Regal Angel Primer

[LukFox]

For good reason in terms of the frogfish ;). It's nice it is working so far, but they aren't good community fish for the average tank.

[maxxII]

Here is a pic of my Regal with the tiny stripe...from Feb of last year:

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_members/data/500/Regal_2-22-09.jpg

You can see how the tiny stripe was absorbed by the larger stripe behind it, (moving towards the tail of the fish)


Nick

[Outerbank]

Nick, that's cool!

[LukFox]

That's really cool how the stripes changed so obviously!

[maxxII]

Its interesting thats for sure....I kinda like the tiny "stripe-let" more than the lumpy stripe...

I also jinxed myself with regards to her not touching Zoa's...came home yesterday with a new frag of Devil's Armor zoa's...cool morph too. noticed it was closed up and figured it was because the frag wasnt in bright enough lighting so I moved it out more. Came back an hour later, and it was nibbled right off of the frag plug....:(
Cant definitively say it was the Regal that did the deed....I have heard of Powder Blue Tangs eating Zoa's and Paly's before.....but the Regal look suspiciously chubby and had a guilty look about her...

All Zoa frags were moved to an enclosed frag rack for their safety....

Nick

[maxxII]

On the plus side of things, if I ever get something over-run with Zoa's, I can just place it in the display tank and she'll clean it up for me....

Nick

[ryanrid]

I pick up my regal this week and wondering what best to feed i have the following in prep
Frozen
brine
mysis
rotifers
daphnia
Dry
Spectrum pellets
cyclopese (powder variety)

what else should i get in prep? Is the julian sprung red and purple seaweed a good idea, along with their dried seafood mix? Also will buy some live baby and adult brine but dont want to feed this long term.

Thanks
Ryan

[Finsky]

I pick up my regal this week and wondering what best to feed i have the following in prep
Frozen
brine
mysis
rotifers
daphnia
Dry
Spectrum pellets
cyclopese (powder variety)

what else should i get in prep? Is the julian sprung red and purple seaweed a good idea, along with their dried seafood mix? Also will buy some live baby and adult brine but dont want to feed this long term.

Thanks
Ryan

I just opened a 30 Gram package of Sprungs Red/Purple Seaweed and cut it with scissors into small bite sized pieces which I put into a large empty freeze dried mysis shrimp plastic container. I do have an inch thick stack of 10x10 inch San Francisco Bay green seaweed I cut up as well although I have one 30 gram container of Ocean Nutrition Red Algae cut up and put into another empty container. The reason I like the purple red is it is softer for the mouths of angels and other fish with softer mouths. Mine will grab a piece and crumple it up and swallow it.

Of course I feed small pieces of raw razor clam left over from feeding my five bubble tips once a week. My Regal loves those raw clam pieces.

You have a good list and you might want to consider always soaking the food in a multiple vitamin like Vita-Chem, Selcon, and straight Vitamin C. I do all three which reminds me I have to feed my fishies!

Oh, mine likes to swim around 160 lbs of live rock if available.

Good luck!!!

[szwab]

Try anything and everything. Be sure to have some clams available live. I found mine had to "learn" to eat from the water column. They first only ate food attached to rock or on the bottom of the tank.

[ryanrid]

Try anything and everything. Be sure to have some clams available live. I found mine had to "learn" to eat from the water column. They first only ate food attached to rock or on the bottom of the tank.

what type of clams? the ones which are on the live rock?

Thanks Finksy, i am also getting some live sponge and have some acans in there incase if wants to eat those, and also got some small zoos (purple hornets) in case it wants to graze on those....The health of fish is really important to me :love2:

[szwab]

I used whatever clam the grocery store had at the time. Once they got used to it (didn't take long) I'd buy a bag and freeze them. Pull one out a day and open it rince it out and put it in the tank. I'd try feeding another type of food at the same time with the thinking that if enough "accidental" bites happened they would realize other food is good too.

[Finsky]

Any type of raw clam you can get at the grocery store seafood section.

I started with a lb of chopped clam which was probably the typical round shelled white meat clams. The grocery store then told me they could not get any more so I hunted around and found a Top Foods Grocery Store which special ordered one pound packages of raw frozen razor clam from the Quinault Tribe locally.

A seafood store opened about six months ago and I started geting it for $12.99/lb instead of the grocery store's $16.99/lb.

I am finishing up a frozen chunk I have and then I will thaw one of the two one pound packages I have in the freezer and cut them up in 1/2" pieces to feed my five bubble tips.

I then tear up what is left into little bite size pieces and toss them in the tank.

My Regal goes after these with relish and he gets his fill even competing with the Blue Girdled Angel, Powder Blue and Purple Tang, and pair of Cinnamon Clown fish.

[ryanrid]

thanks guys appreciate the help.:thumbsup:

[szwab]

Mine also ate scallops. Easier to feed as well. I'd freeze and rubberband pieces to a rock. I also felt this helped with water quality since it was less messy.

[LemonLemon]

Here's my first yellow belly regal.

in a 183g tank.

eats mysis very aggressively but that's the only thing he eats. have shown interest in pellets not but ready to take it's first bite yet.


http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/1837/wrasses007.jpg (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/wrasses007.jpg/)

[szwab]

Nice looking regal! Has it taken an interest in the Nephthea behind it :)

[LemonLemon]

interested in nothing except mysis and liverock lol.

[szwab]

Just wait, I'm sure she'll find something she likes. :lol:

[LemonLemon]

Just wait, I'm sure she'll find something she likes. :lol:

definitely. granted it's only been in my tank after less than a week

[Finsky]

My Regal has always had a taste for freeze dried mysis shrimp over the brine shrimp. My Powder Blue loves the brine shrimp over the mysis? I soak my red and green seaweed cut into bite sized pieces and soak along with the freeze dried mysis and brine shrimp in Selcon, Vita-Chem, and Vitamin-C.

I am sure if you put a mixture of foods in you will eventually have him eating some small piece of red/purple seaweed if it is cut up into 1/8" to 1/4" pieces which I do with all my seaweed rather than let large chunks get pulled off a clip and drawn into one of my water pumps.

Of course I have about a half dozen different kinds of frozen food from Hikari etc. like frozen mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, etc.

I cannot think of a less messy food than razor clam and I have looked at the surface of my tank after feeding just about every possible seafood available.

I think razor clam may be difficult and/or expensive to get outside of the Puget Sound area?

[blface]

Mine is still thriving & gaining weight. Here's a recent pic I took. It looks like it wants to give me a kiss.:love2:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/thiellei/IMG_4406.jpg

[LukFox]

Love the pics, guys!

As an update, my color changing regal continues to change. Not only does it still have a yellow belly but the more pure yellow coloration in the striping has gained the orange hue my other one has. This means my two regals are now identical. I can only tell them apart at feeding time because the original yellow belly still won't touch mysis... Really an amazing color change, and I wonder if it was induced by being housed with a yellow belly. We'll see if she changes back, but she seems set on looking just like the other one for now.

[szwab]

Interesting. I have a gray belly and a yellow like you. But no color changing. (yet) :)

[ryanrid]

i got my regal on saturday, it is about 3inchs, i have fed the following so far but hasnt eaten a thing yet.

spectrum pellets
nori
red seaweed
purple seaweed
julian sprung mixed seawwed flakes
LR with some yellow sponge on it
frozen mysis
frozen brine spirulina
fresh muscle (large whole black muscle in 1/2 the shell)

tonight i have fresh scallop to try any tips or anything else to try? Do you think live brine might be a goer for tomorrow?
this fish is in a QT by itself

Thanks

[szwab]

Just be patient try everything and anything. Make sure you keep the water quaity up as well.

[pinnatus]

if you can get Rod's food in Australia, give it a try. I have not seen anything refuse it yet...

[ryanrid]

what is Rod's food? never heard of it

[maxxII]

google rodsreef

Nick

[ryanrid]

googled and not avaialble in aus, what makes it different from other foods for the regal to take? also we can not get anything but a garlic mix to soak food in over here.

[suta4242]

FWIW I think garlic is over rated. I used Kent garlic extreme on more than one finicky fish it had no effect half the time. In your case a 3" regal will feel more at home with a little fresh LR covered in good invert growth, and can forage from there until you get it used to different foods. You can attach various foods like a partially opened clam etc.. to the rock and the fish will likely investigate. As for live brine, its too early IMO to worry about it eating directly from the water column unless it got used to this at the shop.

good luck!

