Very shy new royal gramma

mariahcolleen · 10/30/2012, 10:11 PM

Hi guys,
I recently added a royal gramma to my DT after four weeks in QT. He immediately swam behind a piece of live rock and has been in the exact same place for about four days now. I'm a little worried about feeding because I honestly dont think he even knows I am putting food in the tank. I have peaceful tank mates, a fire goby and an ocellaris clown. I heard it is normal for a royal gramma to be shy but isnt this a bit extreme? Anybody have a similar experience? Am I doing something wrong?

thegrun · 10/30/2012, 10:28 PM

They tend to be shy and some individuals can be very timid. Assuming the ocellaris clown doesn't pick on it too much it should come out more frequently once it figures out there isn't something dangerous in the tank.

leeb. · 10/30/2012, 10:31 PM

i had one in my old tank and he stayed the same area all the time. He would only come out of his space to eat and to claim his little territory under the live rock from other fish. He should be fine. Give him some time to adjust to your tank.

mariahcolleen · 10/30/2012, 10:35 PM

Thanks guys! My clown is just a baby and is not aggressive at all but I guess he may be once he grows up a bit. I hope my gramma shows his face soon. He is beautiful!

leeb. · 10/30/2012, 10:46 PM

Ocellaris should stay pretty peaceful.

mariahcolleen · 10/30/2012, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeb.

Ocellaris should stay pretty peaceful.

Im glad to hear that!

aleggett321 · 10/30/2012, 11:42 PM

i have two royal grammas in my 150 DT. it took them a couple of weeks to stake out their territory. they still spend a lot of time around the rockwork, sometimes upside down (!) but they are beautiful and among my favorites

nogascans · 10/31/2012, 06:14 PM

Same here. When I first got my royal gramma, he swam into the coral and I thought he was stuck, figured he'd be dead in morning. Hes still here today, and tends to stay under coral shelf or siting on rock unless it's feeding time, at which time comes right to front of glass. Not a picky eater, but he waits in line, not a line rusher.

Sincerely,

David

blazzing_ray · 10/31/2012, 06:42 PM

i only see mine when i feed the tank had him for a year now lol

Kies1 · 10/31/2012, 07:18 PM

Mine was very shy but now he swims all over the tank, front, back you name it. Little pig as well. He will take on all fish to protect his small area of the tank. One of my favorites as well. If they are not being picked on I find they will show themselves. If they feel at all threatened you will hardly ever see them.

Spyderturbo007 · 11/01/2012, 09:30 AM

My Purple Fire Fish is like that. When I added her to the tank I didn't see her for 5 days. I thought she died, then all of sudden she appeared out of nowhere. She is still really flighty, but I've read that's normal.

Gorgeous fish though. I'm wondering how she is going to react when I add my two snowflakes that are in QT for another 3 weeks. Since July, she has only shared the tank with a few snails and my cleaner shrimp.

Reeferz412 · 11/01/2012, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderturbo007

My Purple Fire Fish is like that. When I added her to the tank I didn't see her for 5 days. I thought she died, then all of sudden she appeared out of nowhere. She is still really flighty, but I've read that's normal.

Gorgeous fish though. I'm wondering how she is going to react when I add my two snowflakes that are in QT for another 3 weeks. Since July, she has only shared the tank with a few snails and my cleaner shrimp.

I hope you don't mean snowflake eels. Say bye bye to your firefish.

Spyderturbo007 · 11/01/2012, 12:10 PM

Nope. Two cute little snowflake clowns.

10/30/2012, 10:11 PM	#1
mariahcolleen Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Alabama Posts: 100	Very shy new royal gramma Hi guys, I recently added a royal gramma to my DT after four weeks in QT. He immediately swam behind a piece of live rock and has been in the exact same place for about four days now. I'm a little worried about feeding because I honestly dont think he even knows I am putting food in the tank. I have peaceful tank mates, a fire goby and an ocellaris clown. I heard it is normal for a royal gramma to be shy but isnt this a bit extreme? Anybody have a similar experience? Am I doing something wrong?

10/30/2012, 10:28 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	They tend to be shy and some individuals can be very timid. Assuming the ocellaris clown doesn't pick on it too much it should come out more frequently once it figures out there isn't something dangerous in the tank.

10/30/2012, 10:31 PM	#3
leeb. Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: San Francisco Posts: 156	i had one in my old tank and he stayed the same area all the time. He would only come out of his space to eat and to claim his little territory under the live rock from other fish. He should be fine. Give him some time to adjust to your tank.

10/30/2012, 10:35 PM	#4
mariahcolleen Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Alabama Posts: 100	Thanks guys! My clown is just a baby and is not aggressive at all but I guess he may be once he grows up a bit. I hope my gramma shows his face soon. He is beautiful!

10/30/2012, 10:46 PM	#5
leeb. Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: San Francisco Posts: 156	Ocellaris should stay pretty peaceful.

10/30/2012, 11:42 PM	#7
aleggett321 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Agoura, SoCal Posts: 137	i have two royal grammas in my 150 DT. it took them a couple of weeks to stake out their territory. they still spend a lot of time around the rockwork, sometimes upside down (!) but they are beautiful and among my favorites

10/31/2012, 06:14 PM	#8
nogascans Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Jesup, Georgia (USA) Posts: 387	Same here. When I first got my royal gramma, he swam into the coral and I thought he was stuck, figured he'd be dead in morning. Hes still here today, and tends to stay under coral shelf or siting on rock unless it's feeding time, at which time comes right to front of glass. Not a picky eater, but he waits in line, not a line rusher. Sincerely, David

10/31/2012, 06:42 PM	#9
blazzing_ray Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: elyria,oh Posts: 309	i only see mine when i feed the tank had him for a year now lol

10/31/2012, 07:18 PM	#10
Kies1 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 544	Mine was very shy but now he swims all over the tank, front, back you name it. Little pig as well. He will take on all fish to protect his small area of the tank. One of my favorites as well. If they are not being picked on I find they will show themselves. If they feel at all threatened you will hardly ever see them.

11/01/2012, 09:30 AM	#11
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	My Purple Fire Fish is like that. When I added her to the tank I didn't see her for 5 days. I thought she died, then all of sudden she appeared out of nowhere. She is still really flighty, but I've read that's normal. Gorgeous fish though. I'm wondering how she is going to react when I add my two snowflakes that are in QT for another 3 weeks. Since July, she has only shared the tank with a few snails and my cleaner shrimp.

11/01/2012, 12:10 PM	#13
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	Nope. Two cute little snowflake clowns.