Unusual Royal Gramma Activity

[Grizzlyreef]

My gramma started picking up mouthfuls of sand off the bottom and spitting them up into the current. Anyone see anything like this before? I can't make up my mind if he is spitting sand onto a clam for some reason or searching for food drifting out of the heavier gravel.....

[carter92]

My Royal Gramma does that too, he like to keep the doorstep to his cave nice and neat....its not unusual to find mine wearing sand all over his face......

[hawk66]

Mine does the same thing, I think he is just clearing out his spot

[Whitten]

I have a few questions concerning Gramma behavior as well. I noticed my royal perched on top of the heater this morning in my QT tank. He is largely very inactive today for some reason. I thought he was dead but after nudging him free of the heater holder he swam away to a secluded spot to rest. Is this considered normal? I know that they are largely cave dwellers and that he only has a fake plastic plant to hide under, but he has been fliting about the tank...except when I come in the room, until know. Should I be worried about him taking a dive on me, and dying?

[Frick-n-Frags]

Mine clears out rubble near his house too. Unreal how big of pieces of stuff they can pick up. When they yawn, you know they are in the bass family :D

[Whitten]

Well then if they are in the bass family then they are faily tough. But that still brings me to my original question above. I didn't know that they yawned...which is awesome because in the tank next his is a large mouth that i caught a year ago.

[Masoch]

My royal gramma spits the sand at my clowns if they're too close to his nest. And the little (if charming) jerk has been known to rip an antenna or two off my cleaner shrimp. I've also seen him carry some caulerpa 'n' shells into his cave. I feel so bad for him some times. He's got this awesome pad and no lady friends to share it wirth.