New Royal Gramma Disappeared

NanoReefer2025 · Feb 14, 2021

Hello fellow reef enthusiasts. I’ve got a fish question for y’all. How might I coax a new fish out of hiding? I recently got a royal gramma from my LFS and it hasn’t appeared since I released it into the tank. I haven’t been terribly concerned because I had read that this may happen. My family members, however, have been pretty skeptical that this is normal. To be fair, they don’t really know much about fish. However, it isn’t hard to somewhat understand their concern. I had gotten a watchman goby a few days before I got the royal gramma that had vanished and reappeared dead 24 hours after. I did a water change afterwards and made sure the parameters were stable. Should I also be concerned for my shy royal gramma? I figured that I would feed mysis shrimp this evening and if the gramma doesn’t show itself after five minutes, I would disassemble my rockwork and get a direct answer as to where it is. I am only afraid that this will stress it out even more, causing it to disappear for an even longer time.
Tank specs: 25 gallon peninsula AIO, caribsea liferock, Fiji pink sand, 4 snails, 2 clownfish, 1 hermit crab, and some soft corals

ccarr123 · Feb 14, 2021

I purchased a Royal Gramma about 2 weeks ago. I did not see him at all for almost a week since he had been hiding in the rock work. Then he appeared after a week and has been swimming happily around the tank ever since.

ramabama · Feb 14, 2021

You say "recently", how many days has it been?

Nathan Milender · Feb 14, 2021

I would not be afraid of a gramma hiding. They do perch and get into holes, often upside down or at other weird angles. If you have been losing fish upon entry however I would take a closer look at your introduction procedure and consider acclimation protocol and/or use of a QT. If changing that is out of the question I feel an absolute minimum is an isolation box. I made one out of acyrilic fromt he hardware store and I attach it with a cleaning magnet. Put the fish in there with a pvc pipe to hide in and it can at least give it some peace while you keep an eye on it. I generally do this in addition to about a one month QT protocol. This has been successful and I have not had need or room for additional fish in the last year.

Nathan Milender · Feb 14, 2021

Nathan Milender said:
I would not be afraid of a gramma hiding. They do perch and get into holes, often upside down or at other weird angles. If you have been losing fish upon entry however I would take a closer look at your introduction procedure and consider acclimation protocol and/or use of a QT. If changing that is out of the question I feel an absolute minimum is an isolation box. I made one out of acyrilic fromt he hardware store and I attach it with a cleaning magnet. Put the fish in there with a pvc pipe to hide in and it can at least give it some peace while you keep an eye on it. I generally do this in addition to about a one month QT protocol. This has been successful and I have not had need or room for additional fish in the last year.

I forgot to answer your actual question. Do not try to do anything to coax the hiding fish. It will just get more stressed and more likely to die. You will see it make it's presence known when/if it is ready. There seems to be a fear to hunger ratio where hunger usually (but not always) wins. I have found Royal grammas to be anything but timid in spite of their report as being peaceable.

NanoReefer2025 · Feb 14, 2021

ramabama said:
You say "recently", how many days has it been?

Yesterday. I know, not very long. It’s hard to stay patient with my family members nagging me about it.

Nathan Milender said:
I would not be afraid of a gramma hiding. They do perch and get into holes, often upside down or at other weird angles. If you have been losing fish upon entry however I would take a closer look at your introduction procedure and consider acclimation protocol and/or use of a QT. If changing that is out of the question I feel an absolute minimum is an isolation box. I made one out of acyrilic fromt he hardware store and I attach it with a cleaning magnet. Put the fish in there with a pvc pipe to hide in and it can at least give it some peace while you keep an eye on it. I generally do this in addition to about a one month QT protocol. This has been successful and I have not had need or room for additional fish in the last year.