[maxxII]

I mentioned previously in this thread that my experiance with Regals has shown to be slow to acclimate to captivity and the main issue I've seen has not been a willingness to eat but rather a lack of recognition of what "food" is in captivity. To aid in this I've used dither fish that are healthy & disease free that are aggressive eaters but are not territorially aggressive. Both of the Regals I've kept were hesitant eaters but learned to eat by watching the other fish devour whatever I was feeding. I used smaller tangs to "teach" the Regals I've kept. I like the tangs to be at least half the size of the Regal.

Nick

[eho72]

I've tried and failed with the regal angel last year, but it's hard to give up since this is my favorite fish. My last one survived for 3 months until I introduced ich into my DT. I was new to the hobby a year ago, but have learned alot since. I just received a 4" Red Sea Regal yesterday. My goal is to leave the regal in my QT for a total of four weeks. The first 2 will be for observations and the last 2 will be to treat the tank with cupramine.

This time, I must be lucky. The fish is eating on the second day aggressively chomping down live brine shrimps. It's trying the New Life Spectrum pellets but is spitting it out. I notice that the regal is tweaching once in a while. Might have to jump to cupramine faster than I wanted. Here's a picture of my new regal.

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab111/ericho72/120g%20Lee-Mar/DSC_0022.jpg

[LukFox]

Twitching can also be flukes. Angels come infected with flukes pretty often, so treating with prazipro would be a good idea in addition to copper.

[szwab]

Twitching can also be flukes. Angels come infected with flukes pretty often, so treating with prazipro would be a good idea in addition to copper.

+1 I would treat for flukes no matter what.

[blueplanet]

Hi has anyone managed to keep 2 regals simultaneously in a tank successfully. I know of Coops did it from this forum. anyone else? I hope to keep a pair in my tank. If anyone has experience, can advise me the right way to get it done & reduce the conflict?

[LukFox]

Hi has anyone managed to keep 2 regals simultaneously in a tank successfully. I know of Coops did it from this forum. anyone else? I hope to keep a pair in my tank. If anyone has experience, can advise me the right way to get it done & reduce the conflict?

I kept mine separated with eggcrate for almost two months because they just wanted to kill each other in QT. Towards the end of QT I started removing the divider for short periods and sometimes up to a few days. For the longer sessions there would still be some fin nipping, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it was earlier in the process.

When they were moved to my much larger DT, they were initially aggressive to each other in the form of light nipping and chasing, but that stopped after a couple weeks. Now they're completely peaceful to each other. They are not technically paired because they are not mature yet, but they live together peacefully and as soon as they're of size and age I think they'll easily pair up.

[blueplanet]

I kept mine separated with eggcrate for almost two months because they just wanted to kill each other in QT. Towards the end of QT I started removing the divider for short periods and sometimes up to a few days. For the longer sessions there would still be some fin nipping, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it was earlier in the process.

When they were moved to my much larger DT, they were initially aggressive to each other in the form of light nipping and chasing, but that stopped after a couple weeks. Now they're completely peaceful to each other. They are not technically paired because they are not mature yet, but they live together peacefully and as soon as they're of size and age I think they'll easily pair up.

Thks for yr prompt reply & help. I m thinking to seperate them w eggcrate in Dipslay tank (250g) for one to two months. I think my QT (25g) is too small for 2 Angels & water quality not so good as compare to DT. What's yr advice?

[LukFox]

Thks for yr prompt reply & help. I m thinking to seperate them w eggcrate in Dipslay tank (250g) for one to two months. I think my QT (25g) is too small for 2 Angels & water quality not so good as compare to DT. What's yr advice?

If you can divide the display that will work fine. Just quarantine the new one and make sure it is healthy and conditioned first. Depending on the size of the regals, a 25g would be fine, though, if for some reason you didn't want to divide your display. However, do not let them near each other until you can verify the new one is healthy.

[blueplanet]

If you can divide the display that will work fine. Just quarantine the new one and make sure it is healthy and conditioned first. Depending on the size of the regals, a 25g would be fine, though, if for some reason you didn't want to divide your display. However, do not let them near each other until you can verify the new one is healthy.

Thks for yr advice may give it a shot. Wish me luck! Thks again!

[szwab]

Hi has anyone managed to keep 2 regals simultaneously in a tank successfully. I know of Coops did it from this forum. anyone else? I hope to keep a pair in my tank. If anyone has experience, can advise me the right way to get it done & reduce the conflict?


Mine were the opposite no problems at all. My first Regal was actually the smaller of the two I have now it's grey belly had it for about 4 months then added a second larger yellow belly. No problems other than the larger one now is dominant. Just at feeding time though she makes sure she eats first. Other than that they get along fine. Going on 2.5 years for the first and about 2 for the second.

[Tracey2]

I bought a blue belly regal that was eating mysis and brine at the store. She is in my QT with a smaller pb tang who was also with her at the store. She was twitching so I treated the tank with prazi and she stopped eating so I removed the med after only 1 day. It has now been another few days and she is still not eating. I have tried everything with the exception of rods food which is not available here. Any suggestions?

[szwab]

Prazi will do that sometimes. My best suggestions is try everything and anything. Best bet is clam but don't leave it in too long as it can foul the water quickly. Also keep up on the water changes in the QT not sure on the size of the tank but it's fairly easy to have water quality issues especially with 2 active fish.

[szwab]

You could always put some zoanthids in there as well ;)

[ryanrid]

my regal is now eating nori and muscles (pecking quite vigorously), was wondering how oftern i should feed muscles and how long should i leave it in the tank before it starts decaying. Am currently leaving it in there for 1-1.5hrs.

thanks
Ryan

[Finsky]

My gray belly Indonesian Regal Angel has been in my tank from Drs. Foster and Smith since August 24, 2008.

He is 3 1/2" and will eat the green, brown, or red seaweed cut up into bite size flakes although I the red seaweed is softer for tender angelfish mouths and other fish with softer mouths. On Sundays, he gets small bite size pieces of razor clam I drop into the tank after I feed my five bubble tip anemones their weekly 1/2" pieces. I drop these small pieces into the tank until my 4" Blue Girdled, 3 1/2" Purple Tang, and 5" Powder Blue Tang have eaten their fill.

I usually feed freeze dried mysis and brine shrimp along with seaweed pieces soaked in Selcone, Vitamin C, and Vita-Chem onTuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays although I may toss in an occasional tid bit of seaweed, flake foot, etc. on "non" fish feeding days which would include my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday liquid coral food feedings.

[maxxII]

my regal is now eating nori and muscles (pecking quite vigorously), was wondering how oftern i should feed muscles and how long should i leave it in the tank before it starts decaying. Am currently leaving it in there for 1-1.5hrs.

thanks
Ryan

Ryan,
if you've got it eating both mussells and nori, I would try to switch things up and introduce some other foods as well. is your Regal eating mussells on the shell, or have they been removed? Are they uncooked mussells or are they steamed to open them?

Mussells are a whole food, meaning they're not generally given in a piecemeal manner...the fish is able to get all parts of the meat as opposed to just certain parts. This is beneficial as it provides more nutrients and vitamins than would otherwise be the case. You generally want uncooked items, as cooking can severely reduce the nutritional value of the food item. Best way to get a bivalve open is to freeze it. That will kill it and allow you to get a knife blade to sever the muscles holding the shell closed.

I like to feed scallop and shrimp to my Regal when I feed meaty foods. When I feed vegatables, I switch it up between Nori and steamed Broccolli. You've got to steam the broccoli for not more than 5-7 minutes, (doing a small batch) since overcooking is again bad for the nutritional value of the vegetable).

I only feed what my Angel can consume in a short period of time when feeding meaty foods. Since you're is still in the acclimation phase, I think leaving the mussell in place in the tank for about 1-1.5 hours before removal is fine. Once you get your Regal eating a more varied diet, you can cut down on the time.

Nick

[ryanrid]

thanks for the reply Nick.

the muscle has been frozen and opened with a knife and is served uncooked in the shell so it only picks ar part of the meat.
I am putting one in every 2nd day and plan was to try putting in a scallop tonight. Should this be a whole scallop (not in shell) including the orange bit?

It has also started eating sponge now, and i added some live rock from my sump and looks like it is eating pods from there also.

I never thought of brocolli so may give that a try tomorrow.

[jhawkor]

Here's my yellow belly Regal. Had her for about a year, eats straight from my hands.
http://i52.tinypic.com/29yglkw.jpg

[maxxII]

thanks for the reply Nick.

the muscle has been frozen and opened with a knife and is served uncooked in the shell so it only picks ar part of the meat.
I am putting one in every 2nd day and plan was to try putting in a scallop tonight. Should this be a whole scallop (not in shell) including the orange bit?

It has also started eating sponge now, and i added some live rock from my sump and looks like it is eating pods from there also.

I never thought of brocolli so may give that a try tomorrow.

