Royal Gramma

Marine pellets, frozen mysis, brine shrimp

Caribbean basslet with a vivid magenta front and yellow tail. Hides in caves and overhangs — provide rockwork. One per tank unless it's a 75gal+ with multiple distinct caves.

30gal minimum; 50gal+ for a pair. Reef or FOWLR both work — they're reef-safe and won't bother corals, clams, or inverts. Heavy rockwork with multiple distinct cave openings is essential — grammas claim a cave as territory and need a refuge they can swim into upside-down (their natural orientation against a cave ceiling). Stable parameters: 78°F, 8.1–8.4 pH, salinity 1.024–1.026. Moderate flow — they hang in calm pockets near rockwork.

Cave-dwelling, territorial within a small home range. Famously hangs upside-down against the ceiling of overhangs and caves — this is normal behaviour, not distress. Peaceful with everything that doesn't invade its specific cave. Eats prepared foods readily — one of the easiest beginner marine fish to feed. Recognizes feeding rhythm and emerges at meal times.

Captive-bred specimens are increasingly available and the better choice — wild-caught grammas are often collected with cyanide which causes long-term liver damage. Pair bonds are loose; spawning rare in home aquaria. When they do spawn, eggs are laid in the male's cave and he tends them. Larvae are very small and require copepods + rotifers for the first 30+ days — not a beginner breeding project.

Generally very hardy. Common issues: marine ich (white spots — quarantine new arrivals 30 days), velvet (gold dust — copper treatment in a hospital tank, never in reef), bacterial infections from injuries. Sometimes refuses food for the first few days after introduction — this is normal, give it 4–5 days of patience with rockwork to hide in before assuming a problem.