Thanks for your in-depth response. I must admit, I am new at this. I am still figuring out the best acclimation procedure for my busy schedule. I am far from satisfied with the way I am currently doing things. The watchman goby that I bought and that had died wasn’t really planned very well. Even though it was on my fish wishlist, and I had done some research on it, it was more of an impulse buy than anything. Acclimation for that fish was hasty, and I never acclimated it to temperature right before releasing it, so it probably died of shock or something like that. As for the gramma, I did drip acclimation, but most likely not for as long as I should have. I am working on gathering materials for the QT. I’m probably just going to use a plastic Critter Keeper with some PVC, a sponge filter, and a cheap heater. Do you suppose I should look for the fish and put it into an isolation box? I would rather not stress it out more than necessary.

ramabama · Feb 14, 2021

I would just leave things alone at this point. Keep lights off or on a low setting. Also as hard as it might be to stop, if family members are constantly at the glass looking for the fish this does not help.

N.Sreefer · Feb 14, 2021

Mine spend alot of time in the rocks in a hole they like if they decided it liked a burrow on the rear side of the rockwork you probably wont see it until its comfortable enough to join in on feeding time

Nathan Milender · Feb 14, 2021

NanoReefer2025 said:
Yesterday. I know, not very long. It’s hard to stay patient with my family members nagging me about it.

Thanks for your in-depth response. I must admit, I am new at this. I am still figuring out the best acclimation procedure for my busy schedule. I am far from satisfied with the way I am currently doing things. The watchman goby that I bought and that had died wasn’t really planned very well. Even though it was on my fish wishlist, and I had done some research on it, it was more of an impulse buy than anything. Acclimation for that fish was hasty, and I never acclimated it to temperature right before releasing it, so it probably died of shock or something like that. As for the gramma, I did drip acclimation, but most likely not for as long as I should have. I am working on gathering materials for the QT. I’m probably just going to use a plastic Critter Keeper with some PVC, a sponge filter, and a cheap heater. Do you suppose I should look for the fish and put it into an isolation box? I would rather not stress it out more than necessary.

10-15 gallon glass aquariums are pretty cheap. That is what I use with a sponge filter, heater, extra air stones and a cheap (10-15 bucks) powerhead to agitate the surface. No light needed. It really does need a lid. I then treat with chloroquine and prazi once they settle in and start eating. I think acclimation box and then no lights or an evening release into the main tank helps a lot.

Keep in mind, sometimes fish just die. I have had consistent problems from some sources and not from others for unexplained reasons. This can vary a lot, for instance some sources give me really hardy inverts, others really good corals, and others really good fish. The most dramatic differences I have seen in snails and inverts.

I also prefer drip acclimation but if they were shipped you might want to consider an anti-ammonia agent when you open the bags. Driving across town this should not be a problem. Also I find the acclimation procedure problematic as the temperature drops quickly in a small system so for delicate things I water bath drip in a 5 gallon bucket with a small heater.

You will figure out what works for you. Watchman goby and gramma are not bad first fish as both are usually fairly hardy. It could just be luck and you don't know the gramma is gone yet, it can be a sneaky fish.

NanoReefer2025 · Feb 14, 2021

One more question and I will be satisfied (probably). How much time should I give my Gramma until I tear apart my rockwork? It can’t stay hidden forever or it will die. At some point, it would probably do more good than bad to look for it, but I have no idea when that point will be. I guess what I’m asking is this: How long will a fish like a royal gramma live without human intervention? I don’t want to finally have it show itself and end up extremely malnourished and unhealthy. I hope that the gramma’s survival instincts will be strong enough to naturally coax it out, but what if it doesn’t?

NanoReefer2025 · Feb 14, 2021

Good news everyone! I just fed my tank and started looking around with a red flashlight and figured out where my gramma is! It wedged itself between two pieces of live rock and found the perfect little hole to make home. The live rock right above him is slightly unstable, so I may consider putting some epoxy between them. I won’t do that until he has fully settled in, just to minimize the stress of moving the rock around. Until then, I suppose I will just take extra caution around that particular piece. I have decided that I won’t go moving my rock beyond that, since he is apparently safe and alive. Please disregard the previous post.

