Swissguard basslet - who has one?

McPuff · Mar 11, 2019

If I could, I'd buy the deepwater Curacao basslet... but the swissguard is a close second and much more popularly priced. My LFS has one right now and I'm close to pulling the trigger. If they are like other basslets, there isn't much to worry about...

Questions: What other species do you keep with your swissguard basslet? Any other basslets? I currently have a royal gramma... wouldn't anticipate any issues but you never know. The swissguards do get larger. When did you add yours to your system (relative to other fish)?

While we're at it, post pictures of your swissguard! Any other words of wisdom?

Lb71 · Mar 11, 2019

McPuff said:
If I could, I'd buy the deepwater Curacao basslet... but the swissguard is a close second and much more popularly priced. My LFS has one right now and I'm close to pulling the trigger. If they are like other basslets, there isn't much to worry about...

Questions: What other species do you keep with your swissguard basslet? Any other basslets? I currently have a royal gramma... wouldn't anticipate any issues but you never know. The swissguards do get larger. When did you add yours to your system (relative to other fish)?

While we're at it, post pictures of your swissguard! Any other words of wisdom?

Swiss guard basslet somewhat shy fish. Hangs around caves and likes to swim in and out of rock work. Easy to feed, mine loves any type of frozen foods, flake , mysis etc. fairly disease resistant, will jump if startled, peaceful, reef safe with all but the smallest shrimp. Can be bullied by larger fish esp Dotybacks.
Probably has to do with shape and area they like to hang out in. I have seen adult Royal grammas bigger than Swiss guards but never the other way around. Great fish to keep especially in a peaceful environment.
Larry

Daniel@R2R · Mar 11, 2019

@eatbreakfast knows a TON about fish...so I'm tagging him.

I have one myself and I love it. I have mine with wrasses, tangs and clowns. It's kind of a cryptic fish though. For a while I thought it was gone, and then recently saw it's happily hanging out in my rockwork and is fat as a pig. LOL

tautog83 · Mar 11, 2019

Peaceful fish and beautiful . Had one a while back . It is shy but not as much as the swalesi basslet and definatley better coloration.

eatbreakfast · Mar 12, 2019

A great fish. They can be shy, but are quite hardy. Don't keep them with other Liopropoma species or with dottybacks, but it will be fine with grammas.

Pntbll687 · Mar 12, 2019

I had one!!

It was my wife's favorite fish. I accidentally crushed it when i was re-scaping the tank. I didn't know it was behind the rock I was moving.

If I could find one, I would buy it in a heartbeat

Oberst Oswald · Mar 13, 2019

I have one for about 1 1/2 years now and paid about $125 for him. Excellent fish: very pretty & peaceful. First 6 months was shy and could be seen swimming around early in the morning before the other fish are up and about. Would scoot out from the rocks to grab food and then retreat back but remained well hidden. I was like a treat to see him once in awhile. Then for some reason it changed... is for the past year or so is swimming in the open much more often and enjoying fish tank life. Still shyer then most of the other fish so have lots of places for him to retreat too. Right now, looking at my tank, he is there in front in full display.

McPuff · Mar 13, 2019

Oberst Oswald said:
I have one for about 1 1/2 years now and paid about $125 for him. Excellent fish: very pretty & peaceful. First 6 months was shy and could be seen swimming around early in the morning before the other fish are up and about. Would scoot out from the rocks to grab food and then retreat back but remained well hidden. I was like a treat to see him once in awhile. Then for some reason it changed... is for the past year or so is swimming in the open much more often and enjoying fish tank life. Still shyer then most of the other fish so have lots of places for him to retreat too. Right now, looking at my tank, he is there in front in full display.

Very cool! Behavior sounds pretty typical of basslets from my own experience. My LFS has one for that same price. I've got store credit...

Hubert J. Farnsworth · Mar 13, 2019

great fish, mine is in a tank with yellow and tomini tangs, royal gramma and springer's dottyback, among others. no problems whatsoever. semi-shy, but definitely not hiding all the time or intimidated by any of the other fish. seems like a crepuscular fish to me. more active when the lights are dimming or off. pretty aggressive during feeding time.

drblakjak55 · Mar 13, 2019

Any pictures?

Maacc · Mar 13, 2019

I have one in a 20 peninsula with a tailspot goby, neon goby, clown goby, and rainford goby. He is a model citizen. They are definitely cryptic but great personality and very hardy.
The rainford chases him a little bit but nothing major.

Hubert J. Farnsworth · Mar 13, 2019

just a crappy phone pic...

McPuff · Mar 13, 2019

This is great! Thanks for the input and the pictures... they are terrific!

lion king · Mar 13, 2019

This is the guy I had, I called him the poor man's candy basslet, my computer with pics crashed. That purple gets deeper and orange gets brighter when he's happy and healthy, was a great fish, cryptic like other have said, like most of these basslets. https://m.liveaquaria.com/divers-den/product/454021/swales-swissguard-basslet

mfinn · Mar 13, 2019

I had one for 5 years.
Bet I saw it only 6-7 times total.
Took the tank down and gave it to a friend.

McPuff · Apr 24, 2019

Update on this thread... I ended up buying a Swales basslet in early April. It went through TTM with no problems and is now almost two weeks into QT. Doing very well and eating all manner of frozen foods. It's fairly shy but seems to understand that I'm the one feeding it. Going to start Prazi today or tomorrow and then medicated foods (metro, kanaplex). Another 2-3 weeks and it'll be ready for the DT. Really like it so far!!

Montagne · Mar 9, 2021

Hey @McPuff, any updates on your experience with your swales to share?

McPuff · Mar 9, 2021

Montagne said:
Hey @McPuff, any updates on your experience with your swales to share?

It's doing really well. One of those fish that tends to stay hidden, or mostly so, throughout the day. Comes out at feeding time but still quite a timid fish. Very cool looking though and he's plenty thick so getting the food he needs. It's always cool to see him and he tends to be in 1 of only two places in the tank. I seem to have rockwork that suits him very well. Definitely a fish I would recommend if you like having a "surprise" every once in a while vs seeing the fish all the time.

Pntbll687 · Mar 11, 2021

I have a swalls guard, and will second that they stay pretty much hidden. I see him most at dawn and dusk when lights are coming on and off.

If I were to setting up a tank and wanted one of these, I would keep it to a nano size, MAYBE a 75g with calm gentle fish to get him to come out more. Mine gets lost with the big tangs zipping around all the time, but he's there.

Zionas · Mar 11, 2021

Where I am I have only ever seen these basslets appear maybe a total of 4-5 times on wholesaler’s lists, perhaps once or twice on my LFS’s inventory. They’re really pretty fish and I’d love to own one but both are so hard to come by. We get the Royal Gramma semi-regularly (not my LFS) and the Blackcap quite sporadically.

I don’t know why these fish aren’t more popular, but from many tanks I’ve seen here people are more than happy to cram every large angel and Tang they can find into horribly undersized tanks.

A fellow Chinese reefer told me he knows a guy who keeps a Black Tipped Reef Shark in a 6ft, 220 gallon tank.

I am fascinated by the sheer variety of basslets, who knows which new varieties will be found in deeper waters.