Brazilian Gramma

Care at a glance

Overview

Looks like a royal gramma but carries noticeably more attitude, defending a larger territory and harassing fish that linger near its cave. Keep it with similarly robust tankmates, skip very small or timid fish, and house one per tank. It eats meaty frozen and prepared foods readily and leaves corals and ornamental invertebrates alone, so it is reef safe.

In the wild

Replaces the royal gramma along the Brazilian coast, living in caves and under ledges on rocky and coral reefs in the southwestern Atlantic. It stays close to shelter and swims with its belly toward the rock like the rest of its family. In the tank it wants established rockwork with at least one cave it can call its own.

Good to know

Gramma brasiliensis is a basslet in the family Grammatidae, described in 1998 and reaching about 9 cm. It looks so much like the royal gramma that the two were long confused, but the purple front half meets the yellow rear in a cleaner, more abrupt line and the fish runs slightly larger. Like its relatives it is a crevice spawner, and captive bred fish are produced in small numbers.

Did you know

Brazil tightly limits marine ornamental exports, so this basslet stayed a curiosity in the hobby for years, and captive breeding is what finally made it available with any regularity.

Common questions

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