Who Gives A Fish Forums

Just got a Royal Gramma for my tank and I'm a bit concerned about its behavior. It seems healthy, but it's super shy and hides behind a powerhead whenever I walk by. I'm hoping it'll become less shy once it gets used to the tank.

I was under the impression they'd eat flake food, but after doing some more research, I found out they need a variety of foods. I did manage to get it to eat some frozen krill, but it wasn't too sure about the flake food and freeze-dried brine shrimp.

If anyone has a Royal Gramma, what kind of food are you feeding it? Where do you get your food from? I'm the only one with a Royal Gramma in my tank right now, along with a purple reef lobster, a CC star, and some cleanup crew.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of clowns as tankmates, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. I'd do my own research, but the search engine is down.

I think having sufficient rockwork is key for these guys. My Royal Gramma was pretty shy at first, but nowadays he's out and about more often. He has this one hollow rock that's basically his home - he's super protective of it and will chase off any other fish that gets too close. That being said, it's not uncommon for them to spend some time hiding away in the rockwork.

As for tankmates, I think a pair of clowns would be fine.

brunobear wrote: ↑Wed Nov 23, 2022 4:40 am I think having sufficient rockwork is key for these guys. My Royal Gramma was pretty shy at first, but nowadays he's out and about more often. He has this one hollow rock that's basically his home - he's super protective of it and will chase off any other fish that gets too close. That being said, it's not uncommon for them to spend some time hiding away in the rockwork.

As for tankmates, I think a pair of clowns would be fine.

I've got about 15 pounds of live rock in the tank, but I wouldn't say it's a lot. The lobster seems to be everywhere, which might be keeping the Royal Gramma from using it for hiding. He's made a home behind the powerhead instead, which is kinda weird - I'd rather he chose the live rock.

What's your feeding schedule like for your Royal Gramma? Does he eat flakes or freeze-dried food? I've been able to get mine to eat meaty foods, but I'd like to mix it up a bit. We've had success with frozen brine shrimp for our tangs and angels in the larger tank, so I might try that too.

My Royal Gramma is pretty shy, but it's out and about most of the time, which is great. What's interesting is they seem to enjoy digging in the sand under the rocks - I've caught mine doing that a few times.

As for food, mine loves Formula 1 flakes, spirulina brine shrimp, and pellets. To be honest, it has a strong preference for the shrimp - it just can't get enough of it. I've tried a few different foods, but those three seem to be the winners.

I've got mine in a 75-gallon tank with some green chromis, firefish, and a pair of clowns. They can be a bit feisty with each other now and then, but so far, no actual fights have broken out.

I think you might need to add more rockwork to make your Royal Gramma feel more at ease. I've got a bit of experience with lobsters in tanks, and I've found they can be quite aggressive - might be worth keeping an eye on that one.

As for food, my Royal Gramma is a bit of a chowhound - he'll eat just about anything I give him. He wasn't too keen on flakes at first, but now he loves 'em. I've got a pretty varied diet going on in my tank - a little bit of flake in the morning, and then usually a cube of mysis shrimp. Occasionally I'll mix it up with some live baby brine shrimp or a different frozen food.

brunobear wrote: ↑Wed Nov 23, 2022 4:40 am I think having sufficient rockwork is key for these guys. My Royal Gramma was pretty shy at first, but nowadays he's out and about more often. He has this one hollow rock that's basically his home - he's super protective of it and will chase off any other fish that gets too close. That being said, it's not uncommon for them to spend some time hiding away in the rockwork.

As for tankmates, I think a pair of clowns would be fine.

Yeah, the live rock's been a challenge. I wish I'd known better to buy it all at once instead of adding it in bits. I did the best I could with what I had, creating some caves and stuff. The reef lobster's been pretty harmless so far, but that CC star's a vacuum cleaner - eats everything. I've managed to get him to eat, so that's a good start. If he doesn't stop hiding behind the powerhead, I might have to rearrange the live rock. I'll keep mixing up his food, see what works. Thanks for the advice, guys.

My little Royal Gramma's coming along nicely, I've noticed they can be a bit skittish at first, but that's pretty normal for marine species. What really seemed to bring mine out of its shell was some newly hatched brine shrimp - it absolutely loves those. Now, it's happily munching on flake, frozen brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp, and Krill Pacifica. It's also developed a taste for Cyclopeeze and Copepods, which is great to see. It's really become a great addition to the tank, very friendly and non-aggressive, and it's even staked out its own little territory on the right side of the tank, although it doesn't really defend it.

jolt9 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 24, 2022 2:45 am My little Royal Gramma's coming along nicely, I've noticed they can be a bit skittish at first, but that's pretty normal for marine species. What really seemed to bring mine out of its shell was some newly hatched brine shrimp - it absolutely loves those. Now, it's happily munching on flake, frozen brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp, and Krill Pacifica. It's also developed a taste for Cyclopeeze and Copepods, which is great to see. It's really become a great addition to the tank, very friendly and non-aggressive, and it's even staked out its own little territory on the right side of the tank, although it doesn't really defend it.

Maybe mine is just a bully then. I think I'll try adding some base rock to the tank for now, it's not the prettiest thing to start with but I've heard it blends in after a while. I've seen it done before and it's supposed to work quite well, just add some base rock and let it settle in. Alternatively, if I really want to add more live rock, I could grab a powerhead and heater on the cheap and just set it up in a bucket to cycle the rock before adding it to the tank.

Mine is real outgoing now, usually at the front left quarter of the tank. Not aggressive so far, but it's only been a week. First day, I saw him for 3 seconds, 5 the next day, then he started coming out for food, and the next day he was swimming around properly.

Live brine shrimp really gets him going, but he eats everything I give him. From what I've read, Royal Grammas can be territorial and aggressive to similar fish, but they're generally not a problem for other tankmates.

Mine seems to be a bit of a bully, really quite aggressive towards my other fish, especially the clowns. But since adding more fish to the tank, he's actually calmed down a bit.