Royal Gramma Care Guide: Tank Size, Tank Setup, Diet and Breeding
The Royal Gramma is one of the most beautiful and vibrant fish you can have in your saltwater aquarium. This purple and yellow colored gem is docile and will live with other fish in a tank peacefully.
No much care is needed for the Royal Gramma fish, a reason why it is perfect for beginners in-tank fish keeping.
Despite its striking appearance, the fish is shy and will stay in hideouts most of the time. However, if the tank conditions are comfortable enough, they will still come out and display their charming colors.
In general, its appearance, behavioral and care characteristics make the Royal Gramma the best fish to add to a saltwater aquarium.
In this guide, you will learn about the care and maintenance needs of the Royal Gramma. Follow through the details provided here, in case you are looking to keep the Royal Gramma as your next tank fish species for your saltwater aquarium.
| Quick Facts: | |
|---|---|
| Common Names | : Royal Gramma, Fairy Basslet, Royal Gramma Bassle |
| Scientific Name | : Gramma Loreto |
| Family | : Grammatidae |
| Origin | : Tropical salt waters of the Atlantic Ocean |
| Care Level | : Easy |
| Lifespan | : 5+ years |
| Size (average) | : Upto 3 inches |
| Diet | : Carnivorous |
| Breeding | : Egglayer |
| Social | : Community |
| Temperament | : Peaceful |
| Minimum Tank Size | : 30 gallons |
| Temperature | : 71 - 79 °F (22 - 26 °C) |
| Water Hardness | : 8 - 12 dKH |
| Water pH Level | : 8 - 8.5 |
Overview of Royal Gramma
The Royal Gramma is a saltwater fish species that are from the Grammatidae family. These fish species are native to the tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The fish gets its name ‘Royal Gramma’ from its’ bright royal purple front section.
This fish is also known as Fairy Basslet and Royal Gramma Basslet while its’ scientific name is Gramma Loreto. The other half of its body is bright yellow color with a clear cut or unclear transitioning.
In the wild, the fish prefers to live in rocky crevices and areas with coral leaves. This should be replicated in the tank when you setting up an aquarium for them. The Royal Gramma will live happily in dull tanks with lots of live and artificial plants as hideouts.
This fish is extremely easy to care for, thanks to its hardy and resilient nature. Those who are new to saltwater tank fish keeping will find the fish a brilliant choice to start with.
In the wild, they tend to be more carnivorous but will eat an omnivorous diet when kept in tank conditions.
Breeding this fish is super easy and no special care is needed for both the parents and young ones. If well-fed, the fish will grow up to 4 inches and live for at least 5 years.
Origin, Distribution, and Availability
The Royal Gramma is native to the Atlantic Ocean. The fish also habitats in the Caribbean Sea, Florida, Venezuela, Bermuda, the Lesser and Greater Antilles, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The natural water they live in is salt, meaning that they are perfect for saltwater Aquariums as well.
Most of the fish will populate areas with corals and rocks and any other place with plenty of hideouts.
When people got to know about their characteristics and eye-catching appearance, it was bred rapidly and distributed to other parts of the world.
Today, if you visit your local pet store, you will easily find a Royal Gramma. Expect to pay around $20 for one Royal Gramma, but this will vary depending on size.
You might check reputed online sellers whether you can buy them online. I am pretty sure there are options out there.
Royal Gramma Typical Behavior
Royal Grammas are shy and like to hide in small dark places, but they can come out and swim into the rocks and corals when excited.
The fish is laid back, calm and peaceful when the tank environmental conditions are at the right level. However, the fish will get aggressive when there are space constraints or when another fish tries to take the territories they tend to establish.
Despite their small size, Royal Grammas are good at jumping, so you should always have a weighted lid for your aquarium.
The Royal Gramma Basslet is good at playing dead and when you see them upside down, lying still for a long time, or going to hideouts for an entire day, it is not always a cause for alarm.
However, always check if there are other signs such as a change in feeding behavior as this means that your Royal Gramma may be sick.
