King Fairy Bass
| King Fairy Bass | ||||||||||||
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King Fairy Bass ( Gramma Loreto ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Gramma Loreto | ||||||||||||
| Poey , 1868 | ||||||||||||
The king fairy bass ( Gramma loreto ) grows up to 8 cm long and is very popular with seawater aquarists because of its pretty coloration and easy maintenance. The Gramma loreto lives mainly substrate-related, as it can quickly disappear into crevices or holes in the event of danger. It is one of the most important export fish from the Caribbean .
Appearance
The body is clearly divided into two colored parts, the front being pink to purple and the rear being yellow. Unlike the Brazilian fairy bass ( Gramma brasiliensis ), a black stripe runs over the eyes. The two species also differ in the transition from yellow to purple. In the case of the king fairy bass, the yellow zone in the form of individual color pixels runs out into the purple zone. Unlike the Brazilian fairy bass, where yellow and purple tend to blur into one another. There is a black spot on the first rays of the dorsal fin.
Aquarium keeping
It is generally recommended to keep the Gramma loreto as a pair, as it shows its interesting breeding behavior in the aquarium. The fish collect pieces of seaweed and small stones to build their nests. In contrast to most seawater fish, the young fish have already been successfully rearing here. Like many marine perch species, the Gramma Loreto can change its sex. If you buy two animals, they will form a pair after a while.
If you can do without the breeding behavior, it is also possible to keep the animals individually. In somewhat larger aquariums, there is also the possibility of group housing. However, one should make sure that the number of animals kept is even, so that after pair formation, no single animal remains, which would then suffer from the territorial formation of the other.
literature
- Hans A. Baensch / Robert A. Patzner: Mergus Sea Water Atlas Volume 1 , Mergus-Verlag, Melle, ISBN 3-88244-110-0
Web links
- King Fairy Bass on Fishbase.org (English)