Tricks to get a Regal eating

[RxMike]

Anyone have any tricks to help get Regals eating?:headwalls:

[snorvich]

Anyone have any tricks to help get Regals eating?:headwalls:

Regal tang or regal angelfish?

[acrohead500ppm]

I am sure you have tried mysis, chopped frozen seafood/ squid, all with no avail?
If its a regal angel
Right now your best bet is to go to your LFS and see if they have any types of live sponges for sale.

[caribfan]

My go to for tricky fish is a freshly opened cherry stone, little Neck or similar type of clam.

Fresh oyster on the half shell is also a great choice as well.

[snorvich]

My go to for tricky fish is a freshly opened cherry stone, little Neck or similar type of clam.

Fresh oyster on the half shell is also a great choice as well.

This worked for me. Also, Nutramar Ova, Capelin fish roe.

[Dmorty217]

Clams on half shell like Matt mentioned, live black worms.

[acrohead500ppm]

This worked for me. Also, Nutramar Ova, Capelin fish roe.

I loved that nutrimar ova stuff for chromis, its hard to find these days in my parts?

Also, have any of you ever used the decorator type sponges that are offfered by most Caribbean exporters?? red ball sponge/ orange tree??

Once got in an adult scribbled angel at a store I worked at once, and torn up pieces of said sponges as well as ORA pellets are all I could get it to eat.

[RxMike]

Sorry gentlemen yes a regal angelfish. I will go to the seafood market tomorrow and see if I can get a fresh clam

[acrohead500ppm]

Sorry gentlemen yes a regal angelfish. I will go to the seafood market tomorrow and see if I can get a fresh clam

If it wont take that, seriously get to a reef shop that has sponges for sale.

Most have ones like these http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=457+527+574&pcatid=574

and they work great, after all regal angels' natural diet consists mainly of live sponges.

[caribfan]

With Regals, it's been my experience that they prefer to pick at a stationary piece of food as opposed to picking things out Of the water column, which is why clams work so well in my opinion.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[RxMike]

Forgot to mention it is a red sea regal. someone told me they tend to be more difficult to get eating than the other regal angels. Not sure if this is true.

This same person has success with a RS Regal angelfish. His trick was to add clam with a dab of tabasco sauce. LOL.. he said that the tabasco sauce sparks the fish interest....


he also said that flake food seem to work well also

[Dmorty217]

IME they won't touch flake and may only eat clam on the half shell or similar at first but for sure not flake... The only person I know that had one to eat flake soon after purchase was Alprazo and that was after a couple force feedings

[bc1281]

I've had success with oyster.

[RxMike]

I was able to find a orange sponge at LFS. the Regal is nipping at the sponge every now and then. Figure the sponge can act like a comfort food for her. I also added a clam on the half shell. She is not touching it

[pktech]

Hey mike - i heard some asian grocery stores carry sponges & probably a lot cheaper.

[caribfan]

Did you mention size? Big or small? Is it in it's own tank

[Dmorty217]

They also do better in a not sterile enviroment. Also smaller is better

[acrohead500ppm]

I was able to find a orange sponge at LFS. the Regal is nipping at the sponge every now and then. Figure the sponge can act like a comfort food for her. I also added a clam on the half shell. She is not touching it

Glad the sponge worked for you.

maybe buy a few of these http://www.reefs2go.com/category/sea_life.sponge/

Keep them somewhere in your sump? use as needed?

[OrionN]

You need to keep them in a Qt that is a full well establish reef with plenty of LR fauna. No other fish there to bother him. He can take his time, pick on the rock and supplement with various food.
That was how I got my small Regal angel to eat. He is well now, in a tank full aggressive feeding fish.

[RxMike]

It is a small red sea regal. Beautiful specimen. I am seeing some ich on its tail fin. not sure if I should medicate or just hope it beats through it.

It is in a 50 gallon QT. no medications yet

Trying to introduce new foods. I gave it some LFS frenzy last night. It took a few bites out of the frozen food.

I have some black worms on stand by

[Dmorty217]

It is a small red sea regal. Beautiful specimen. I am seeing some ich on its tail fin. not sure if I should medicate or just hope it beats through it.

