From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Royal Gramma
Gramma loreto
- Temperature
- 24–27 °C
- Salinity
- 1.02 – 1.026 SG
- Min. tank size
- 75 L
- Lifespan
- 5-6 years
- Diet
- carnivore
- Care level
- easy
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Gramma loreto |
| Family: | Grammatidae |
| Origin: | Western Atlantic/Caribbean reefs |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | easy |
| Diet: | carnivore |
| Max Size: | 8.00 cm |
| Water Type: | marine |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Reef Safe: | Reef Safe |
| Temperament: | peaceful |
| Min Group: | Can be kept alone |
| Varieties: | No cultivated colour strains — the purple-to-gold gradient is the species' entire appearance and nobody has improved on it. Captive-bred specimens are widely available and are hardier and more settled than wild fish. The genus Gramma contains a few Caribbean basslets, of which two reach the trade regularly: G. loreto, this fish, and G. melacara, the blackcap basslet, which is purple with a black crown and considerably more expensive. G. brasiliensis, the Brazilian gramma, appears occasionally. The species most often confused with the royal gramma is not a gramma at all: Pictichromis paccagnellae, the royal dottyback, has a similar purple-and-yellow scheme but a sharp division between the two colours rather than a blend, and a much worse temperament. |
| Lifespan: | 5-6 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Low
- Min Tank:75 L
- Substrate:Live rock with caves and overhangs
- Plant Safe:Yes
- Filtration:Moderate (reef conditions)
Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) is a species of fish in the family Grammatidae. It is native to Western Atlantic/Caribbean reefs. The royal gramma is one of the best beginner marine fish there is: 8 cm long, vivid purple at the front blending into golden-yellow at the rear, hardy, peaceful and reef safe. It also does something odd that alarms new keepers. It orients itself parallel to the surface nearest to it — so a gramma in a cave sits upside down against the ceiling, and one beside a vertical rock face swims straight up and down. Nothing is wrong; it is simply how the fish holds station. It comes from the tropical western Atlantic — the Bahamas, Venezuela, the Antilles, Bermuda and Central America — between 1 and 20 metres. Males build nests from algae.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- peaceful
- Keep in
- Can be kept alone
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
- Reef
- Reef Safe
Species similar to Royal Gramma
Matched on family, then category, then water type