Characteristics of Royal Gramma
Let us dive into their interesting characteristics whether you get interested in keeping this fish species in your saltwater aquarium.
Appearance, Colors, and Special Markings
The appearance of the Royal Gramma fish is what makes it stand out. As mentioned above, it is one of the most beautiful and vibrant fish you can add to a saltwater tank.
The fish has a beautifully long body with standard width that narrows down to the back. The dorsal and ventral fins originate from the same sections and bend down towards the middle.
These ventral fins will generally have a purple theme, while the others will take up the yellow color theme.
The colors for this fish are not complicated but are bright and vibrant enough. The two primary colors that these fish boats of are bright purple and bright yellow. Bright purple covers its front part while the rich, bright yellow covers the other half.
The transition between the two colors will vary from one Royal Gramma fish to another and may either be clear-cut or indistinct. There is nothing much to talk about patterns and marking for this fish, except two distinct features.
The first one is a black dot that resembles its eye on its dorsal fin’s front edge. There is also a dark line that runs from their wide mouth to the middle of their eyes.
Royal Gramma Size
The Royal Gramma is a small fish and will grow to a length of around 3 inches in tank condition while they can grow up to 4 inches in the wild. The size will, however, vary on the quality of care and food is given, genetics, and gender characteristics.
Look after your Royal Gramma Basslet well if you want it to reach maximum attainable size. The maximum size reported so far in captive enrolment is 3.1 inches.
Lifespan
Despite their small size, Aquarium Royal Grammas can live for 5 or more years. The fact that it is a hardy and resilient fish means that it will not develop life-threatening conditions unless the tank conditions significantly deteriorate.
Just provide a supportive environment and you will keep your Royal Grammas for a decent period, even close to double the number stated above according to some aquarists.
Royal Gramma Care and Tank
For the Royal Gramma, the first tank condition you should fulfill is providing sufficient tank space. Give them enough room to roam and swim when in good spirit. Adequate tank space is also meant to support their territorial behavior.
Water changes are necessary as they help keep the water quality at the required level. It is recommended that you prepare to change 10 to 25% of the water every month.
Inspections on the general state of the tank should be done routinely. Check if every piece of equipment is working as expected and that the tank is generally clean and the water flowing properly.
Let’s look at some of these tank parameters in detail:
Royal Gramma Tank Size
The minimum tank size for one Royal Gramma is 30 gallons. The Royal Grammas, like any other saltwater fish varieties, prefer to live singly in a tank.
These fish species can get aggressive when kept with other members of the species, high chances are that you will keep them in a large community saltwater tank or a small single occupancy tank.
For the community tank, you have to consider the tank size requirements of the other members. In general, you will need to add 20 gallons for every other member in the tank.
Tank Setup
The Royal Gramma will live just fine with any type of substrate. The type of substrate you use does not really matter so long as you set plenty of hiding places. However, it would be best if you provided a live sand substrate for this fish.
For the lighting, go for dull lighting as this is what the Royal Grammas are used to, in their wild environments. LED lighting is the best option, as, on top of providing dull light, it does not bring in water temperature problems.
Decorations such as rocks, driftwoods can be added to the tank as you wish as long as they do not take much of the swimming space.
The Royal Gramma fish specifically prefer rocky tanks with lots of cavy structures, nooks, crannies, and cavities where they can hide and spend some alone time.
Suitable Plants
For a Royal Gramma’s tank, just look for saltwater plants, reefs, and corals. Overhanging is also an excellent selection for this fish. You can also add a few artificial plants to the tank. The live and artificial plants should serve the purpose of providing hiding places for the fish.
There are few saltwater aquarium plants that you can choose from:
- Halimeda
- Sea Grass
- Red Grape Algae
- Red Bush Gracilaria
Water Conditions and Parameters
The Royal Gramma is a hardy fish and will barely stress you out when it comes to water care conditions and parameters. Even with this, a smart saltwater tank fish keeper would still tell you that this fish still needs some optimal water conditions.