It is in a 50 gallon QT. no medications yet

Trying to introduce new foods. I gave it some LFS frenzy last night. It took a few bites out of the frozen food.

I have some black worms on stand by

If your going to treat use TTM, if you use meds it for sure a goner especially since it's not eating. I would try and get her eating before TTM if possible

[alton]

How long have you had the fish? I have seen Regals take three weeks before eating, I had a juvenile Chrysurus that took three weeks before taking food. Just make sure it has plenty of hiding spots, if it is a glass tank covering 3 of the 4 sides with card board will help also. I like using a 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub filled half full because of the black sides. The attached Regal is in QT right now, it took less than a week to try food and finally this weekend started eating fairly well.

[RxMike]

Update after keeping the regal in a separate tank for a few weeks I introduced her into the DT using an acclimation box. I kept her in acclimation box and introduced foods to her. It took some time but with patience she began to eat out of the water column. It was an interesting experiment with this species. The acclimation box was key. I had to train her to eat. She became confident with eating frozen foods out of water column. She does not eat any pellets only Larry reef frenzy. Won't even eat mysis. Picks on rocks and sponges.

[alton]

Great news, thanks for the update

[caribfan]

Yes great news, glad to hear it's doing well.

[ReefMaverick]

Hummmi have to give a try to that Larry Reef Frenzy stuff.

[ThRoewer]

How long have you had the fish? I have seen Regals take three weeks before eating, I had a juvenile Chrysurus that took three weeks before taking food. Just make sure it has plenty of hiding spots, if it is a glass tank covering 3 of the 4 sides with card board will help also. I like using a 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub filled half full because of the black sides. The attached Regal is in QT right now, it took less than a week to try food and finally this weekend started eating fairly well.

I would be careful to ever again allow a fish going completely without food for that long. It is one thing if they are not eating frozen food but still pick on the rocks and algae. But a fish that is not eating at all likely has a problem that needs intervention.

My best experiences with regals are in tanks with lots of live rock.

Also, in my experience, the less time a regal spends in the supply chain the better. I also feel that transitional juveniles and immature adults do better than mature adults, though if handled correctly during collection and transport even larger adults should eat right away.

All my current 3 to 4 inch regals were eating from day one. The last Indian Ocean regal I got had arrived only a few hours before I took it home and it was eating clams the next morning.

Hummmi have to give a try to that Larry Reef Frenzy stuff.

I tried to give that stuff to my well acclimated regals and they just spat it out and looked confused at me. They prefer Mysis and clams. They also like brine shrimp but I don't feed that very often as it isn't good food.

[alton]

The regal in my Avatar took three weeks to eat and the picture was taken in September of 2012. This what he looks like today
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac237/Altonv1/TOY/Regal_zpsprweaiuc.jpg (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Altonv1/media/TOY/Regal_zpsprweaiuc.jpg.html)
He gets a mixture of LRS with algae, PE Mysis, Spiralina Brine, and Mysis.
Anytime you can create a QT tank that has plenty of Liverock, it makes for less stress on the fish, something for them to graze on, and that is a good thing.

[OrionN]

Alton,
That Regal is your male and is your largest Regal isn't he?
I am so excited to finally getting another one into my tank.
I do love mine but he is very cryptic, and not out much at all.

[alton]

Alton,
That Regal is your male and is your largest Regal isn't he?
I am so excited to finally getting another one into my tank.
I do love mine but he is very cryptic, and not out much at all.

yes he is, as far as cryptic I have a pair of goldens in my office tank and they never come out to eat. Sometimes they will come out grab a piece and fly back into the liverock. Mostly they wait till the food flows through the liverock.

[ThRoewer]

The regal in my Avatar took three weeks to eat ...

Eat at all or eat food you gave him?