Ryan,
I feed scraps of the scallop. Scallop tends to tear fairly easily into strips which I tossed into the water column. Is your Regal eating out of the water column at all? I havent seen many fish that are able to resist PE Mysis if you can get some over there...

When trying the broccoli its important to remember that the fibers of the plant are actually pretty tough and will not be able to be digested unless they are weakend by blanching, ("frying" them briefly on the stove) steaming, and/or freezing. I used to blanch them florets, and then freeze them. I would warm them in the microwave for a few seconds which also weakens the fibers of the florets. Basically, if your fish poops and you can see broccoli florets in the the poop....its not being digested fully.

Your fish might not be interested in the broccoli at all. I've kept two Regals, (the first was a Yellow belly that I lost after a year due my Ritteri anemone wandering into a powerhead), the first went nuts over broccoli right off the bat, but wouldnt touch Nori. The second one is Blue belly that wanted nothing to do with broccoli for the first year, but now eats it happily.

Both of my Regals took about a year to get fully acclimated into the tank and begin eating comfortably and confidantly. I' ve had my current one for almost 3 years now, and she will chase food items down out of the water column and is definately the boss of the tank. However, initially, she was shy and had to "watch" the other fish figure out what "food" was.

The fact that yours is eating mussells is a great start. Most people never even get that far.

Nick

[ryanrid]

Ryan,
I feed scraps of the scallop. Scallop tends to tear fairly easily into strips which I tossed into the water column. Is your Regal eating out of the water column at all? I havent seen many fish that are able to resist PE Mysis if you can get some over there...

When trying the broccoli its important to remember that the fibers of the plant are actually pretty tough and will not be able to be digested unless they are weakend by blanching, ("frying" them briefly on the stove) steaming, and/or freezing. I used to blanch them florets, and then freeze them. I would warm them in the microwave for a few seconds which also weakens the fibers of the florets. Basically, if your fish poops and you can see broccoli florets in the the poop....its not being digested fully.

Your fish might not be interested in the broccoli at all. I've kept two Regals, (the first was a Yellow belly that I lost after a year due my Ritteri anemone wandering into a powerhead), the first went nuts over broccoli right off the bat, but wouldnt touch Nori. The second one is Blue belly that wanted nothing to do with broccoli for the first year, but now eats it happily.

Both of my Regals took about a year to get fully acclimated into the tank and begin eating comfortably and confidantly. I' ve had my current one for almost 3 years now, and she will chase food items down out of the water column and is definately the boss of the tank. However, initially, she was shy and had to "watch" the other fish figure out what "food" was.

The fact that yours is eating mussells is a great start. Most people never even get that far.

Nick

i put in a whole scallop last night and after about 45mins it started pecking at it, this regal is quite sceptical to try eating, when i feed mysis it now follows the mysis around but is yet to eat anything (it is learning form some anthias it may be food). It was the same with muscle and nori, it checked it our for a while looking and smelling it but now it eats as soon as it is n the tank, so i am hoping it will eat mysis in a few days.

the fish is still quite plump but i would like it eat mysis/brine soon to feel "safe" then release to the DT.

[jhawkor]

i put in a whole scallop last night and after about 45mins it started pecking at it, this regal is quite sceptical to try eating, when i feed mysis it now follows the mysis around but is yet to eat anything (it is learning form some anthias it may be food). It was the same with muscle and nori, it checked it our for a while looking and smelling it but now it eats as soon as it is n the tank, so i am hoping it will eat mysis in a few days.

the fish is still quite plump but i would like it eat mysis/brine soon to feel "safe" then release to the DT.

When I first got mine it would also just follow Mysis around the tank. Then one day it finally decided to taste it. From then on it has been the most aggressive eater in my tank! Good luck with yours.

[reefsic]

Pretty stoked because I got my Regal eating frozen food off a piece of LR; Brine, Ocean Nutrition Angel Forumla and H2O Life Reef Caviar. Havent tried anything else, but I'm confident he'll accept other meaty foods (fingers crossed)!

Any Regal owners had any success with Gel-based foods? Care to share your experiences?

[kwl1763]

Usually if you have them eating frozen of rock it's only a matter of time before they will eat pellet and gel. Within about 1 month of mine eating it's first live clam and nothing else I had it eating literaly anything I threw in. I've had him almost 5 years now (in the Avatar). Pig of the tank!

Try adding what it likes in a clam shell. Then mix in some gel based, pellet, etc. I honestly doubt it will take long. Once these guys start eating and are healthy you can almost always get them eating whatever you want over time.

[reefsic]

:thumbsup:

[ryanrid]

Usually if you have them eating frozen of rock it's only a matter of time before they will eat pellet and gel. Within about 1 month of mine eating it's first live clam and nothing else I had it eating literaly anything I threw in. I've had him almost 5 years now (in the Avatar). Pig of the tank!

Try adding what it likes in a clam shell. Then mix in some gel based, pellet, etc. I honestly doubt it will take long. Once these guys start eating and are healthy you can almost always get them eating whatever you want over time.

good idea re putting stuff in the shell:thumbsup:

[sTefaniA]

I want to get a pair of regals for my 450g tank. WHat should I do best, add two tiny juveniles 1-2 inch or two bigger adults 5-6 inch? Price is the same and I am leaning towards the juvie's...

[blface]

I'm coming up on the one year anniversary of my regal. It's definetly a grey bellied pacific variant but it's still beautiful & thriving.
Here's an updated pic.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/thiellei/IMG_4884.jpg

[ryanrid]

regal is doing well but has adopted some wierd behaviour from the yellow tang it is with. The YT used to try and stab it, you know the typical tang going backwards with its spike out, and the regal had no idea what was going on just stayed there like nothing happened. Now the regal does this to the tang! ha ha silly fish must have no idea.

I am going to release to the display in the next few days so slowly brining up the salinity in the QT.

[Tracey2]

My regal was in QT for a month and was treated with cupramine and prazipro, she stopped eating for awhile but now eats mysis clams mussels and scallops but won't touch nori. Today is her first day in the DT in her acclimatization box and I don't know if its just better lighting that I can see this but it looks like her one gills is slightly inflamed and pink also she never seems to close her mouth. I notice in pictures of regals they seem to always have their mouths open, is this normal or should I pull her back out and do a freshwater dip? Thanks for your help.

[michealprater]

My regal was in QT for a month and was treated with cupramine and prazipro, she stopped eating for awhile but now eats mysis clams mussels and scallops but won't touch nori. Today is her first day in the DT in her acclimatization box and I don't know if its just better lighting that I can see this but it looks like her one gills is slightly inflamed and pink also she never seems to close her mouth. I notice in pictures of regals they seem to always have their mouths open, is this normal or should I pull her back out and do a freshwater dip? Thanks for your help.

a picture of the gill would help.

The mouth open is very common, with adult angels and as long as the mouth is not discolored and the fish is eating, the mouth is fine.

[bradleyj]

My regal has been with me for 4 years now. Needless to say, she is my favorite.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/tileman/024copy.jpg

[Tracey2]

a picture of the gill would help.

The mouth open is very common, with adult angels and as long as the mouth is not discolored and the fish is eating, the mouth is fine.

I tried to get a picture but my camera stinks and I can't get a close up. When she breaths I can see one gill protrudes a little futher than the other and if I look close inside it looks meaty, pink and inflamed very slight though, any suggestions?

[nastynate]

so is the consensus qt these fish? I read about the first 20 pages or so and most people thought it was a better idea to get this delicate fish directly into a well developed reef environment to make it feel confortable. Now ive skimmed the last 10 or so pages and it seems that everyone is qt'ing them. Would like advice as I would love to be succesful with this fish in the future. From everything i've read once you get them eating they are very hardy.

[eho72]

I would QT a regal angel. If I hasn't, my regal that I bought a month ago would be a goner. He started scratching 2 weeks into QT. It got so bad that one of his eye was bulging out and cloudy. I did a fresh water dip and you wouldn't believe how many flukes fell off. So I went through with 2 weeks of cupramine and another 10 days of prazipro treatment. Make sure the fish is eating through all phases of the medications. If it's eating, you got a good chance.

[michealprater]

I QT all fish, and treat all fish with prazipro.

[maxxII]

QT all the way. Two major reasons:

1...safe place for the fish to "learn" to eat and get acclimated to captivity.
2...disease prevention and treatment.

Nick

[michealprater]

MaxxII, how is it going? Did you know I ended getting a established regal? She is a pig and super hardy! It helps it was a genuine Red Sea the previous owner had for a few years! See my avatar!

[szwab]

I QT all fish, and treat all fish with prazipro.


These days flukes are a very common issue. It is good practice to eirther fresh water dip or treat with Prazipro. FME it's amazing the immediate benifits once flukes are gone.