Good water quality and optimum water conditions will keep your Royal Grammas happy and comfortable, factors that can significantly increase their lifespan. The following are the optimum water parameters for the Royal Gramma Basslet :
- Water pH: 8 – 8.5
- Water temperature: 71 – 79 °F (22 – 26 °C)
- Hardness: 8 to 12 dKH
Regular water testing is the perfect solution to maintaining quality conditions as you will always know when conditions are off optimum level. Any fluctuations from optimum conditions should be dealt with immediately to ensure that the fish leads a quality life at all times.
Diet and Feeding for Royal Gramma
The Royal Gramma is carnivorous in the wild, but in tank conditions, its food should consist of both vegetative foods and protein-rich meals. In their natural habitats, their favorite food is live planktons.
When kept in a saltwater Aquarium, it would be best if you fed your Royal Gramma with fish pellets, flakes, and frozen foods. Feeding the fish with these three food categories is not only satisfying nutrition-wise but also cheap for you as the owner.
To keep your Royal Gramma even more satisfied, you can add some protein treats from time to time. You can, for example, give them frozen crustacean flesh, brine shrimp, and bloodworms once in a few days.
Since Royal Grammas are picky eaters, rotating their food would trick them into eating enough food. The feeding program that should be followed for the Royal Gramma fish is pretty much similar to what many tank fish require.
First, you should only feed the fish with just enough food per round. Next, it would be best if you fed it several times a day (averagely 2 to 4 times).
You are, however, not limited to this feeding strategy and you can also go with what your Royal Gramma has coped up with.
Common Diseases of Royal Gramma
The Royal Gramma is a hardy and resilient fish that is not prone to complicated conditions, especially when the tank conditions are right. If you focus your efforts on maintaining the proper water quality, your Royal Gramma fish can live disease-free for a very long time.
The fish, however, can still suffer from some saltwater illnesses such as Ich, oxygen starvation, dropsy, ammonia poisoning, nitrate poisoning, and hole-in-the-head disease. Note that these conditions, if left unattended can lead to serious complications and even death.
The symptoms for a sick Royal Gramma Basslet include consistent seclusion, loss of appetite and coloration, and indentations in scales.
Consult your veterinarian immediately if you observe the above signs. The pet’s health professional should establish the health condition your fish is suffering from and propose an effective treatment strategy.
The most common treatments for Royal Gramma’s diseases are in the form of water additives and medicated food.
Royal Gramma Gender Differences
Sexual dimorphism is not so distinct for the Royal Grammas and it can be relatively hard to distinguish them. This can especially be more difficult for new tank fish keepers.
However, if you study your Royal Grammas thoroughly, you will still identify the following differences:
- General size: The male Royal Grammas are slightly larger than the females. The exception for this is during breeding when a female carrying eggs will appear fuller and rounder on the belly region.
- Body colorations: If you have a sharp eye, you will notice that some Royal Grammas are more brightly colored than others. The males are the ones that will have more vibrant colors than the females.
- Behavior: Male Royal Grammas tend to be more aggressive than their female counterparts. If they are specially kept together in small spaces, they will easily attack each other.
Royal Gramma Breeding
The Royal Gramma is one of the easiest fish to breed in aquarium conditions. Actually, for this fish, very little experience is required to breed it and even novice tank fish keepers can do it.
If you have been wishing to breed this beautiful colored and fantastic fish, it is as simple as this:
Pick a male and a female for breeding- Generally, there is no distinct sexual dimorphism between a male and a female Royal Gramma Basslet, meaning that it’s hard to distinguish them.
Even with this, you will still notice when a female is carrying eggs, as mentioned above, she will appear fuller and rounder. Pick a male with fully developed colors and that appears healthier.
Replicate the community tank’s conditions in the breeding tank- No special conditions are needed to induce breeding for this fish. Just ensure that they have enough rocks and vegetation that they can cave out their nesting areas from.
The rest of the breeding work from this point is done by the fish.
First, the male will build the nest using the rocks and vegetation you provided. This task will typically take the male fish a day or two.
