small enough that they'll work in a smaller tank (mine is 25G). I also have a rainford goby and a saddleback clown, and he gets along well with both. I think the more social tankmates has forced him to be active.

I will say though, that he doesn't care much for changes in the tank. He doesn't get ill or start feeding, but he headbutted my frogspawn so much that I had to drill a hole in a piece of rock and glue it in to keep him from knocking it into the sand. He's since left it alone in favor of knocking the snails off the glass.

 

Thanks for all the input I am definitely going to get one.

 

A good choice. Mine is very hardy, just don't get more than one. Also, before you buy one make sure you would rather have him than any other gramma, dottyback, or pseudochromis as you can't have more than one of any of these per tank.

 

I've had a Royal Gramma too =D

He had his comfy spot on my plastic mountain on a shelf behind a tiny plastic tree =3 it was pretty cute, because he'd curl up behind that little tree all the time. It was his established home since day one. He seldom left that spot, and wouldn't really swim far from it. He'd open his mouth all "raaaaagh" like when others got all up in his space XD I thought it was funny =3

I named him PJ because he was always cozy and comfy in his little cranny =3

I don't have him anymore, but that was probably because my tank wasn't in the best condition at that point.