[ryanrid]

i released the regal into the DT last night, for the first hour it was checking everything out and eating algae etc then it found a place in the back and hasnt come out since. still pecking on the rock back there tho.

mine is also a grey/blue bellied pacific variety, i really wanted a red sea but after waiting for 4 or 5 months and continually getting let down settled for a pacific. Still nice but the red sea variety are much nicer.

[ryanrid]

came out to play this morning yay

[MJinMN]

Wow, a pair of red sea regals sold today on DD, anyone on here get those?

[michealprater]

Yeah! Let's see em!

[Outerbank]

Wasn't that yesterday? There is a very happy reefer somewhere!

[GvineReefer]

Hey everyone,

I QT'd my regal angel for about 4 weeks. The fish was eating very well and was full of life. I saw no signs of any disease or weird activity, so I decided to go ahead and put it in my display. It has been in there for about 3-weeks now, and I'm sad to report that I don't think it is doing very well. It began coming out of the rocks from time to time, but now I don't ever see it move much. She has been in the same spot for a couple of days and seems to be treading water in a side ways position. It looks like she has signs of ich on her side fins, so I'm fearing the worst here. Any time I go near the tank, she hides, so I don't think I'll be able to catch her to pull her out. I haven't seen her eat much lately either, so it's not looking good. I've tried everything I know to get her to eat, but she just doesn't seem interested. She's made it 3 weeks, so I guess that's good, but the future is uncertain at this point. I'm hoping I'm able to find a way to get her to come out so I can snag her and put her back in QT. I don't think a fish trap will work because she is so shy at this point. As I said, she rarely comes out of the rocks.

Anyways, I don't know if there is much I can do at this point, so just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best here...

[madmike]

Wow, a pair of red sea regals sold today on DD, anyone on here get those?
:wavehand:

Wasn't that yesterday? There is a very happy reefer somewhere!
Yes I am! I was stalking DD for a pair of Multibars as I had seen them last week, even had them in my cart within seconds to have someone buy them out from under me. I spotted these and hit the buy button before I even had a chance to look at the price :lmao:

Yeah! Let's see em!

The will be arriving tomorrow morning... I am going back and forth debating on whether I should QT them or just put them in my acclimation box in the main tank (all the others divers den fish have just gone in the display and all are still very healthy). I QT everything normally...except for DD fish as they are normally so healthy.

This is their new home 144"x30"x20"
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c24/smithrookie/full1of1.jpg

[michealprater]

How much were they? We need pics? Or the dd pic will work

[madmike]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/itemdisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=105390&ref=4282&subref=AI&cmpid=E-_-TR-_-DDN-_-PRDCT

[michealprater]

What was the damage considering we missed seeing it. I was just curious. I have always wanted to attempt to pair mine.

[jimroth]

What was the damage considering we missed seeing it. I was just curious. I have always wanted to attempt to pair mine.

You can see them in that link. The pair went for $399!

[Outerbank]

Congrats Madmike and welcome to the club!! They are great fish!! I have had mine for a year as of Dec 1.

BTW, I would much rather have a pair of red sea angels than multibars anyday!

[madmike]

Congrats Madmike and welcome to the club!! They are great fish!! I have had mine for a year as of Dec 1.

Thanks, they came in looking great...acclimated them and then put them in the display in a acclimation box. They are still pretty small so I wouldn't consider them a true pair yet, one is definitely the dominant one and has chased the other around a little bit but no real damage. All the other fish were ignoring them today so they were released early this evening into the tank and one even came out at feeding time to eat some mysis :)

Has yours taken a liking to any corals?

[madmike]

Here are pics of my pair, they are getting more comfortable in the tank. Both ate mysis aggressively tonight! A little bit of nipped fins from squabbles but nothing major.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c24/smithrookie/regals1of1.jpg

[GvineReefer]

Beautiful pair. Sad that I recently lost mine. Good luck!!

[Outerbank]

Has yours taken a liking to any corals?

Mine has been well behaved and has left everything alone. I have a few palythoas which it has ignored. I have some Caulastrea Candy Cane coral in my tank, but otherwise sps, anemonee, and three clams.

[michealprater]

Your zoanthids may start disappearing, but it varies from angel to angel. They all have thier own taste, just like humans.

[ryanrid]

the pair looks awesome!!! good price too.

My one now eats brine but only goes for the larger pieces. I saw a regal at the LFS that eats pellets on the weekend, it is not the nicest regal but eating everything already.

[LukFox]

Great looking pair and tank! I hope they do very well for you.


I have a question for those who started with juvenile regals. What kind of growth rate have you seen from these? I bought my 2.5" regals four months ago and they've both only grown about half an inch in that time. This is slow compared to how my other fish are growing and what I expected from small angels. I'd like to hear if others have experienced slow growth or if this isn't normal.

[ryanrid]

my regal has now started eating pellets! i am so happy, will get some pics of it in the next week or so.:bounce2:

[MikeG]

Most look at zoos as candy. If you're in love with them, time to move or trade them. Yes all are individuals, and some won't touch them, but seems to be the rarity, not the norm.

Best of luck, they are beautiful

[LukFox]

Updated pictures of my guys:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/lukfox/regals12-10-2010both.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/lukfox/regals12-10-2010b2.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/lukfox/regals12-10-2010b.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/lukfox/regals12-10-2010y.jpg

[maxxII]

MaxxII, how is it going? Did you know I ended getting a established regal? She is a pig and super hardy! It helps it was a genuine Red Sea the previous owner had for a few years! See my avatar!

Mike, congrats on the established Regal...She looks beautiful! What all is she eating?

I just hit the 3 year mark with mine, she's still going strong.



Nick

[maxxII]

Great looking pair and tank! I hope they do very well for you.


I have a question for those who started with juvenile regals. What kind of growth rate have you seen from these? I bought my 2.5" regals four months ago and they've both only grown about half an inch in that time. This is slow compared to how my other fish are growing and what I expected from small angels. I'd like to hear if others have experienced slow growth or if this isn't normal.

I've had my current one for 3 years.....she's added about an inch of growth overall. Definately a slower growing fish.

Nick

[LukFox]

I've had my current one for 3 years.....she's added about an inch of growth overall. Definately a slower growing fish.

Nick

Good to know. How big is your regal now?

[maxxII]

I'd put her at about 4.25-4.5 inches.... She was about 3.5 when I got her....not including tail.

Nick

[LukFox]

I'd put her at about 4.25-4.5 inches.... She was about 3.5 when I got her....not including tail.

Nick

Thanks so much for the info. :)

[maxxII]

Glad to help! Need to get off my butt and take some recent and better pics...

Nick

[michealprater]

Nick,mine literally eats any dish food that goes in the aquarium. Everything!

[get-r-done]

I have a 210 galloon reef. I haave an emporer angel and a flame angel. Some other small fish. Do you think I could put a regal in with these 2 fish or would they be bullying the regal?

[michealprater]

I have a 210 galloon reef. I haave an emporer angel and a flame angel. Some other small fish. Do you think I could put a regal in with these 2 fish or would they be bullying the regal?

I have these 3 fish together in my 250 along with a majestic and a blueface. First and foremost you need a good specimen that is very healthy and eating well. Run him through and extended QT and make sure he is getting good in fat. Then size difference is a major importance, make sure he is not the same size as either of those fish. Considering the flame, emperor and regal are all three from different genus, the aggression may not be that bad. Make sure there is plenty of hiding spots, and black out the tank at first or when the aggression becomes really bad, if it does.

[maxxII]

Nick,mine literally eats any dish food that goes in the aquarium. Everything!

That's great....but, uh....what is dish food?

;)

Nick

[michealprater]

That's great....but, uh....what is dish food?

;)

Nick

You know, spaghetti and garlic bread, fried chicken and mash potatoes.... JK... I meant fish food! :fun2:

[michealprater]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p188/michealprater/2f6fb24f.jpg

[get-r-done]

Micheal

thank you for the info. I will keep an I out for a nice healthy one,

Is there any one location that generally yields stronger fish, meaning less stress on them when they are collected by the suppliers?

[michealprater]

If you have a LFS near you and they get one that will eat in the store, get it. However if you must order online, I recommend divers den at liveaquaria.com, but you will have to sign up for their sneak peak and stalk it closely. I have hear phishybusiness.com also does not sell Regals unless they are eating, although they rarely have them. I have no personal experience with nyaquatic, but hey also say they dont sell them unless they are eating. You can check with reefhotspot and bluezooaquatics. I would recommend you call any of these vendors and talk to them. Some of these places may be a little bit more, but if they live it is worth it. Some people cheap out 3 or 4 times to get a good one, and it ends up costing them more in the long run.

