Royal Gramma really intimidated by tankmates.?

Hi I just purchased a royal gramma for my 95 gallon tank about 2 days ago and it spends the entire time hiding. It peaks out for a minute but sees the other fish and goes back to hiding. He does peek out to eat, but stays within his little cave and doesnt come out much. Here's some info:





95 gallon tank


about 130 pouonds of live rock (plenty of hiding places)


I have:


1 large yellow rabitfish


1 large blue regal tang


1 flame angelfish


2 chromis


1 yellow tail damselfish


1 sailfin tang





My question is, will he always be this shy? I was thinking royal grammas move about the tank and were a bit more aggressive? Any ideas on what I can do to get him to come out more? All the other fish get along great.

Royal Gramma really intimidated by tankmates.?
Grammas are not captive bred, so you have to remember that he's probably stressed and traumatized from being yanked from his home in the great big ocean (where the bigger fish probably would have bullied and/or eaten him if given the chance), and he's been thrown in a big glass box with fish that he may not know (as in, perhaps he's never actually seen a Tang before, etc) so he probably is attempting to decipher whether or not he's going to be lunch at any moment.





Beyond that, slight changes in water parameters may make him a little "off kilter" as well.





Give him a week or two to acclimate himself to his new surroundings and his tank mates. I am sure that with time he will be just fine.
Reply:Royal Grammas are usually very shy at first, but once they get used to their new environment, they become more bold. The Gramma should get along fine with the rest of your fish too.