royal gramma or not?

[danfishman]

i recently purchased a royal gramma from my lfs, but on closer inspection i have found it has some differences then the ones on the internet. mine doesn't have the black stripe across its eye and it doesn't have a black dot on its dorsal fin. it also seems to have a longer slender body and its nose isnt so blunt. the 2 colours are distinctly differnet and dont blend in together. i was wondering if there are any other fish that are one half purple and one half yellow. or is it just differnet coz its younger. thanks

 

[mike j]

there is a possibility you have a Bicolor Pseudochromis (Pseudochromis paccagnellae). Do you have a picture of it?

 

[jeo]

ya I agree, common name is biclor dottyback

 

[danfishman]

thanks sounds alot like him, sorry i dont have a picture of him. are they similar to the royal gramma? anything in their behaviour i should look out for? thanks

 

[stacy]

I believe from what I've read the pseudochromis is more prone to pick at inverts compared to the royal gramma. Other than that they are pretty similiar in behavior. Both can become territorial and somewhat aggressive. I have a royal gramma and he's pretty cool to watch.

 

[danfishman]

thnks from the pictures ive seen on the net i think i definitly have a BiColor Pseudochromis. here i was thinking i had bought a royal gramma. the label at the lfs said it was a royal gramma and i had never heard or seen a BiColor Pseudochromis.

 

[stacy]

For quite a while I was eyeing a royal gramma at our LFS, but I thoug it was a pshedochromis, and from what I've read thay like to pick on the shrimp so i stayed away from them. Then after doing a little more research I relized that it was a Royal gramma. At 1st it's hard to tell the differance. I was happy to find that I could add a royal gramma. I like the colors of both species, but one works better for my setup than the other. Do you have any inverts in your tank?Mostly from what I understand the pseudochromis moslty just pick on the shrimp.

 

[danfishman]

yeah i have 25 small janitor hermit crabs, 5 sand sifting star fish but no shrimp. i also have a brown crab that is 2 inches big so i think the hes safe from the little bicolour.

 

[kev]

Royal Gramas on the other hand can be kept in schools.<hr></blockquote>
Correct me if im wrong, but Royal Grammas CANNOT be kept in schools. If more than one is placed in a tank, THEY WILL FIGHT!

 

[maui]

Guy told me once at LFS that you could keep 5 or greater togeather, but they all need to be added at once. Doesn't mean it's true, but it has been said. I have one bad little mama grama.

 

[galina]

Royal Gramma
http://www.***********.com/images/products/large/pw72316royal_gramma.jpg
Bicolor Dottyback
http://www.***********.com/images/products/large/pw72472bicolor_pseudochromi.jpg

 

[krusk]

royal gamma can not be keep in school
need plenty of liverock and caves to co-exsit
75 G with 80+ LR 2 should be no problem
book said 1 square feet / fish
I double it (my safety factor)
but I will try to mix BlackCab and Royal soon
let see what happen

 

[danfishman]

How big does the bicolor dottyback get? and what does it do to shrimps because it is so small and I can't see it eating one? One more question, are the Hermit crabs all right with it?

 

[maryc137]

Royal Grammas don't always fight. I have two that I ordered at the same time from SWF and they are like best buddies. Never see them more than 12 inches apart.

 

[karvis]

i say take it back and get the fish you wanted

 

[maui]

Was at my LFS yesterday and they had about 10 royal grama's in one tank. The guy that runs the place has told me that you could do and now I have seen it done.