[get-r-done]

Micheal

I know of a local fish store that can order fish for me. I was just wondering is there a better location to get them from , Indian Ocean, vs Schrilanca, Australia, etc. Does one location have more vibrant colors than another?

Jim

[michealprater]

Red Sea all the way, no question. I believe Vanatu would be a close second. Remember, do not buy it unless it is eating, make sure they understand that prior to ordering it.

[get-r-done]

Micheal

Thanks
perfect Just what I was looking for. I will make sure on the location and the eating as you suggested.

I will let you know how things progress.

Jim

[ryanrid]

here is a pic of my baby
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv324/thepubenator/IMG_0089.jpg

other side has the normal bars on it.

[Finsky]

I have an Indonesian Regal Angelfish I picked up from Dr. Foster and Smith on August 24, 2008. He has always been a healthy eater and I suppose water quality and nutrition have added to his growth to about four inches now.

He was joined by a similar sized Blue Girdled Angelfish from Dr. Foster and Smith Diver's Den on 2/07/09.

They have both gotten along well since the Blue Girdled Angelfish was added.

My tank is five feet in length which is filled with live rock from one end to the other which helps with both angels as they like to swim in and out of the live rock where they can hide especially at night.

[reefsic]

I'm stoked...I got my Regal eating Nori tonite...after about errr 2-3 months!!! :D

[michealprater]

here is a pic of my baby
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv324/thepubenator/IMG_0089.jpg

other side has the normal bars on it.

Really sweet misbar!!!

I'm stoked...I got my Regal eating Nori tonite...after about errr 2-3 months!!! :D

Congrats! Your on your way!!

[jenny1979]

I've picked up a Regal Angel last week. He is still shy and eats mainly living food, but he is curious and it's getting better every day. He swims around more and starts looking at the frozen food and flakes as well...

[flying53brian]

One of my favorite Angels, here are mine. I have one from the Maldives which I have had about a year now and I just picked up one from the Red Sea and he was eating right from the LFS when I bought him, he is still in quarantine and will stay their for about a month before introducing him to the SPS forest!

first 2 photos Maldives
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/Regal%20Angelfish/DSC_0103.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/Regal%20Angelfish/DSC_0099.jpg

Next 3 are Red Sea
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/Regal%20Angelfish/DSC_0094.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/Regal%20Angelfish/DSC_0093.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/Regal%20Angelfish/DSC_0092.jpg

[michealprater]

will they be kept in the same tank?

[Mark 75g]

Well I broke down and bought a Red Sea Regal. He cam in about 6 inches long. I have had him for 4 days now and does not seem to be eating. I have tried mysis, mysis with garlic, nori, and nori soaked in garlic. NOTHING!! How long can he go on without eating. Of course my tank is a full bloom reef with everything from sps to zoas, so he might be eating, I just dont know.

The store that ordered him said he was in quarantine for 3 weeks or so and was eating mysis.

[flying53brian]

Micheal- I am debating that right now, I was thinking of trying but if I do I will put the Red Sea one into a acclimation box and float him in the tank to see how the Maldives one interacts with it.

What do you think, is it possible for them to get along?

Thanks

[LukFox]

Micheal- I am debating that right now, I was thinking of trying but if I do I will put the Red Sea one into a acclimation box and float him in the tank to see how the Maldives one interacts with it.

What do you think, is it possible for them to get along?

Thanks

How big are they? I'd try it if there is a size difference. If not, it is iffy... My two regals after having them for 5 months tried to kill each other again. The submissive one decided it wanted to be dominant and ended up almost killing the dominant one. They are the same size, and after all this time there are still issues. With a size difference I think there would be fewer issues and less fighting over the roles. Definitely keep the new one in an acclimation box for awhile.

Mark, that sounds pretty typical. The store could have assumed it was eating since it was there so long, and if it really was eating it could just take more time to adjust. You should really try clams and scallops, though. Good luck.

[Reefnut2010]

I purchased my Regal 3 days ago from 1 of my LFS. It is an Indo Pacific speciemen and not a Red Sea speciemen as I first thought. Although yellow, I now see the slightly darker shade of grey in its belly. Very nice speciemen and it started eating squid today. It had been pretty much in hiding the first 2 days (probably scared of my Yellow & Sailfin Tangs) but it's now being more accepted by its tank mates. I got a heavy bio load in my 120 mixed reef, so I hope this guy will acclimate well to his new enviroment. What is the best Angel formula out there, so as to better provide for its nutritional (sponge) needs?

[Sheol]

My tank is Not ready yet, My tank is NOT ready yet.
God, those last pics, I'm wiping drool of the keyboard!

Matt

[Mark 75g]

Here is my regal. Still trying to get him to eat
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/tulenko1/coral016.jpg

[flying53brian]

You will not believe what I just scored. I just happened to be in the neighborhood of one of the fish stores I frequent and noticed they had a 20% off sale going on today, so I stopped in.

Anyway they had a beautiful 1.25" Regal Angelfish and I asked them to feed it thinking that it would not eat being in a tank with multiple fish, I asked them to feed it frozen Brine and it went crazy just attacking it. I had to buy it and they had it listed at $34.99 and then 20% off. I said bag it, and am acclimating it now.

I will post pics of it later tonight. Sorry for babbling on but still can't believe the deal I scored on!
:dance:

[szwab]

In the voice of Napoleon Dynamite

"Lucky"

But seriously nice find and eating to boot.

[maxxII]

Mine has recently decided to add clams to the menu, in addition to certain zoanthid morphs. Not all morphs mind you, just the expensive ones.... :(

Congrats flying53brian, sounds like a winner.

Nick

[flying53brian]

Thanks Nick

Here are a couple of pics as promised.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/DSC_0140.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/DSC_0139.jpg
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk206/flying53brian/DSC_0135.jpg

[LukFox]

That is the smallest regal I've ever seen! You'll need to feed that fish at least 5 times a day to keep it going, by the way. Really sweet find, I hope she does well for you! Beautiful.

[flying53brian]

That is the smallest regal I've ever seen! You'll need to feed that fish at least 5 times a day to keep it going, by the way. Really sweet find, I hope she does well for you! Beautiful.

Thanks Alexa,

I will definitely feed at least that, I tend to over feed my fish anyway.

[LukFox]

Thanks Alexa,

I will definitely feed at least that, I tend to over feed my fish anyway.

Good to hear! Little fish can be demanding so I'm glad you've got it covered. :)

[snorvich]

Gorgeous little one flying53brian!

[maxxII]

Definately jealous now!

Nick

[flying53brian]

Thank you all, will keep you updated as to her progress.

[dkanka]

I ordered a Red Sea Regal from my LFS and he should be coming in tomorrow. I have a 180 FOWLR that he will be going into with a Flagfin and a Juvenile Emperor. He'll be the largest in the tank at 4"-5". Should I just pick him up and skip him going in a LFS tank to minimize stress, or let him him acclimate there and hope to get him eating before I take him home?

[jenny1979]

I bought mine straught out of the bag. -but if you're planning on putting him into a FOWL I would check he is eating first. In a reef he will find plenty of algae, sponges, corals and so on. A FOWL is a different story. If you keep aggressive feeders in there, he might have a hard time. Angels are shy and slow eaters.
It took mine over two weeks before accepting anything apart from life pods. And I only keep six other fish in the big tank. And even now he is usually last to come out and feed.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/blchfrd/IMG_5676.jpg

[Rebel]

I just got a grey-belly IO Regal Friday. I have been prepping and planning for a few months, including reading <most of> this thread. I got him from my LFS who ordered him, and I got him fresh off the plane in the bag. Unfortunately he is a bit bigger than I had hoped at 4.5", but I am cautiously optimistic:

He came in with flukes--treating with Prazi in a 20 gal QT with a few chunks of LR and some clay pots. I started treatment Saturday am and he has seemed to liven up since then.

Eating wise, he has been timid (big shock, no?). I tried a clam--littlenecks, I think--first. He came to it and tore a bit once, swam around for ten minutes or so, and then came back and tore another tiny bit. I left it in there for two hours, and it certainly wasn't gone or mangled, but it did have a few nips out of it. I took this as a good sign. I also tried PE mysis soaked in garlic (probably won't do this any more for I think it is rather mythical) and some Vita-chem. He noses everything like he is interested, but seems non-commital. I have also tried NLS pellets. Again, seems interested but not wolfing anything. Most times he nidges things once they have sunk to the QT bottom. HOWEVER, I have seen him eat a few mysis, including once from the water column, and he has eaten a few pellets and continues to dabble in clam. Nothing voracious, but is consuming some things. He tore a tiny bit at some nori and seemed a bit more interested when I banded some feather caulerpa to a rock today. I'll see tomorrow if he took to it more (oh yeah, he is in QT waiting for the DT in the library at Columbine High School--not ideal to not have 24/7 access, but the tank is eleven years established).

