Trying a Royal Gramma Harem

[NexDog]

Have always wanted to try a Royal Gramma Harem. I tried 3 years ago and 10 of them died in QT very quickly when water quality went downhil very fast. Going to be more careful this time. Also going to use Cupramine rather than my normal hypo as I suspect Royal Grammas don't handle hypo well. So I got 7 this time (lucky 7 I hope).

QT setup is:

50 Gallon
HOB Remora Pro
UV Steriliser (will have to turn off)
220w Heater
Maxi-Jets
Live rock and sponges
Net covered top.

Will update on my progress. Also posted in my Large Tanks thread.

 

[discocarp]

I've been wavering between trying these, a group of assessors, or a group of blackcaps. I'm very interested to see how this turns out!

 

[NexDog]

Group of yellow/gold assessors would be cool but the price wouldn't be.

I also have a lot of yellow in the tank (Foxface pair, Yellow tang pus yellow on the Emp, Heni etc) so I wanted to inject some more purple. Group of Blackcaps would be awesome though - but again, twice the price of Royal Grammas.

 

[tangers]

nexdog, do you have to buy these as a harem? or can you just buy them in multiples and they will harem up?

 

[discocarp]

Group of yellow/gold assessors would be cool but the price wouldn't be.

I also have a lot of yellow in the tank (Foxface pair, Yellow tang pus yellow on the Emp, Heni etc) so I wanted to inject some more purple. Group of Blackcaps would be awesome though - but again, twice the price of Royal Grammas.

Yes I know! The price is why I haven't moved on any of them, even the grammas haha!

 

[discocarp]

(double post)

 

[kentrob11]

I did several in a 240 years ago and they did great...I have seen them hanging out together under rock ledges while snorkeling before...Very cool!

 

[TampaReefer79]

This is definitley cool, I want to try this in my new tank. How many do you think can co-exist peacefully in a 600'ish gallon tank with lots of live rock? (8'x4')

 

[NexDog]

nexdog, do you have to buy these as a harem? or can you just buy them in multiples and they will harem up?

You can buy from multiple places. As long as they all go in at the same time you should be good. Quarantining for 4-6 weeks is best for any fish you are trying to pair/group. Not only are you treating for disease and problems it gives the fish time to bond or form the group hierarchy.

 

[NexDog]

This is definitley cool, I want to try this in my new tank. How many do you think can co-exist peacefully in a 600'ish gallon tank with lots of live rock? (8'x4')

Pretty much as many as you want. These fish congregate in groups of hundreds on natural reefs. The only thing stopping you from putting 50 Royal Grammas in a 600g is the fact that most people like to keep a variety of different fish. But if you wanted 20, it would work. I was going to do 10 again this time but I was worried about the bioload on the QT.

 

[flameangel88]

Congrat on the harem! I was looking at Black Cap recently and came across a post where its possible to add 2 Black Caps and 6 Royal Grammas at the same time. I'm thinking about doing it down the road in a 125.

 

[StripestheEel]

Yes I know! The price is why I haven't moved on any of them, even the grammas haha!

You're complaining about royal gramma and black cap gramma pricing and you live in the states :hammer: geez, if only us aussies had to deal with your pain. hahaha.

$100 for royals and $240 black caps here.

I tried breeding them last year and lost all my broodstock within 1 week. Water was fine, possibly an internal parasite??

Had 5 pairs of royals and 1 pair of blackcaps.

 

[NexDog]

Has there been a lot of success breeding Royal Grammas then? In AUD they are around $30 here so not too bad.

 

[massman]

Has there been a lot of success breeding Royal Grammas then? In AUD they are around $30 here so not too bad.

Zero success AFAIK

 

[michealprater]

I seen a harem at Shedd Aquarium and I thought about doing it also. Very cool. Cant wait to see updates.

 

[rssjsb]

You can buy from multiple places. As long as they all go in at the same time you should be good. Quarantining for 4-6 weeks is best for any fish you are trying to pair/group. Not only are you treating for disease and problems it gives the fish time to bond or form the group hierarchy.

How big would the QT have to be to do this?

 

[philter4]

I have done it in the past, I collected about 20 with some black caps the last time I dove the Bahamas, that was years ago, but still, in the ocean you see royals as shallow as 15 feet, and always in big groups around ledges and holes, as you get to 100 ft plus there starts to be some black caps mixed in and the deeper you go the more black caps and less royals there are, if you go really deep there is a third species that shows up, but I have never seen it in person.

I kept about 6 royals and 2 black caps in a 40 for almost a year until hurricane Katrina knocked power out for 17 days, then less then a week after the power was on Wilma struck us on the same path again losing power for an extended time, and I lost a lot of animals in that month.

I wish you lots of luck while they are in qt, but once they are in the main tank there will be no real trouble and it will be a fantastic display.

 

[WuHT]

whats up with all the uneaten pellets ??

I personally dont feed QT'd fish a high volume early on (unless i'ts obvious they are eating everything) just to keep the water with minimal waste.

 

[NexDog]

How big would the QT have to be to do this?

I would do 20 Grammas in a 90 (maybe). 120 would be best.

 

[NexDog]

whats up with all the uneaten pellets ??

I personally dont feed QT'd fish a high volume early on (unless i'ts obvious they are eating everything) just to keep the water with minimal waste.

I always feed often and early. End of every day I just siphon out the uneaten stuff. Sticking to that routine maintains quality.