Any mature Royal Gramma's with Vibrant Color Intact?

[Razorbacks]

Most of the pictures posted on this thread do not show the deep rich royal purple and gold color that grammas have when they first arrive in the LFS. Maybe it is just the lighting, but most look faded to me. Everyone immediately jumps to diet, but I would not underestimate the effect light intensity and spectrum of the sun compared to our tanks as a possible explanation. I have generally found that high intensity lighting improves the color of the fish.

This species actually comes from deeper water so my hunch is that lower not more intense light would be beneficial if this is the driver. That said I already run very low lighting (so low that my blastos have been reaching for light and they love low light). I would have to give up corals to go much lower.

You could also argue it's less the light itself and more the stress from being in higher light than they naturally prefer. I've certainly not ruled out stress or other factors and I'm also adding more hiding places to see if that does anything.

 

[Kona Diver]

This species actually comes from deeper water so my hunch is that lower not more intense light would be beneficial if this is the driver. That said I already run very low lighting (so low that my blastos have been reaching for light and they love low light). I would have to give up corals to go much lower.

You could also argue it's less the light itself and more the stress from being in higher light than they naturally prefer. I've certainly not ruled out stress or other factors and I'm also adding more hiding places to see if that does anything.

Yep, and when you see them in their natural habitat they literally glow like a black light. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve actually seen it first hand. Incredible

 

[Razorbacks]

Yep, and when you see them in their natural habitat they literally glow like a black light. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve actually seen it first hand. Incredible

What's a good dive site to see them? I'll add to my bucket list.

 

[DCR]

I am not so sure about them coming from deeper waters. They are very inexpensive which generally precludes deep water. I also saw hundreds of them around a shallow large rock formation while snorkeling in Grand Cayman.

 

[Ef4life]

About a 9-10 months in the tank, has grown quite a bit and still beautiful

 

[Razorbacks]

I am not so sure about them coming from deeper waters. They are very inexpensive which generally precludes deep water. I also saw hundreds of them around a shallow large rock formation while snorkeling in Grand Cayman.

Interesting you've seen them so shallow. I was going off information on other websites. Ex:

Royal Gramma Fish Care & Info | Gramma Loreto

If you’re at all familiar with the world of marine aquariums, the royal gramma will be no stranger to you. This cheerful purple and yellow species is ubiquitous in the hobby, and for good reason: they’re small, peaceful and easy to keep.

fantaseaaquariums.com

"Because royal grammas are naturally found in deeper-water reefs with a depth of up to 20 meters around Central America, it’s generally recommended to avoid overly strong lighting."

Royal Gramma Basslet: Saltwater Aquarium Fish

"Native to the deep-water reefs of the Caribbean, this member of the Grammidae family prefers extensive rockwork caves in which to hide and somewhat subdued lighting".

I've also found others make reference to seeing them when scuba diving as deep as 120 feet. I think "deep" is subjective wording here though. 90 to 120 ft is well within scuba diving range for harvesting purposes and isn't going to be dark, it's just also not super shallow/bright.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Interesting you've seen them so shallow.

I've also found others make reference to seeing them when scuba diving as deep as 120 feet.

They're reportedly found anywhere from 1-60 m deep, typically 1-40 m:

Gramma loreto summary page

www.fishbase.se

 

[Razorbacks]

I am not so sure about them coming from deeper waters. They are very inexpensive which generally precludes deep water. I also saw hundreds of them around a shallow large rock formation while snorkeling in Grand Cayman.

Guessing most have not seen this Marx brother's movie from the 1930's but this line came to mind when I saw your post

 

[DCR]

I don't doubt that they may be found in 90-120 ft of water, but I am sure they are not being collected from that depth and sold for $40 in fish stores. That is a deep dive, and you can only stay down there for several minutes as I vaguely recall from my diving days. Sport diving is generally limited to about 65 ft max. I saw them around 10-20 ft deep.

 

[Kona Diver]

I don't doubt that they may be found in 90-120 ft of water, but I am sure they are not being collected from that depth and sold for $40 in fish stores. That is a deep dive, and you can only stay down there for several minutes as I vaguely recall from my diving days. Sport diving is generally limited to about 65 ft max. I saw them around 10-20 ft deep.

You’re gonna find them at different depths, in different abundances at different locations. In my experience in the Cayman Islands, they’re most often found at 60+ feet but they’re thick in the 90 foot range and beyond. Recreational dive limits are to 130 feet. commercial divers/fishers don’t always honor the dive tables so they basically stay down as long as they can. Collectors will figure out the most productive places to target their catch based on effort/abundance and bottom time and shallower does not equate to better for these reasons. For example in Hawaii we can catch flame wrasse in 60 feet of water but we don’t because there is ten times more in 140 feet. Even tho flames are way more valuable than basslets, it’s way more expensive to live/conduct business in Hawaii than let’s say the DR or Haiti etc so it works out economically

Cayman is a great place to see these fish

 

[bubbgee]

My gramma is 3 years old. Only eats dry mysis and occasional pellets. Survived 3 tank crashes and generally a dick towards other inhabitants.

He keeps photobombing my aquarium pics so I decided he should just have his own IG page.

(@mrpurple_yellowpants) • Instagram photos and videos

119 Followers, 92 Following, 32 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from (@mrpurple_yellowpants)

www.instagram.com

 

[Kona Diver]

My gramma is 3 years old. Only eats dry mysis and occasional pellets. Survived 3 tank crashes and generally a dick towards other inhabitants.

He keeps photobombing my aquarium pics so I decided he should just have his own IG page.

(@mrpurple_yellowpants) • Instagram photos and videos

119 Followers, 92 Following, 32 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from (@mrpurple_yellowpants)

www.instagram.com

Lol at his name

 

[Reefahholic]

I like my Dottyback. She is a unique fish.