MY QUESTION:
Many people in the thread suggest that regals do well when introduced into the display because other fish "teach" them or "model" for them how to eat from the water column. I do not think mine is ready for the DT yet, seeing as there is a small yellow tang and a small kole tang--both smaller than the regal (in a 225). They both are generally peaceful, but they are excitable at feeding time.

Should I purchase/borrow/rent a small fish to add to the QT to help teach the regal to eat? Something peaceful and not an aggressive eater, but one that will readily eat--a blue/green chromis or something? My LFS would certainly allow me to do this, keep him in QT, then return him when I am finished, as long as it is not some $50+ fish.

Is this even feasible or worth a shot? Or would it cause more stress for the regal? Someone back in the 200-300's seemed to suggest including "dither" fish like this as a training tool. Is a 20 gal too small already?

[maxxII]

I used dither fish to assist inacclimating my Regals. I used a 58 gallon tank to acclimate both of mine. The first had a Tomini tang and a Royal grama as "teachers", the second had a Tomini of about the same size and substantially smaller Purple tang(think quarter with fins to the Regal's 3.5 inch overall length).
Having said that, I think that a 20gallon QT is too small to add additional fish to. IME, Regal's take a long time to get Acclimated and comfortable in captivity. Having territory issues from being stuffed into a smaller tank with other fish isnt going to help your efforts. I would either continue what your doing or buy a bigger tank for QT(something like a 40 breeder at least)

Nick

[jenny1979]

The first days my regal would only graze different algae from my LR. Ans still most of his diet is algae from the rocks. So I think it was a good choice to put him into the DT right away. There is a small emperor in it as well. And the regal follows him around and after a while kopied his feeding manners. Meaning: wolving down anything that flows in the tank lol

[dkanka]

I picked up my Regal yesterday from the LFS. He is fat and healthy looking, but much larger than I was expecting. I was expecting one between 4" - 5", but he ended up being at least 6". He's about twice the size of my other 2 angels. On the plus side, I didn't have to worry about him being picked on by the others.

I ended up introducing him directly to the aquarium to reduce stress. He has been hiding in the caves mostly so far, but he seems to be coming out more already. My Flagfin has even been keeping him company. Still not much interest in food yet, but it's only been a day. The LFS had talked to the distributor and they had said he was eating mysis there, but I take that with a grain of salt. I'll try and get a picture of him later, but I only have my crappy camera phone.

[Rebel]

Thanks for the feedback. Today, he still looks very healthy--swimming well, active, engaging (this fish has personality!). I have started putting in caulerpa from the fuge and he seems to go at it excitedly. And today I thawed a frozen clam (shelled/bagged from the grocer) and banded it to a rock. I use tongs to place it on the bottom. He attacked it before I could get it to the bottom--he's not afraid of the tongs at all and seems to realize they mean food and gets excited. The only issue is that I used a knofe to cut it up a bit so he could rip it up easier, and instead he ripped it up in no time. The problem is once he has ripped large chunks off the rock (or even a clam on the shell) he tries to rip at the pieces on the bottom and they are not attached so he doesn't get too much. But hey--he's eating. Just messy. I am going to get a few more clams on the shell and let him go at them, and then start the transition to more mysis etc.

[abereefur]

Have had this angel for a weekend now. It was eating pellets in store, and has finally started eating for me when I feed spirulina enriched brine.
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx314/thewandtank/70%20gallon%20cube/DSC02552.jpg
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx314/thewandtank/70%20gallon%20cube/DSC02540.jpg[/QUOTE]

[Riteoff]

Just found this thread, I have been in love with these fish since the moment i first saw them. Finally after upgrading my tank i decided to pick up a very healthy, friendly and flake food eater.

The fish went in 1 week after a very shy yellow tang, the 2 paired up and everytime the Regal came out of the rocks to feed, the yellow would follow. The fish was happy as hell for the 2 weeks after i got it! My wife fell in love, i staired for hours as i finally found my "dream fish"(previously a powder blue from years ago).

Came home from work last week from work, started the feeding and no Regal, my heart sank and i paniced, looked over the floor, in the sump and nothing. Finally after 3 min i noticed the poor bugger on its side with a rock half pinning it. I scrambled and started throwing rocks out of the way to get the slow breathing fish but 3 hours later it was dead.

My wife has now banned me from buying fish for the next while as she was too upset about losing the Regal

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/riteoff/IMG_0226.jpg

[Finsky]

As my Regal Angel I had for over two years ate my large mushroom soft coral and any zooanthus I had, I am replacing him with a pair of Bellus Angels so I can have a tank with reef safe inhabitants.

I want to be able to keep all the kinds of mushrooms, zooanthus polyps, and LPS corals and a Regal Angel is a polyps, mushroom, and LPS eater.

[abereefur]

Sorry to hear about your regal rite. Here's a better pictr of mine.

http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx314/thewandtank/DSC02560.jpg

[Tracey2]

Will cupramine work for flukes instead of prazipro?

[LukFox]

Will cupramine work for flukes instead of prazipro?

Nope, but prazi is a pretty safe treatment and is even reef safe except for killing some worms like feather dusters. Very easy to do.

[Tracey2]

Whenever I use prazi fish stop eating. On seachem site they say cupramine will kill flukes, are your sure?

[LukFox]

Whenever I use prazi fish stop eating. On seachem site they say cupramine will kill flukes, are your sure?

It can weaken the appetite sometimes, but it isn't an issue for fish in decent condition. It's interesting they say it will kill flukes as I haven't seen anyone use it for that. I've found a study that said it is hard to kill flukes at normal copper levels, though, and a help question where Seachem recommends a different product for flukes even though the fish was already in cupramine.

[Tracey2]

Thanks Lukfox, maybe I'll call them tomorrow, I would hate to stop my regal from eating, she is already fussy.

[Outerbank]

Sorry about your loss Riteoff.

My regal prefers NLS pellets, spirulina flakes, and my homemade blend consisting of PA mysis, shrimp, scallop, and nori.

[sethd12]

I saw a pair of regals on Divers Den. Anybody on here grab those? I didn't get on there fast enough.

[Mark 75g]

Well I have had my regal since end of Jan and he still wont come out and eat. So it has been a month since i introduced him into the main tank. Looks healthy so he must be eating from the rock. What type of clams do I need to ask for at the store?
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb376/tulenko1/coral016.jpg

[agreeive?fish]

here is a link to my video of my grey belly i have had since a week before christmas video was taken today

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1981519


disclaimer iam not good with a camera

[Natterjak]

I got a Red Sea regal a couple of weeks ago - was said to be eating mysis and spirulina flakes at the store (I ordered it online - it had a very rough shipment), but the only thing it will eat for me is feather caulerpa. It eats that stuff like a pig, but I can't seem to get it to eat anything else. I've tried live brine, mysis, krill, fresh clams, mussels, Formula 2 and Angel Formula in a grid clip, nori (green, brown and red), NLS pellets and my own homemade mash squished on a rock. He swims out in the open and picks at rocks, but just won't go for anything else other than the caulerpa.

Any tips for getting him to eat other things? Should I continue to offer caulerpa along with other foods and just wait and see if he'll eventually take other foods? Any advice is appreciated!

[Natterjak]

Double post, sorry.

[Tracey2]

My naso would only eat caulerpa, I mixed the caulerpa with nori etc on a rock and now he eats it all.

[abereefur]

You could try spirulina brine shrimp from hikari. Everything goes for that.

[szwab]

Lots of patience and time. Kepp trying the other foods. It's fortunate that you have found something it'll eat, that's a good start.

[Natterjak]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I tried some hikari spirulina brine today with no luck. I guess I will continue to offer caulerpa and keep trying other foods in the meantime. I'm not sure the caulerpa grows in my 'fuge as fast as this guy is eating it though!

[LukFox]

It has been an intense month for my two regals, so here's an update. I mentioned earlier that my two juvenile regals had been fighting again. It got worse, and the formerly submissive one ended up going into "kill mode" one day and pretty much ate most of the fins off of the formerly dominant one and also bit a lot at the body. I found the one getting beaten on laying on its side under a rock, breathing heavily, and the aggressor was still attacking it. I removed the wounded one to an isolation box, and she stayed there for a week to recover.

After a week the aggressor stopped paying attention to her and she was mostly healed so I let her go back. Bad idea, the aggressor went right back into kill mode so I caught him instead and put him in the box. I kept him in there for a couple weeks. After that I released him and while he was aggressive to the beaten one, it wasn't with deadly intentions.

