Royal gramma question

S

SirReefer

Member
I wanted to know whats your experience with them. I just ordered two any chance of them pairing up ? Any advice i know they are a bit agressive against their own kind so im just wondering if anyone has experienced having more than one sine they are hermaphrodite or atleast thats what i was told
 
sorry I have only kept them singly. All that I have read says they can be agressive to their own kind. Maybe able to get away with it if you have a lerge enough tank just a guess though.
 
I added 4 at once to my tank. One didn't make it. Two of them have paired up on the back for right side of the tank, and the third is on the far left side of the tank. Whats kind of interesting is that the pair on the right are usually hanging out with a bicolor pseudochromis.

Dave B
 
I've always kept one in all my tanks. They are always easy fish to keep and colorful to watch dart in and out of the rock work. Unfortunately I have always had just one so I can't speak for pairing up.
 
This is how i did it. Many years go i had 3 and they got along well. It was really luck that they did. This method seem to work for me and i did it intentionally recently. I had one adult gramma had him for about 4 yrs or so. I added to small grammas; very small in comparison to the adult. They got along with little or no aggression.
 
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I currently have a 75g so I'm hoping they will be ok in there. Really wanted to get them because of their color I think it'll drive my g/f crazy and as Jeff mentioned they are easy fish to care for .. I just got them from live aquaria so these aren't bred in captivity but I am hoping to do that myself one day.

Buffalo- I have read that the makes tend to grow bigger than the females and are a bit darker. They told me to add either 2 small females and let them be or get a big one ad a small one. Do you notice the bigger one to be a bit more darker in color ?
 
buy a group thats getting along at the lfs would be the best bet. Unfortunately i lost all my fish to disease (velvet I think).Reef been empty of fish for a while now. From what i can remember difficult to see any difference.
 
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I have two in my 150. I got them at the same time and initially one was very aggressive toward the other. He would continually chase him into a small hole in the rock. After a few days I moved a few rocks around and they each split to opposite sides of the tank and the problem was solved. Now a couple of years later, they get along fine and swim together.
 
Just wanted to post an update. I did receive 2 small gramma friday, placed them in and naturally they both dove for a cave they have been slowly coming out little by little. I did see where they are hiding and both are under the same rock with no aggression up to now(fingers crossed) and eating brine.
 
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Never been successful adding more than 1 at a time, though I've tried a few times. Grammas are EXTREMELY sensitive to elevated ammonia levels, despite the general feeling that they are very hardy.
 
I have 5 of them in a 29g (loaded with gorgonians) w/ 20L sump, in with a cherub angel - 2 larger and 3 smaller. The larger ones keep the smaller ones "on their toes" occasionally, but no outright aggression. They have been together in the tank for the last 3 months or so - before that it was the 3 smaller ones, and added the 2 larger ones subsequent to them with little issue.

One of my favorite fish, and they can be kept in groups, even in a smaller tank, as long as there are enough "bolt holes" for all of them - rock structure is important for them, and the tank my group is in has 2 large "spires" of live rock with lots of overhangs and crevices. I probably could even fit 2-3 more in there if I wanted to push things, but the group gets along well now and all five (plus the cherub angel) are healthy and plump, with perfect fins and color.
 
I have one, a truly beautiful fish. Maybe a little timid at first but they grow so quickly and mine is the boss of my tank now. Very territorial. I will be adding another basslet, a chalk bass, and just hope the RG lets it live in the tank (it's in QT now).
 
IME, in most tanks, multiple grammas will eventually end up as 1.
Even in my 8' 450g DT, I have twice had a trio of grammas do fine for many months, then there was 2, and months later just 1... Strangely, it wasn't the biggest one that lasted the longest!

On another note, why would someone in Miami have to order a gramma from California (nothing against liveaquaria)... They should be less than $10 locally, I order them for about $8 from the Keys, free shipping with CUC order,
 
albano said:
IME, in most tanks, multiple grammas will eventually end up as 1.
Even in my 8' 450g DT, I have twice had a trio of grammas do fine for many months, then there was 2, and months later just 1... Strangely, it wasn't the biggest one that lasted the longest!

On another note, why would someone in Miami have to order a gramma from California (nothing against liveaquaria)... They should be less than $10 locally, I order them for about $8 from the Keys, free shipping with CUC order,
Click to expand...

I just hope mine can get along, they really are beautiful fish the purple stands out so much.. Ive seen them in stores plenty of times. But I have also seen alot of sick dead fish in stores and they usually dont offer 14day guarantee. Most of my fish come from them and is mainly because of the guarantee and their service. Plus i usually get free shipping because i do group buy with friends :dance:
 
I notice both in the same are out of the rock swimming next to each other and seemed like they kissed or something, their mouths touched for a quick sec and they continued swimming, no chasing no sudden movement or anything like that it was really weird..
 
I had one for a few years. I added three more smaller ones and transferred them all to a 380 gal. One of the small ones grew larger than the rest, even the original one, and became male. He would court the females and attempt to gather materials from around the tank and for his ladies. It was fascinating to watch.

i moved and took the fish with me. They were temporarily housed in a 55 gal for almost a year. One disappeared. I don't think it was killed beause there was never any aggression between any of them. I sold the trio to someone when I moved.

I plan on adding a trio to my new 150 gal when the time is right They are my all time favorite fish.
 
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