Royal Gramma vs. Mandrin

[NMreefer]

Will a Royal Gramma compete for the same food source as my Mandrin? If so, any suggestions as to how to capture my Gramma.

Thanks,
Phillip

 

[Anonymous]

They do, and some people use plastic bottle to catch the Gramma.

Give yourself a few week to do the task, since a Gramma is *very* difficult to catch unless you remove all the live rock.

 

[Anonymous]

Grammas will compete as much as any other fish will...by eating things that float by and thereby reducing the number of pods that survive the current to land on rocks and such. Grammas will occaionally pic at the rocks, but aren't the real competition that a six-line wrasse would be.

I think they can co-exist if your tank is 75 gallons or larer and you have that many pounds of LR.

 

[NMreefer]

Thanks,
I have a 135 so the co-existance part is not the problem. I have seen the Gramma picking at the rocks quite a bit. Do you guys recommend removing the Gramma?

 

[Anonymous]

If the mandrain seem to be loss weight, then I will recommend you to get one of them out.

 

[Greg Hiller]

I've had a Gramma and a mandarin in the same tank for several years. No real problems. I don't think the Gramma are really all that effective at eating the really small critters that mandarins are interested in. I've been told that wrasses are a much more serious problem for competition with Mandarins, FWIW.

 

[NMreefer]

Greg,

I thought the same thing about the Gramma eating the really small critters. I may leave them both in for awhile and watch the Mandrin closely for weight loss. Easy to do since I gaze at him every time I get the chance.

Thanks again,
Phillip

 

[Anonymous]

I have both and have not seen the RG picking at the rocks. The RG are more addaptable to eating prepared foods than the Mandrin so if your tank is well feed the compatition for pods should not be as great.