The two ended up getting their dominance settled after a few days of some chasing and a little fin nipping. Over a week the aggressor went through a big growth spurt and is now significantly larger than the beaten one, and they now interact like paired angels rather than two regals in the same tank.

So 7 months into this venture and I now have a pair of regals. :) The beaten one made a FULL recovery and you can't even tell she ever looked close to death. I was extremely surprised and happy the fins grew back perfectly and there is no scarring on the body.

I also find it interesting that the growth in these two has been so slow, but the male was able to grow so much so quickly at the right trigger. It makes me wonder if some of the stunting we see in tanks is just because we lack proper triggers, not related to tank size etc, but I don't know...

[Reefnut2010]

My Regal has acclimated nicely to the tank. About 5-6 days after purchase he began eating everything offered. Now nearing the 2 month mark in my tank and he looks awesome. Best thing about this speciemen is he only eats fish foods. He doesn't touch a single coral in the tank. Not even the zoas !!

[jenny1979]

My angel took a while to acclimate, but now he's well and happy. Eats like a pig, preferably Caulerpa and Nori. He's always the first one at the food and looks all well and fat :)

[rgentry123]

thats wild. my regal absolutely will not even touch nori. he doesnt even pick at rocks but he's fat and healthy and i've had him going on 2 yrs now.

[twiggyb]

Flying53brian, any updates on your regals?

[maxxII]

thats wild. my regal absolutely will not even touch nori. he doesnt even pick at rocks but he's fat and healthy and i've had him going on 2 yrs now.

Mine wouldnt touch Nori for the first year either. Then one day, she just went for it. Took her about two years to accept blanched broccoli, now she happily eats either. Both of my Regals seemed to do best with another fish "showing" them what "food" was. Once they figured out that whatever I was feeding was in fact "food" they were good to go.

Nick

[rhouse24]

This thread has been a great resource for potential regal buyers to understand just how difficult these fish can be. Several posts in rc and other forums have mentioned that improved collection methods are increasing the survival rates for fish, but I've been unable to find anything that actually shows that. It would be great if it's true. So here is a poll to try and find out if more fish are surviving long term. This is only for people who bought regals in 2010.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2012352

[ryanrid]

I got a regal on Friday from someone shutting the tank down, be had it for 3+ years and was eating frozen mysis and brine but now in my qt is not interested in food at all, the regal is fat should I be worried or just normal from the stress ofthe move?

[ryanrid]

now eating.

[Recty]

It has been an intense month for my two regals, so here's an update. I mentioned earlier that my two juvenile regals had been fighting again. It got worse, and the formerly submissive one ended up going into "kill mode" one day and pretty much ate most of the fins off of the formerly dominant one and also bit a lot at the body. I found the one getting beaten on laying on its side under a rock, breathing heavily, and the aggressor was still attacking it. I removed the wounded one to an isolation box, and she stayed there for a week to recover.

After a week the aggressor stopped paying attention to her and she was mostly healed so I let her go back. Bad idea, the aggressor went right back into kill mode so I caught him instead and put him in the box. I kept him in there for a couple weeks. After that I released him and while he was aggressive to the beaten one, it wasn't with deadly intentions.

The two ended up getting their dominance settled after a few days of some chasing and a little fin nipping. Over a week the aggressor went through a big growth spurt and is now significantly larger than the beaten one, and they now interact like paired angels rather than two regals in the same tank.

So 7 months into this venture and I now have a pair of regals. :) The beaten one made a FULL recovery and you can't even tell she ever looked close to death. I was extremely surprised and happy the fins grew back perfectly and there is no scarring on the body.

I also find it interesting that the growth in these two has been so slow, but the male was able to grow so much so quickly at the right trigger. It makes me wonder if some of the stunting we see in tanks is just because we lack proper triggers, not related to tank size etc, but I don't know...

I havent been keeping up with this thread, but wow Lukfox, that's pretty cool. Glad you came out of it with a pair, hopefully they stay happy and dont want a divorce.

[LukFox]

I havent been keeping up with this thread, but wow Lukfox, that's pretty cool. Glad you came out of it with a pair, hopefully they stay happy and dont want a divorce.

Thanks :). So far it has been very good. Shortly after that post they started practicing spawning behavior, going through the motions but never getting it done. That is, until two weeks ago! They finally got it right, and I think the happy couple is going to last.

[clowndude]

Bump... lets keep em the posts coming. Mine is coming home with me this weekend or sometime early next week. I want him to settle down before taking from the LFS. Day 1 he was eating mussels at the store and now yesterday when I went to go check on him, he was eating frozen mysis shrimp. I can't wait to bring him home. I'm going to QT and freshwater dip him to ensure great health before going into the main tank.

[maxxII]

It has been an intense month for my two regals, so here's an update. I mentioned earlier that my two juvenile regals had been fighting again. It got worse, and the formerly submissive one ended up going into "kill mode" one day and pretty much ate most of the fins off of the formerly dominant one and also bit a lot at the body. I found the one getting beaten on laying on its side under a rock, breathing heavily, and the aggressor was still attacking it. I removed the wounded one to an isolation box, and she stayed there for a week to recover.

After a week the aggressor stopped paying attention to her and she was mostly healed so I let her go back. Bad idea, the aggressor went right back into kill mode so I caught him instead and put him in the box. I kept him in there for a couple weeks. After that I released him and while he was aggressive to the beaten one, it wasn't with deadly intentions.

The two ended up getting their dominance settled after a few days of some chasing and a little fin nipping. Over a week the aggressor went through a big growth spurt and is now significantly larger than the beaten one, and they now interact like paired angels rather than two regals in the same tank.

So 7 months into this venture and I now have a pair of regals. :) The beaten one made a FULL recovery and you can't even tell she ever looked close to death. I was extremely surprised and happy the fins grew back perfectly and there is no scarring on the body.

I also find it interesting that the growth in these two has been so slow, but the male was able to grow so much so quickly at the right trigger. It makes me wonder if some of the stunting we see in tanks is just because we lack proper triggers, not related to tank size etc, but I don't know...

Pics or it didnt happen!!

Nick

[Tracey2]

These are my baby regals, they lived in my 100g sump together for about six months while my larger regal lived in the 270g display, about a month ago I moved the babies to the DT with the use of acclimatization boxes and dividers. They have their pecking order but they aren't any more aggressive to one another than they are toward my copperband.

This is a pic of the 2 babies

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0507-1.jpg

I wish I had a good camera and some photography skills, when I try to get a pic with all 3 its always blurry.

[clowndude]

These are my baby regals, they lived in my 100g sump together for about six months while my larger regal lived in the 270g display, about a month ago I moved the babies to the DT with the use of acclimatization boxes and dividers. They have their pecking order but they aren't any more aggressive to one another than they are toward my copperband.

This is a pic of the 2 babies

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0507-1.jpg

I wish I had a good camera and some photography skills, when I try to get a pic with all 3 its always blurry.

Beautiful looking Regals. Any chance or taking pictures of them in the DT with the larger Regal? I would have to say Regal Angels are my favorite fish now.

[Tracey2]

Thanks Clowndude,
I'm going to try again on the weekend to get a shot with all three. I love the smaller two because they have unusual markings, the one in the pic where you can see his face has a split marking that looks like an H and the smaller one in front is my favourite and she has a Y near her tail on the other side. The larger regal is very friendly but no unusual markings.

[clowndude]

Oh yea, I see the markings you are talking about. Very cool. Do you know what gender all your regals are? I'm currently having my LFS hunt me down a male red sea regal as mine is a female. I'm really hoping to pair them up. Can't wait to see all three of your regals. They truly are an amazing animal.

[Amoore311]

What's the consensus on tank size for these guys?

I'm having trouble deciding on livestock for my new SPS Rimless "Cube" since the dimensions are not anywhere near ordinary.

The tank will be 36" x 37" x 18". The regal would be the only fish larger than 3-4" in the tank. It will be bare bottom sps only tank, with the rock work arranged in 3-4 towers.


I've been doing reefs for over 5 years, so qt'ing, treating, and feeding a fish of this caliber/difficulty level are not out of my experience level. I'm just not sure about the tank size since most people stick with standard tank sizes when making tank size recommendations.

[clowndude]

I think the big question is, do you plan on upgrading the tank in the near future? If you plan to keep the angel in there for 5+ years you might have issues. I would suggest you get the smallest regal you can buy. I know my tank is pushing the limits for a regal, but I plan on upgrading to a much larger tank in about 2 years. Good luck and post a picture if you decide to get one.

