BASSLETS - A Guide For the Marine Aquarium

Black Cap Basslet (Gramma melacara)
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Marine basslets are small, meat-eating marine aquarium fish that are very well represented in the hobby. The overwhelming majority of them are somewhere between 2 to four inches in length and appear in a broad assortment of colors. They are all strictly meat-eaters and are typically some of the easiest fish to provide for in the saltwater aquarium. They are located in a variety of depths and are usually connected to habitats that have a lot of caves.

Basslets are found from a selection of families in addition to genera. Some of the more admired basslets in the trade come from the genus Liopropoma, Gramma, and Serranus.

The most popular among them is undoubtedly the Royal Gramma. Not to be mixed up with the bicolor dottyback. Marine basslets from the genus Liopropoma are several of the most sought after marine fishes in the trade and can cost more than $600 for rare deepwater species just like the beautiful candy basslet.

All basslets are considered exceedingly hardy fishes that typically do well in captivity. Owing to their eating habits, small fishes and invertebrates are not safe around them. Crustaceans to avoid are made up of sexy shrimp, small pistol shrimp for example Randall's pistol shrimp as well as any saltwater aquarium fishes that is small enough to put in into their mouths. Even as they can be taught to accept dry foods like pellets or flakes, they have a propensity to accept frozen foods a lot faster. As a result, some of the most popular fish feeds for the basslets consist of staple frozen foods for instance frozen mysis shrimp, krill along with an assortment of seafood mixes such as prime reef.

In their natural habitats, they are caught individually or dwelling in pairs. They are frequently found living in or in the region of live rock that offers them plenty of hiding spaces. Such a rockscape ought to be reflected in captivity if you plan to keep these stunning fish.

For the most part, the majority of the frequent basslets have not been bred in captivity. The staple Royal Gramma sees the most attempts but as a result of its low value, such activities have not garnered much interest from private breeders or large scale breeders. The one genera that are worth looking into is Liopropoma as they are normally deep-dwelling fishes that command high prices.

By Indran Manickam - Article Source: EzineArticles

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The Royal Gramma - A Guide on The Stunning BASSLET, Gramma Loreto

The royal gramma (Gramma Loreto), along with the percula clownfish, flame angel, yellow tang and the blue tang make up the five most recognizable fishes in the marine aquarium hobby. It is also known as the fairy basslet.

Royal Gramma -Gramma loreta - Photo: Wikimedia

The royal gramma is brilliantly colored. Its front half is a rich bluish-purple while the rest of its body is a bright yellow mixed in with some orange. There is a single black stripe that streaks through its eyes.There is also a single black spot at the front of its dorsal fin.

They are commonly found throughout the Caribbean Sea. They retail for as little as $15 dollars and are disease resistant and hardy. A winning combination. Cheap, beautiful, plentiful and easy to keep in an aquarium.

They are commonly mistaken for the bicolor dottyback (Pseudochromis Bicolor) as they both have very similar colors. Telling them apart is easy. The bicolor dottyback does not have a black streak running from its snout through its eyes.

The royal gramma is a good candidate for a wide variety of aquariums. They are a relatively peaceful fish, provided they have a small territory of their own.

I have personally kept the royal gramma with clownfish, dwarf angels, large angels, gobies, damsels and dottybacks and have found that it does well with all of them. Again, only if they have their own territory. There can be trouble if any fish continually attempts to enter its shelter.

They can reach lengths of nearly 4 inches in their natural habitat. Such lengths are generally unseen in captivity. Expect your royal gramma to get as big as 3 inches.

I've seen hobbyists successfully keep one in a 10-gallon tank. Personally, i think at least a 20 gallon is the minimum size you should use with the royal gramma. The only way I'd ever keep one in a 10 gallon is if its the only fish in the tank.

Royal grammas are carnivores that eat copepods and plankton in the wild. They are completely reef safe so you don't have to worry about any coral nipping.

A variety of meaty foods should be offered. Krill, Mysis shrimp and Prime Reef (A great blend of seafood) are all great frozen foods to feed. They normally begin eating very quickly after introduction.

Efforts to breed the royal gramma have been successful. They are nest builders that use macroalgae as material for their spawning site (usually a cave).

The male attempts to lure the female into its newly built spawning site by quivering and flaring his fins. If the female is receptive to the males advances, she will then enter his cave and begin spawning. Their larvae accept rotifers and eventually baby brine shrimp without hesitation.

While breeding in captivity has been successful, the vast majority of royal grammas sold are still wild caught. Breeding of this fish isn't wide spread by any means and high rearing costs normally mean losing out to cheaper, wild caught specimens.

By Indran Manickam On my hubpages site I've written many guides covering this fish, the royal gramma as well as other popular species like the blue tang. All guides are photo and video heavy. Article Source: EzineArticles

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