Friday Fish Facts - Royal Gramma
The Royal Gramma (Fairy Basslet, Gramma Loreto) is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous reef aquarium fishes in the hobby due to it being fairly hardy, relatively inexpensive, having vivid purple and gold coloration, and being able to live in aquariums as small as 20 gallons, making this a fantastic starter fish for new reef hobbyists with nano reef aquariums. In larger reef aquariums, the Royal Gramma can be kept in groups, providing there is enough room to meet their territorial demands. When adding a group of Fairy Basslets to a large aquarium, try to add them all at the same time, reserving the largest of the group to be added last.
Hailing from the Tropical Western Atlantic, Royal Grammas can reach a maximum size of 3"+ inches, however most tend to range in size from 1" to 2.5" inches. The Gramma Loreto prefers a variety of meaty foods including mysis and brine shrimp, chopped seafood and krill, pigment enriched flake food (helps to retain coloration over time), and even rotifers will be eaten by these voracious feeders.
The Royal Gramma is easy to acclimate and is compatible with stony corals, soft corals, and almost all invertebrates, however care should be taken with ornamental crustaceans as the Gramma Loreto may present an occasional threat, especially in regards to small shrimps.
In popular culture, the Royal Gramma is probably best known as Gurgle, the pessimistic, nervous and germophobic tank mate in the Disney Pixar film "Finding Nemo".