Trying a Royal Gramma Harem
- Thread starter NexDog
- Start date
How is it going with the grammas? My two didn't make it, but I am trying again as of last Saturday. Got three in a good size range of about 1.25-2.5". There were four in the stores display tank with no aggression whatsoever. The three I got are hanging together fine in my tank also with no aggression.
I got them from one of the more reputable LFS's in the area this time. They were quarantined and treated with copper already. I've never gotten a sick fish from this guy. They cost more than average tho at $25 each.
Anyone having success here?
I got them from one of the more reputable LFS's in the area this time. They were quarantined and treated with copper already. I've never gotten a sick fish from this guy. They cost more than average tho at $25 each.
Anyone having success here?
For a 340g 7 would be great. I have a 135 and I think 3 is good. Probly should have sprung for the 4th, but I haven't had great luck so far with these so I will see how it goes. My up-till-now peaceful lemonpeel who was fine in the tank with the last batch of grammas went ballistic on these and I've had to trap him out and isolate him in a corner for now. The middle gramma seemed to get the worst of it before I could catch the angel and about 2/3 of its tail is gone. The other two are ok just a bit terrorized. That stress didn't help anything I'm sure, but they are all out exploring tonight and eating well.
I've got 3 RG in my 450g DT, and they've been great together, but more of a pair, plus 1...got them from Reeftopia, for $10.50 each http://reeftopia.com/marinefishdeals.html
you can see them in my tank video
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you can see them in my tank video
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So far ... so good. Don't want to jinx myself tho. They are all playing well together and there doesn't seem to be any pair bonding or favoritism yet, although the middle sized one tends to somewhat more of a loner than the large and small ones. Their territories seem to be pretty fluid too although they have preferred areas - not sure if that will become more defined later. Had one or two spots of what looked like ich on the largest, but they have gone, and so far not returned. Little bit of breathe holding there.
The lemonpeel is still in isolation and seems to be ignoring the grammas now, but it's hard to tell what he will do when let loose. Without him all is peaceful and I'm reluctant to mess it up, but I will have to test it soon. The grammas are well established in the tank now and know the holes pretty well. But... hopefully I will be able to trap him again if it doesn't work out.
They are really quite gorgeous when they come together and interact as a group. I could certainly imagine paying an inordinate amount of money for one if I lived in Australia where they are uncommon.
The lemonpeel is still in isolation and seems to be ignoring the grammas now, but it's hard to tell what he will do when let loose. Without him all is peaceful and I'm reluctant to mess it up, but I will have to test it soon. The grammas are well established in the tank now and know the holes pretty well. But... hopefully I will be able to trap him again if it doesn't work out.
They are really quite gorgeous when they come together and interact as a group. I could certainly imagine paying an inordinate amount of money for one if I lived in Australia where they are uncommon.
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Oops, well there ya go. Down to 2 now. The smallest of the trio began to show a strange slightly raised buff colored spot on his flank just behind the pectoral fin maybe 5 days ago that I didn't think too much of at first as it was so hard to see I wasn't even sure it was there. It grew however to maybe an eighth of an inch, although I still couldn't see clearly what it was. I even tried taking photos so that I could blow them up to see it more closely but without success. Anyway the fish stopped eating yesterday. I had to leave for an overnight trip and couldn't do anything for him before I left, assuming I could have caught him out anyway, and when I got home this evening he was nowhere to be seen. He could be hiding, but it sounds like a downhill trip to me. If he is gone I would like to try to replace him eventually as I liked the presence and interaction of the three fish in the tank. I'm guessing some sort of external parasite was the culprit.
It's possible. But it's never hidden before. If it is hiding then it is probably because it is sick, and if it is sick then it will probably be dead sooner or later.
Just an update here. Things have stabilized nicely at 2 grammas. They spend much of their time in close proximity to each other although there are occasional threat displays.
I read somewhere (Scott Michael probably) that they have unusually large mouths for planktivores, but I'm here to tell ya that they use those mouths to eat unusually large pieces of food! It used to be that the Majestic and the trigger would get the biggest chunks, but now it is often the grammas that get there first.
All is peaceful with the lemonpeel now in the sump. I introduced him back into the display one time and he behaved mostly as before, terrorizing the grammas, so I trapped him out again (stupid fish) and am not sure what to do with him now will likely give him one more chance.
I read somewhere (Scott Michael probably) that they have unusually large mouths for planktivores, but I'm here to tell ya that they use those mouths to eat unusually large pieces of food! It used to be that the Majestic and the trigger would get the biggest chunks, but now it is often the grammas that get there first.
All is peaceful with the lemonpeel now in the sump. I introduced him back into the display one time and he behaved mostly as before, terrorizing the grammas, so I trapped him out again (stupid fish) and am not sure what to do with him now will likely give him one more chance.
csarkar001
New member
are the royal grammas easy to sex? when you buy them, do you always but just one male? otherwise, how would you guarantee a harem?
I got one large one and two much smaller ones, and added them all at the same time. I've had them in my 200g display for only about two months or so, but I've seen no aggression at all among them, and they all hang out together in the same area of the tank. I also have a trio of bicolor blennies in with them, which makes for kind of a cool mix, since both species have similar color schemes (front half of fish one color, back half of fish distinctly different color). A successful experiment ... so far.
