Trying a Royal Gramma Harem
- Thread starter NexDog
- Start date
sassyfrassy
New member
Would it be possible to have 3 in a 65g? Does one become a male or are they sexed at birth?
Like many (all?) basslets they are born female and change to a male when ready to mate. I don't believe one won't become male if another male is present (like Anthia) so you can have multiple males which can cause problems. I'm not sure your tank will provide enough space if agression becomes an issue. But I QT'd mine in a similar sized tank without too many issues. If you really like the fish and want to try it I think you should though. 
Beaun
It's pronounced Bone
Chalk bass', not the same genus as grammas but still a basslet, are simultaneous hermaphrodites; meaning, if you add two, you have a pair.
Madfronter
New member
How is the harem?
karnivorous
New member
congrats on the harem. i think its cool when people try to recreate what we see in nature. good work
Amazon4
Premium Member
I have a lonely royal gramma bachelor who's made a nice nest in our 180. Do you think I could safely add another and they'd get along? We've had this fish for close to three years and has always been solo. But within the last year it decided to build a big burrow/nest. I feel like it needs some company! lol
Madfronter
New member
I'm glad they are all doing well in your tank so far. Any new pics of them?
@Amazon4 - Hard to say really. An established Royal Gramma might act aggressively to newcomers.
@Madfronter - Will see what I can do. One of my Tunze stream pumps hasn't been working for a few weeks so there has been less flow in the tank. Now I have fixed it and the flow has been ramped up the RGs are out a lot less.
@Madfronter - Will see what I can do. One of my Tunze stream pumps hasn't been working for a few weeks so there has been less flow in the tank. Now I have fixed it and the flow has been ramped up the RGs are out a lot less.
I have 25 fish in there and I mix up a cube of frozen mysis, cube of frozen brine, pinch of Spirulina, pinch of Prime Reef, pinch Formula Two flake and pinch of Spectrum pellet every day. I feed half in teh morning and half at night with Tunzes off. So the fish are getting food every 12 hours (8am and 8pm approx). Also feed nori on a clip about twice a week or when I can remember (or be bothered).
Just added 2 small RG's to my 135 a couple of days ago. They were both out feeding immediately. They are slowly expanding their roaming range from the central large rock formation, which is incredibly honeycombed with holes of the perfect size for them. The fish store guy looked at me like I was crazy for putting 2 in the same tank, but I had read Scott Michael and it sounded possible. So far they seem to hang together much more than they need to if they were trying to establish individual territories. But there is still some aggression, especially if one gets too close to the other when one is in a hole (although neither seem to have claimed any particular hole as their own beyond the one they are in at the time). Not sure where this will lead but it is beautiful to see them swimming together and their interaction is fascinating, as long as it stays relatively peaceful. It would be nice if they turned into a pair, but I am generally planning to add a third, larger individual at some point, per Michael's recommendation. I would have added all three together, but two were all I could find.