ImThatOneGuyJoe · May 26, 2022

NanoReefer2025 said:
Yesterday. I know, not very long. It’s hard to stay patient with my family members nagging me about it.

Thanks for your in-depth response. I must admit, I am new at this. I am still figuring out the best acclimation procedure for my busy schedule. I am far from satisfied with the way I am currently doing things. The watchman goby that I bought and that had died wasn’t really planned very well. Even though it was on my fish wishlist, and I had done some research on it, it was more of an impulse buy than anything. Acclimation for that fish was hasty, and I never acclimated it to temperature right before releasing it, so it probably died of shock or something like that. As for the gramma, I did drip acclimation, but most likely not for as long as I should have. I am working on gathering materials for the QT. I’m probably just going to use a plastic Critter Keeper with some PVC, a sponge filter, and a cheap heater. Do you suppose I should look for the fish and put it into an isolation box? I would rather not stress it out more than necessary.

I'm new to this as well but gotta do research some how found this form bc my royal gramma is hiding rn and it has me a little worried.

But temp your fish and drip them properly!

The only thing that comes fast in this industry that I'm seeing is death and crashes

Good luck!

LuisJr80 · Jan 8, 2023

I just bought a one yesterday and haven’t seen it all lol… My wife and I are going crazy thinking it jumped out of the tank, or jumped into the pump chamber of my Biocube 16. I mean I have looked everywhere in my mini aqua scape but maybe there are crevices inside that are hidden well.
I’ll sit back and hope to see it eventually.

LuisJr80 · Jan 8, 2023

You wouldn’t believe but as soon as I posted it saw it!!! Lol…it did find a well hidden home inside the the rock crevice. Yah!!!

TokenReefer · Jan 8, 2023

They like to and can hide well. The first day I got mine it immediately swam from my hand straight down to where I had a frag leaning on a rock with THE smallest gap behind it and the Gramma got right in there. It stayed in there for a day. I thought I had to intervene so I tilted the frag up and the Gramma popped out and is out all day now. It has a new little tiny hole it will goto if it gets spooked but otherwise stays out in its little territory. I think it wanted/had to acclimate and scope things out before getting the courage. Anyways that's my little story fwiw.

Hope you see yours soon

TokenReefer · Jan 8, 2023

LuisJr80 said:
You wouldn’t believe but as soon as I posted it saw it!!! Lol…it did find a well hidden home inside the the rock crevice. Yah!!!

Great!

CoachRichardson · Jan 8, 2023

When I first put mine in my EVO 13.5 he was very hidden and shy for the first couple of weeks. He settled in after that. We transferred to a new tank at Christmas and he was out and about and eating well the firs couple of days. After those first two days he disappeared and has not ever reappeared. I was convinced he must have jumped out. My lid wasn't in yet. Pulled out all of the furniture and searched everywhere but he didn't jump. He has still not show up so I think he is a gonner. I hate this, he was an awesome fish and I had had him a little over 3 months. All the rock in the new tank is Marco rock so you would think I could see a little yellow or purple. We still haven't solved the mystery. He has been missing for well over a week.

TokenReefer · Jan 8, 2023

CoachRichardson said:
When I first put mine in my EVO 13.5 he was very hidden and shy for the first couple of weeks. He settled in after that. We transferred to a new tank at Christmas and he was out and about and eating well the firs couple of days. After those first two days he disappeared and has not ever reappeared. I was convinced he must have jumped out. My lid wasn't in yet. Pulled out all of the furniture and searched everywhere but he didn't jump. He has still not show up so I think he is a gonner. I hate this, he was an awesome fish and I had had him a little over 3 months. All the rock in the new tank is Marco rock so you would think I could see a little yellow or purple. We still haven't solved the mystery. He has been missing for well over a week.

I find it surprising how hard it is to see the purple in the shadows sometimes. Maybe it's found a spot where the light just makes it invisible. I'm rootin for ya (and the fish)