Royal Gramma/Pwder Blue Tang Feedback

[katfish50]

Happy Holidays to ALL...The first fish in my tank was a Royal Gramma....after continuous fight of ich and what appeared to be velvet he died yesterday. I have read several postings here of the same fate of other Grammas'...still his colors were so beautiful and he was awesome to watch. I read that an Assessor looks like a Royal Gramma but have no info. on this fish. Does anyone have any info. they could share...colors, health, diet...price? I also would like to add a Powder Blue Tang but have not heard very positive feedback as to the health and temperament of PBT...any other suggestions of a new addition to my tank?

 

[lathen]

Hi Katfish,
If you can figure out the great "Royal Gramma" mystery....I could sure use the advice. Here's my itsy bitsy knowledge base on em - they are very prone to ich and timid creatures. Other than that - they're supposed to be pretty hardy - HA! I've gone through 3 of em, and vow never again to try and kill another one.
My first one had a slight case of ICH when I got him - no problem I thought, my green-x and cleaner shrimp can help - they cured my tang, or so I believed at the time ( this was back when before I had a quarantine tank ). The Gramma acclimated fairly well, chased my yellowtail damsel quite a bit, ate very well, and found a small home in a front LR I have in my tank. It even gave other fish the "Large Mouth Scare" when they came close to its hole ( only scares damsels - clowns and tangs seem immune form the scare 8^).
Then he started staying in the hole for a long time ( 1-2 days solid ). Next morning he was floating - ACH. BAD Luck me thoughts...
So I got another one - Stronger, Faster and bursting with virility. No hint of spots anywhere. Heck he could practically live in a gallon of gasoline. So OK - acclimated fine like the other. Even found the same hiding whole as the other - kinda worried me a bit. Ate well, chased damsels, and all the rest. Then one day he stayed in the hole the whole day and simply squirmed around in there - so I knew he was alive ( I could spy on him there ). Hmmmmm...my concerns began. OK he'll be allright just shy and not eating with the rest of the fish. Then that night one of my Fire shrimp went into that hole, and the RG flew out and circled wildly like he couldnt swim right...he went into the back rocks and stood still. I noticed lots of whitespots on his belly. ( BTW I've been treating the tank religiously since the first one died ). Sure enough - he went belly -up.
After a few weeks and no signs of Ich on anyone else ( yep even the Purple Tang who even catches ICH when he sees dandruff commercials on my TV ). I found a RG at a Distributor outlet ( yep for 10 bucks ). He looked like he was in great shape, he didnt have the big red "S" like my second RG, but strong enough...
By Now, I have graduated to "level 2 marine aquarist" and have already set up a small Quarantine tank which I vowed to use on any incoming fish. Small rock in it to hide in, etc. I acclimated him into the new tank and then gave myself a Scooby Snack for thinking I was a genius. After about 4 hours...I saw him in the corner breathing rapidly and laying sideways...ACK Water parameters checked out fine, but he looked like he was going belly up soon....Then a voice from heaven said "place him in the main tank" - OK it wasnt really from heaven but from my friend who thinks he's God when it comes to fishkeeping. Ok I thought, makes some kind of obscure sense to me.
When I floated the bag in the main tank - All my fireshrimp stood up and started applauding - I should have known something was wrong then and there. BTW - there is no doubt I unintentionally have the best fed fireshrimp in the whole US - but thats another story...
OK so Gramma #3 goes in, hides and settles. That evening he comes out - swims and feeds like he's in perfect health. Next day - he comes out and swims and starts asserting himself . All is good I think - third times a charm. Then the RG seems to find the hole in the front piece of LR that all the other Grammas went into - uh oh, I thinks, that's the HAUNTED ROCK of the tank. Well, he goes in, sees that it fits, and starts to protect it. At least I can spy on him a bit, he'll be ok. Well that evening he doesnt come out to feed like he normally does. The next morning he's missing. I leave and come back for the day in the evening and Fireshrimp number 1 is napping on the couch with his hand in his pans watching TV. Fireshrimp #2 is relaxing on the can like he just ate a big meal, and low and behold, Fireshrimp number 3 gets spotted with the goods - a cleaned our RG with head still intact , but nothing else but skeleton ( I bet he was leaving it for my Coral Banded Shrimp - my fireshrimp sure are generous...)
OK - I get the point. I wish not to extinct these colorful beautiful creatures so I wont try another one for quite a long time....
Lathen

 

[katfish50]

Wow...and here I thought 2-months of nursing my RG was a big deal. All of the other fish in my tank are happy and have no signs of ich. My cleaner shrimp and water conditions seem to be taking care of the rest of the crew. Have you any info. on the look alike Assessor? I don't want to enter either the PBT or Assessor if their fate is sealed. I am starting my QT tank today when I do my water change...so if I do get something new the tank will be happy.

 

[stacyt]

I've had really good luck with my royal gramma. I've had him about 8 months now. One thing that I've started to do with all my fish is put them in q-tank, and start hypo at the 1st signs of ich. I've even been considering just doing hypo on all new fish just to be safe. The Royal grammas do seem to be a bit on the timid side, but with what you have I think one should be alright. Just try to put it into a q-tank 1st, then treat for ich. The powder blue would not be a good choice. They are definately a delicate fish. A couple of other good choices would be a bengaii cardinal, or a twinspot hogfish.

 

[katfish50]

Thanks for the Gramma update what Tangs are heartier? I was told Purple Tangs...and I still have not heard from anyone who has a Assessor (royal gramma look alike)?

 

[stacyt]

I've tried to order the assessor from the LFS, but they where never able to get one. The purple tang is hardy, but will become very aggressive. Yellow tangs seem to be very hardy, and not as aggressive.

 

[jonah]

My royal gramma has always been healthy. I carefully inspected it before bringing it home to make sure there was no sign at all of health problems. It was super shy when I kept it by itself, but once I added it to the main reef it came out of it's shell. Now it's the number two fish after my yellow tang.

 

[ophiura]

IMO, there is no such thing as a hardy tang. As they are all quite easily stressed, and hence prone to ick, I would think you need to figure out what happened with the gramma. Nothing pestering him? I would say they are relatively tougher than any tang...if it kept getting ick I am a bit worried.
A powder blue is really not a good choice at all. There is a reason that feedback is not positive. It is because very few survive.

 

[katfish50]

Thank you all for the feedback. I was told by the guy who services my tank that the gramma had fungus. He and I have treated the tank for ich and no other fish have any signs of it. I'll see if this is the case in another week or two. He was not stressed in the least...he was the first fish in my tank...so he pretty much ran the tank. When I purchased him his fins were not in the best shape and appeared to get discolored within the first few weeks as if he had dark splotchy areas. He continued to eat well and then in a matter of two-three days he began to hide and breathe hard and then he was floating. All of my water conditions are normal.PH 8.4/1-Nitrate/0-nitrite/0-Am./alk-o.k/calcium-normal.
So what I think I gather is there is no hearty tang...I've had my eye on a powderblue in LFS for the last two weeks and he sure is pretty and appears healthy...eats well, swims well when I visit him (smile). I've got to much invested in love and money of my tank not to listen to your words of wisdom...