Shy royal gramma

[ScubaNemo]

My royal gramma found its home in a nook in the back of the tank. NEVER comes out or shows up except when I feed. She nips on the food and in a second it is back home. Are all grammas the same way? Do they ever come out for a swim?

 

[CoralNerd]

Tank size, and tank mates?

 

[ScubaNemo]

Reefer 73 gallons. Only 1 clown fish for now with the Gramma. Tank is only 2 months old.

 

[michael43]

They are shy fish. They like to hide. Mine has gotten better with time. Coming out more. But definitely likes his hiding places. Give it some time

 

[CoralNerd]

Reefer 73 gallons. Only 1 clown fish for now with the Gramma. Tank is only 2 months old.

Wow, that's it one other fish. What kind of clown?

 

[Grkgod36]

It takes a while for them to start coming out . They start little by little and each time a little bit more

 

[ThRoewer]

I have 3 in a 40B and mostly see them during feedings. They are not really shy, they just like caves and overhangs and lower light intensities.

Ideally you keep them in a darker tank. If you then have the right rockwork with steep walls, overhangs and plenty of holes, you may see them actually a lot.
When I had the 40B like that they were out a lot more often. But I had to mine some rocks for the 100 gallon tank, so for now the 40B is basically just a rockpile.

 

[flananuts]

Mine was missing for a week when I introduced it to the tank, the only fish I currently have but now regularly swimming around. It does like to swim more through the rock work as opposed to open water.

 

[ScubaNemo]

Wow, that's it one other fish. What kind of clown?

It is an oscillaris clown. Thanks guys for the feedback, let's hope it will get out of that cave more often. Love the coloration of that fish!

 

[CritterHeaven]

They are beautiful fish for sure but definitely typically more reclusive. I had one that got to be very large and was out all the time but I think that is an exception. It actually may get a bit more comfortable as you add a few more fish.

 

[Deinonych]

I have two RGs. One spends most of his time in a cave or under a hammer coral in the front of the tank. The other is more visible, but darts into a cave (above said hammer coral) whenever my kole tang or foxface get near it.

 

[ScubaNemo]

Funny thing is when I saw it at the LFS, it was all out and about and social, that's why I chose it, now it is behaving totally different. It just came out of quarantine a week ago, maybe overwhelmed with its new home in the display tank

 

[CoralNerd]

It actually may get a bit more comfortable as you add a few more fish.

Critter Heaven nailed it on the button, it will probably become more active as you add more fish buddies.

 

[Spartan]

It's very typical for them to be shy early on. They will come out more and more. Feed meaty foods if you want to accelerate the curve.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

The Royal Gramma that I have now is always out and has been since I got him, I really got lucky with this one. I did get it at a larger size about 2 1/2" - 2 3/4"

 

[bat21]

I barely saw mine the first week. Then he came out more and more over the next few months. And after a few months of being very visible, he started to revert back to the beginning. I barely saw him for months after. But now he is sort of starting to pop out of the rocks from time to time. So maybe he just goes through phases. Who knows. But it's very frustrating for such a beautiful fish to be hiding.

 

[ScubaNemo]

I barely saw mine the first week. Then he came out more and more over the next few months. And after a few months of being very visible, he started to revert back to the beginning. I barely saw him for months after. But now he is sort of starting to pop out of the rocks from time to time. So maybe he just goes through phases. Who knows. But it's very frustrating for such a beautiful fish to be hiding.

Agreed. Mine is in a little hole in the rocks in the back of the tank, so never see it unless when I feed. I'm hoping it will change its behavior