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Blackcap Basslet
Gramma melacara
Deep-reef gramma dressed in magenta and blackIntermediate
- Lifespan
- 5-10 years
- Size
- 10 cm (4 in)
- Social needs
- One per tank (groups only in large systems added together); fights its own kind and lookalikes
- Time
- Daily feeding; weekly testing/changes
- Cost
- Medium-high
- Diet
- Carnivore (mysis, brine, marine pellets)
Overview
What is this animal?
- The Blackcap Basslet is the Royal Gramma's deep-water Caribbean cousin, dressed in a single sheet of rich magenta with a jet-black cap that runs from the snout, over the crown, and back along the entire dorsal fin.
- It grows slightly larger than its famous relative, reaching about 10 cm (4 in), and carries itself with noticeably more confidence.
- In the wild it lives on steep reef walls at roughly 15-60 m (50-200 ft), far deeper than the Royal Gramma, orienting its belly to the nearest surface so it appears to hover upside-down beneath ledges before vanishing into crevices.
- That deep-water origin makes wild specimens pricier and makes choosing a healthy, properly decompressed individual the most important decision you will make.
- Once settled, it is hardy, long-lived, and fully reef-safe.
Temperament
- The Blackcap Basslet is peaceful toward unrelated species but runs a notch feistier than the Royal Gramma, chasing intruders from its cave with real intent rather than pure bluff.
- It is reef-safe and ignores corals and all but the tiniest ornamental shrimp.
- In tanks of the size it is usually kept, house just one; conspecifics only coexist in a much larger system when introduced together.
- Never pair it with a Royal Gramma or with dottybacks, because the similar shape and colours trigger persistent fighting in ordinary-sized systems.
- With dissimilar, peaceful tankmates and plenty of rockwork it becomes a confident fixture, patrolling openly and hovering at odd angles beneath its favourite ledge.
A good fit for
- Reef tanks with shaded, cave-rich rockwork
- Keepers who loved the Royal Gramma and want a step up
- Smaller marine systems from 30 gallons
- Fans of upside-down ledge-hovering behaviour
Common mistakes to avoid
- Deep-collected fish with swim-bladder damage — buy level swimmers that eat
- Mixing with Royal Grammas or dottybacks (fighting)
- Bright, bare aquascapes keep it hidden and stressed
- Open-top tank leads to jumping
- Costs noticeably more than a Royal Gramma
Enclosure
Minimum 110 litres (29 US gallons)
Must be housed alone. One per tank (groups only in large systems added together); fights its own kind and lookalikes
- Give it a cycled aquarium of at least 110 L (30 gallons) with generous live rock stacked into caves, tunnels, and overhangs it can hang beneath.
- Coming from dim, deep walls, it prefers shaded zones under ledges to a bright, open aquascape, and in a tank without cover it will simply stay hidden.
- Keep salinity at 1.024-1.026, temperature 23-26°C (74-79°F), pH 8.1-8.4, and nitrate under 20 ppm (lower still in a coral-heavy reef).
- A tight-fitting lid is non-negotiable, because like all grammas it is a proven jumper.
- Arrange the rock to break lines of sight so it can hold a home cave without confronting every passing tankmate.
Supplies
Setup
- Tank, stand and sump
- Return pump and powerheads
- Protein skimmer
- Reef lighting
- Rock and sand
- Salt mix, refractometer and test kits
- Quarantine tank
Ongoing
- Frozen mysis shrimp
- Frozen enriched brine shrimp
- Small sinking marine pellet
- Frozen chopped seafood blend
- Vitamin or HUFA soaking supplement
- Turkey baster for target-feeding near rockwork
- Small thawing cup and strainer
Safe substrate: Aragonite sand · Dry or cured live rock · Bare bottom
Care routine
Daily
- Check salinity, temperature and flow
- Check the lid
- Feed
- Head-count and look everyone over
- Top up evaporation with fresh water
Weekly
- Service the skimmer and filter socksevery 3 days
- Check each fish still has a cave
- Clean the glass
- Test the water
Monthly
- Water changeevery 2 weeks
- Calibrate the refractometer
- Check salt, RO/DI and reagents
Less often
- Deep-clean pumps and powerheadsevery 3 months
- Replace RO/DI filter mediaevery 6 months
Vet: Quarterly review with a territory check — every 3 months
Top resources for more info
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YouTubers
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Diet
- In the wild the Blackcap Basslet picks zooplankton and small crustaceans from the water column beside its wall.
- In the aquarium feed frozen mysis, enriched brine shrimp, finely chopped seafood, and a quality sinking marine pellet, offered once or twice daily.
- Freshly imported fish can be hesitant feeders, so drift frozen food near its cave until it eats confidently in the open.
- A varied meaty diet keeps the magenta deep and the black cap crisp.
- Feed small portions and check that faster tankmates are not intercepting every meal.
Health
- Once established this is a hardy, disease-resistant fish that commonly lives 5-10 years.
- The routine risks are marine ich and bacterial infection following stress, so quarantine new arrivals and keep parameters steady.
- The species-specific risk sits at the point of purchase: wild fish are collected deep, and poorly decompressed specimens carry swim-bladder damage that shows as tilted swimming, floating, or listless sulking.
- Only buy a fish that swims level and eats in front of you, and choose captive-bred stock (now produced by several breeders) whenever you can find it.
- Persistent hiding and refused food are the early warning signs to act on quickly.
Is your enclosure big enough?
Is this urgent?
In a reef, stability matters more than any single target number. A parameter moving fast does more damage than a parameter sitting slightly off.
Go now
Today
Quarantine every new animal, including corals and inverts. It is the single practice that separates a reef that lasts from a reef that restarts.
This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it — and the time to find one is before you need one.
What it really costs
Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.
Bedding and substrate
In a marine system the rock and the sand are life support, and how you start them decides the first six months.
Safe
With a caveat
Never
This is our general list for saltwater fish. We have not built one specific to Basslets yet.
My kit says 0.25 ppm. Is that dangerous?
A liquid kit measures total ammonia, but only the un-ionised fraction is really toxic, and that fraction is governed by pH and temperature — each whole pH unit multiplies it roughly tenfold. So the same reading can be nearly harmless in one tank and lethal in another; this works out which one you are in.
Compare with other animals
The same axes for every animal, side by side — the way the guides are written makes that a fair comparison rather than two articles.
Basslets, side by side
Same axes, same care guides — the honest way to choose between types.
See all Basslets side by side →