The female will move in and lay her eggs that the male almost immediately fertilizes. In one round, a female will lay around 20 eggs. The eggs will take approximately a week to hatch. Once the new ones hatch, feed them with finely sliced, well-balanced foods.
Royal Gramma Tank Mates
Royal Grammas are perfect community fish and will peacefully live with members of similar size and temperament levels. For a community tank, enough space should be provided as this is the primary factor that could invoke aggressive behaviors.
This said the Royal Gramma will live excellently with Saltwater Gobies, Clownfish, Hawkfish, Marine Angelfish, and Green Chromis. When choosing their compatible mates, you should consider the following:
- Fish that are not territorial- As mentioned above, the Royal Gramma Basslet likes to establish its own territories in caves and other hiding places that you have provided in the tank. In this regard, if you keep them with other fish that eye these places, there will definitely arise chaos.
- Other fish not from their family- Keeping several Royal Grammas in a single tank is not the best idea considering that they will be fighting to have the same tank items. Males are especially notorious in this and it is better to avoid keeping them in the same tank, especially when the space is limited.
- Fish with similar body coloration- Fish with similar body colors like the Royal Grammas will bring territorial clashes when kept together. A perfect example here is the royal Dottybacks. This fish should never be kept in the same tank as the Royal Gramma fish.
Other incompatible Royal Gramma tank mates: Lionfish, Marine Eels, Snappers, and Groupers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Royal Grammas in a Tank?
One is the recommended number as keeping several mature Royal Grammas in a tank can arouse their aggressive behaviors.
However, if you have 2 Royal Grammas, they can still live without showing hostility to each other when enough hiding places and swimming space are provided.
Will Royal Gramma Eat Cleaner Shrimp?
Royal Grammas will generally leave cleaner shrimp to thrive in their tank. However, this is not mean that they cannot eat them at all. When insufficiently fed, they can eat cleaner shrimp that can fit in their mouth.
Even with these two possibilities, it still comes down to the individual personality and behavior of the Royal Gramma you have.
Is Royal Gramma Aggressive?
Royal Grammas are generally calm and shy fish and will not show their aggressive side unless pushed by their environmental conditions. They can, for example, get aggressive if you keep them in a confined space with poor tank conditions.
It is also worth noting that a Royal Gramma Basslet will be generally peaceful when kept with other fish species but sometimes aggressive when kept with other Royal Grammas.
Do Royal Grammas Play Dead?
Yes, Royal Grammas can sometimes play dead and this behavior makes keeping them so interesting and fun. The fish will lay quietly and still in a visible corner or even go missing for a few hours to show this behavior.
The good thing is that when the fish re-emerges from its ‘dead’ state, the view is so spectacular. This behavior is typical for the fish when you introduce it into a new environment or generally when it feels threatened.
Are Royal Grammas Reef Safe?
The Royal Gramma is a completely laid-back fish and definitely reef-safe. You can comfortably add this fish to a reef tank without worrying that they will devour the coral reefs and any invertebrates in it.
The bright yellow and purple colors of a well-cared Royal Gramma fish make it stand out in any reef tank.
Final Thoughts
The Royal Gramma fish is definitely one of the ornamental fish you would not want to miss in your saltwater aquarium. If you are especially new to salty water tank fish keeping, you will have a smooth experience keeping the Royal Gramma as your first tank fish.
For the Royal Gramma, it is not just about the appearance, its relaxed behavior and peaceful nature are something that even non-hobbyists would find very appealing.
It is also clear that the tank, feeding, and breeding needs of the Royal Gramma fish are quite basic and effortless to fulfill.
Salty water tanks come with some requirements, the most categorical one being one fish per fish family per tank. The Royal Gramma Basslet is not left out in this and as it is severally mentioned in this guide, it is recommended to keep only one of these fish species in a tank.
However, if you must keep several in a single tank, try as much to maintain their social structure, i.e., one bigger fish and several smaller ones.
For the best experience, it is best to keep your Royal Gramma with the compatible mates given in this guide. All the best!
