how do you spell relief?

g. mcclean

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Mar 26, 2003
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Is there anything I could/should have done to relieve the stress my royal gramma apparently was going through. She had established a cave as hers. She has been in the aquarium almost from the beginning. Lately the cleaner shrimp has been hanging out near her cave. She didn't seem happy about this. She started to stay in the cave more and more. The last couple of days she was in there almost exclusively. She did not appear sick. I have not seen her for 24 hours and am afraid she is gone. Question: should I have re-arranged the rocks or done anything else to try to make her "happy"?
 
The cleaner shrimp shouldn't be causing the Royal Gramma stress, as they are more or less harmless. Perhaps there is something else going on. Any aggressive tankmates? Any mean crabs in the tank? Any anemones that could have stung the Gramma?
 
I have been chewing on this for a while, and I agree with Kreblak, and might popose an alternate idea. When one of my clowns had a mysterious infection and was acting funny, the cleaners stayed very close. It was the only time she actually let a cleaner touch her. Whatever it was went away, and it's back to the normal aloofness. I am wondering if the cleaner is hanging nearby because the gramma has been acting under the weather.
Has the fish come out yet?
 
gramma behavior

Thanks Kreblak and Mogurnda for your replies. Some additional background--First the tank is 6 months old. Second all water parameters, ammonia, nitrite = 0; nitrate =20ppm, temp 79, salinity 1.025. Third we have a slight cyano outbreak which I am keeping under control. Finally on another board someone reported strange behavior from a royal gramma and they also had cyano. I do know that my sandhopper is also unhappy about the cyano because it is on the sand in the front of the tank where he usually hangs out. He has taken to perching on rocks and doing his watchdogging from there. We have hermit crabs(many) and an emerald crab to answer your question. Since I have not seen the gramma for 36 hours now I am wondering if I should move the rocks and look for her. If she died I doubt I would find her with all the crabs. If I have learned nothing else in 6 months, I have learned that there are certainly many mysteries. Unfortunately not finding the cause leaves you to wonder "what did I do wrong?"
 
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