help royal gramma to stop hiding

[turbo2oh]

So I introduced a small royal gramma to my tank (60g cube) 2 days ago and he's reluctant to come out of the rockwork unless the pumps are off, even then he stays pretty close to the rocks. The only other fish in the tank are two perc. clowns that cruise the entire tank. I haven't seen any real aggression towards him except the male clown swim near his hole a few times when he was poking out, but I assumed that was more curiosity than aggression.

A few ideas I had:

Should I turn down the return pump? (not ideal)

Should I just be patient and wait for him to start coming out more?

Another suggestion I read was to try to add another confident fish to convince him to come out and also keep the clownfish in check. Any suggestions for good fish for this? I was considering a 6-line wrasse, green chromis, midas blenny, maybe a firefish but I feel like they could just end up hiding as well.

Thanks!

 

[Tiberione]

He's just new to the tank. Patience is key. Ive had fish hide for a week then become a bit more active. He's probably shy

Is he eating?

 

[gone fishin]

Yes, be patient. I put a yellow watchman in my tank and he showed back up 3 months later. Now I see him quite often.

 

[turbo2oh]

He's just new to the tank. Patience is key. Ive had fish hide for a week then become a bit more active. He's probably shy

Is he eating?

He ate a pellet or 2 the first day. Then yesterday I fed LRS and he got a few small pieces. Nothing compared to the quantity the clowns got though.

 

[Tiberione]

He ate a pellet or 2 the first day. Then yesterday I fed LRS and he got a few small pieces. Nothing compared to the quantity the clowns got though.

As long as he's eating.

He will eventually come out and be OK.

Just be patient!!

 

[Coelli]

Mine did that at first too, he didn't like the flow. By a couple of weeks later he was at the front begging for food every time we walked by and we named him Wilbur because he's such a little pig. Great fish.

 

[Sk8r]

They are shy. I had one savaged by another fish become very shy even after that fish was gone. Coming out again took months.

 

[Nina51]

two days isn't long enough to worry. it may take him several more days before he's comfortable in his new digs.

i added a yellow coris wrasse that went directly under the sand. in two solid months, i caught 2 or 3 glimpses of him, weeks apart. i had all but given up on him when he came out for good!

 

[m0nkie]

ya.. my royal gramma is always the first to hide when a new fish gets introduced.. sometimes it takes up to a week for him to fully come out.

 

[ghellin]

Just moved my royal gramma of 2 years from a 58 to my new 180, he hid and stayed close to the rocks for a week or so before adventuring out. If he eats just wait.

 

[tzylak]

When I had mine, she would venture out maybe for 10 seconds before hiding again. Some days I would not see her at all. Then, she went to fish heaven, and I am not even sure when that happened. Now I don't consider the RG to be a show fish. Sorry.

 

[turbo2oh]

Yeah i had one years ago in my 29g and it was out and about but there were a lot fewer places to hide. I purposefully tried to pick one of the bolder ones at the LFS. I guess I'll wait and see. Are firefish typically the same way?

 

[JR8999]

I introduced a RG two weeks ago into my 56. I have 2 OC Clowns and a firefish. The female clown chased his but all over for a few hours just to show who's boss. Two weeks later he mostly sticks to his quarter of the tank and seems pretty happy. His shyness is gone and seems to take no guff from his tankmates. Like the others said...just be patient. He will be fine.

 

[turbo2oh]

Thanks for the advice. Turned the pumps off to feed again today and he was happily cruising the tank until the pumps came back on. Hopefully he'll get used to the water movement over time.

 

[BryanS4]

It should be fine, just give it time. Mine hid except for feeding time for about a week before it started becoming active. It still likes to hang out in it's hiding hole, but is out in the open a good part of the day.