I've had a regal before who also took a long time to go for frozen food or even clams, but it was searching and picking on the rocks and otherwise interested.
If a regal doesn't show any interest in eating for weeks, something is wrong and an intervention may be needed

... and the picture was taken in September of 2012. This what he looks like today
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac237/Altonv1/TOY/Regal_zpsprweaiuc.jpg (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Altonv1/media/TOY/Regal_zpsprweaiuc.jpg.html)
He gets a mixture of LRS with algae, PE Mysis, Spiralina Brine, and Mysis.
Anytime you can create a QT tank that has plenty of Liverock, it makes for less stress on the fish, something for them to graze on, and that is a good thing.
That's a really nice one, Red Sea?
Looks like he got a lot more yellow between those pictures.
How much has he grown in that time and what is his size?
Do you keep him alone?

Alton,
That Regal is your male and is your largest Regal isn't he?
I am so excited to finally getting another one into my tank.
I do love mine but he is very cryptic, and not out much at all.
Which kind of regal do you have Minh?
I noticed quite big differences in behavior and physiology between Pacific Blue Belly and Indian Ocean (incl. Red Sea) Yellow Belly regal angels. It's definitely more than just a color difference.
The Pacific Regals are much more reclusive than the Indian Ocean Regals. It also makes a difference if you keep them as singles or in pairs - pairs seem to be more confident. My Sumatra YB pair is not very shy at all - if they are hungry they sit next to each other on the front, begging for food. My two Philippine BBs are quite skittish and only come out into the open for feedings.

There are also conflicting reports about the social behavior of Pacific Regals and Indian Ocean Regals. Observations at Pacific locations report them to live in harem groups, while the Indian Ocean Regals are generally observed in pairs.

[alton]

That's a really nice one, Red Sea? Yes
Looks like he got a lot more yellow between those pictures. I have an IPhone Getting correct color is a hit and miss. In real life he just as good as when I got him
How much has he grown in that time and what is his size? 1 1/2" maybe very slow grower as compared to my Imp which went from 2.5" juv. to 6" sub-adult in a year
Do you keep him alone? Nope, pictures of tank mates attached

[ThRoewer]

Yeah, I noticed in the past that they are slow growers - unlike the marine bettas in my regal QT. Those two grew about an inch each the last two months due to the optimal food supply when I tried getting the Red Sea regal to eat or while fattening up the Sumatra pair.

So are your two spawning already?

[alton]

They get along but still after years have not paired up, not like my Flames, my first pair took a couple months, adding the second female took 5 minutes. I tried adding a third regal and that did not turn out very well. Even the smaller one went after the last one added and it was an inch bigger than her.

[ThRoewer]

My two Sumatra seem to have paired up right away, at least they hang out together a lot and get especially along well during feedings when all my other regals usually started fighting.
When I tried to add my latest Indian Ocean YBR he got into a fight with the larger Sumatra - they were too close in size and the addition order was wrong. That was when the Red Sea was still in the tank with them all.
In general I think only two adult YBR will work out together long term as they seem to form pairs. Pacific regals may be different.

[OrionN]

I have a Pacific blue chest Regal. Small only about 2 inches. I got her when still have a very prominant eye spot.
I read about the reclusiveness of small Regal and those of Pacific origin. I hope because she is small she is much more reclusive which should improve as she get older

[ThRoewer]

You should try to find another, slightly larger one. I think about an inch difference is ideal. Two together are less shy in my experience.

I plan to put my two Philippine regal back together as soon as I redo the sump tank - let's see how that works out.
They were both 3" when I got them. At first - when they were both paper thin - they got somewhat along, but as soon as the dominant gained strength, it went beyond chasing and turned into mean attacks. I had to separate them when the submissive got his fins all torn up. I put the dominant in a 40 gallon tank and the submissive in my 18" cube, hoping one would grow more than the other. Both are really fat now, but still have distinctly different personality. The dominant one is still a good deal bolder during feeding times and also more out in the open in general.

BTW, do you know where yours is from precisely?

[OrionN]

I don't know where mine is from for sure. I think he was from the Philippine. I will get a 4 inches healthy Red Sea Regal from Alton is a few weeks. I will try to have a Mixed pair. Will see. It is really difficult for me to get nice fish here in Corpus Christi. I tried mail order but so are came up empty handed. I was really lucky to get my small Regal from one of the LFS here in Corpus Christi.