[Tracey2]

I still have not been able to get a nice shot of all 3 regals, the smallest one is really good at not being in the same area as the other 2. I did get a couple shots though of the smallest ones cool markings

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0657.jpg

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0663.jpg

[Tracey2]

A couple more

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0765.jpg

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0644.jpg

[Tracey2]

I got one of all 3, I think the little one was just extra shy this morning because I had just turned on the mh's

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0829.jpg

Ok, I'll stop bragging now, but I am proud of my babies.

[geaux xman]

Sweet pics Tracey! how about a vid of the tank??

what are their sizes? Did you ever copper treat any of the regals?

Bluezoo has a 3-4" and a 4-5.5". i'm waiting for an email back to see what they are feeding before ordering.

[clowndude]

Wow those are some awesome regals. The one with all three looks like mommy and daddy with their baby. Lol.

[Tracey2]

Thanks guys.

Geaux xman, I did treat the largest with hypo and low doses of copper and prazi, the 2 smallest ones came together and I did QT them for a bit but they looked so healthy I moved them to my sump(100g) and got them eating nicely, they lived there for months until I moved them to the DT. The largest would maybe be 3.5" and the smallest is the size of a poker chip. I'll see if I can make a video worth posting. Good luck with your regals.

clowndude, thats funny, I wish they were mom dad and baby. The biggest size difference now is between the largest and the medium but the medium one has grown quite a bit since I bought her, there wasn't much difference between the med and small at first. The small one actually taught the med to eat well, she is very brave. I have to name these guys instead of large, med small.

[geaux xman]

so from what LA says, Regals from Maldives are yellow belly just like the Red Sea.

i'm considering getting one, but this thread makes it seem like Regals are really hit and miss and hard to keep. of the 22 votes, 11 died. so 50/50 success rate from 2010 of those who voted.

poll
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=8824

[szwab]

Yes not all yellow bellied are Red Sea. My understanding is very fw these days are actually from the RS.
They are by far not an easy fish to keep. Once established I think they do well. My 2 were quite a bit of work and stress. Both are now happy (I think). It will take a bit of luck and a good commitment and proper conditions on your part for success.

[davelin315]

Oh yea, I see the markings you are talking about. Very cool. Do you know what gender all your regals are? I'm currently having my LFS hunt me down a male red sea regal as mine is a female. I'm really hoping to pair them up. Can't wait to see all three of your regals. They truly are an amazing animal.

Get a small one and let them decide what they're going to be. The larger the specimen the more married it is to its eating habits in the wild so you may have a more difficult time acclimating.

I got a Red Sea regal a couple of weeks ago - was said to be eating mysis and spirulina flakes at the store (I ordered it online - it had a very rough shipment), but the only thing it will eat for me is feather caulerpa. It eats that stuff like a pig, but I can't seem to get it to eat anything else. I've tried live brine, mysis, krill, fresh clams, mussels, Formula 2 and Angel Formula in a grid clip, nori (green, brown and red), NLS pellets and my own homemade mash squished on a rock. He swims out in the open and picks at rocks, but just won't go for anything else other than the caulerpa.

Any tips for getting him to eat other things? Should I continue to offer caulerpa along with other foods and just wait and see if he'll eventually take other foods? Any advice is appreciated!

If it eats anything at all you're on your way to success. The problem with most regals is that they never start eating in captivity. If you continue to offer it anything and everything it will eventually begin to pick at other stuff. Mine now eat whatever goes into the tank - pellets, mysids, nori, flake, chunks of fish... but it took a long time to acclimate them to this diet! Consider the fact that yours is eating at all in your tank a huge success. It will adapt over time to the other things that you are feeding as long as you continue to introduce them.

[davelin315]

FYI, here's an article I wrote for my club, WAMAS, after doing a whole lot of research on regals and talking with Copps quite a bit about logistics of regals.

http://www.wamas.org/forums/blog/11/entry-27-the-regal-angelfish-dave-lin/

[davelin315]

I got one of all 3, I think the little one was just extra shy this morning because I had just turned on the mh's

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0829.jpg

Ok, I'll stop bragging now, but I am proud of my babies.

Tracey, that's awesome that you are able to get 3 into your tank! You did it the same way I did with mine, put them into a sump with rock to acclimate and isolate rather than QT.

[Wrench]

This is a very impressive thread with lots of information. Thank you to all that have participated. I would like to share my recent experience in acquiring a beautiful regal. I have heard horror stories ever since I've been in the hobby. I was confident in my abilities and the LFS to get me a healthy specimen so I decided to give it a try.

I asked the owner of my LFS to order me a regal. I know that their source was in the Phillipines but the plus side is that their shipments are direct, no wholesalers in the picture. To me this meant less chance for screw ups. I'd seen lots of good looking fish from this supplier before so it didn't bother me too much. It only took about three days before I got a call from my LFS and they said that they would have the fish. I stopped in that day and was stunned. The fish was good sized (4" or so) and FAT although it is a blue/gray belly which I expected. I dropped some brine shrimp into the tank and the fish ate immediately so I brought it home.

I drip acclimated the fish rather slowly and added it right into the display. The two fish I was worried about bothering the new addition were the yellow and purple tangs who tend to bully new arrivals. They weren't overly aggressive towards the regal, but there was the expected tail flashing and a little chasing. This lasted about twenty minutes and that was it. While shy, the regal adapted well. It always stayed close to the rocks but was very active exploring the rocks and even picking at sponges within an hour. I put some nori in the tank at feeding time and wouldn't you know after the feeding frenzy, the regal swam up to the leftover seaweed on the magfloat and ate after only being in the tank for a couple of hours. A few days went by and it wouldn't take any other prepared foods so I picked up some frozen scallops. I dropped a couple in the tank and no other fish showed interest except the regal who had them all to itself!

It's been a week now and the fish is still doing well. It's still shy and swims in and out of the caves which I actually enjoy watching. Every day the regal bellies up to the dinner table alongside my yellow, purple and 12"+ naso tang to get his share of nori and it eats two whole scallops a day. It's starting to show interest in frozen enriched brine and mysis. It will take in a peice but spit it out. I'm confident that in a week or less it will be taking prepared foods no problem.

While after reading through this thread I certainly wouldn't recommend this fish to a beginner, if you are an experienced aquarist and have a source of a very healthy specimen you will have a better shot at success. Below is some info on my system and other livestock. It's a true community tank with very little aggression amongst my fishes. I think this is very important with a shy species like the regal.

The tank is 240g reef with mostly SPS but a fair share of LPS and a few clams. The rock structure is fairly "loose" with many caves for the fish and a lot of swimming room. The stocklist includes a 12"+ naso with streamers, purple tang, yellow tang, potters angel, flame angel, pair of swallowtail angels, mystery wrasse, pair of lineatus wrasses, two pink margin wrasses, radian wrasse, a couple gobies and a pair of black ocellaris clowns.

[clowndude]

Wtench, great story and thank you for the detailed post. I would have to say this is one of my top five favorite threads on reefcentral. I just finished quaranting my female regal angel. She has been in the DT three days now and is getting less shy by the day. Mine still really goes crazy for mussels and will pick at other foods.

Here is a picture of her in the tank:

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb350/nporter81/d2d47705.jpg

[Outerbank]

Tracey, that is awesome!!

[Tracey2]

Thanks Outerbank, all 3 are still doing great. I would love to have the fish in your avatar but that might be pushing my luck.

[Outerbank]

Thanks Outerbank, all 3 are still doing great. I would love to have the fish in your avatar but that might be pushing my luck.

Glad they are doing well!! That is awesome.

You can keep a MI if you can keep a RA. Its all about picking a good specimen (3-3.5 inches and eating or big interest in eating, not anorexic, and recently received by the LFS unless the store is known for proper acclimation such as Divers Den) and then taking the time and effort for proper aclimations. Stable good size tank, lots of flow, swimming room, and no seriously aggressive fish and you will succeed.

[SDguy]

Well I finally found one! After the tragic jumping of my last pellet eating yellow belly regal (yes I have eggcrate on the FOWLR now), I thought I'd never replace him. I was at a LFS yesterday, buying blackworms, and saw a 4" female yellow belly. I ask if it's eating. She throws pellets in the tank and the fish eats them eagerly. SOLD! :D

She is in QT with prazi and cupramine. Pics to come...

[acronautical]

Nice score Peter! I can't remember how long ago it was that you lost the first one?

[SDguy]

Nice score Peter! I can't remember how long ago it was that you lost the first one?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1746134&highlight=regal+jumped

The new one continues to eat NLS pellets, even during prazi and cupramine treatment :D

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p5/SDreefguy/Fish%20pics%202011/regal1.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p5/SDreefguy/Fish%20pics%202011/regal3.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p5/SDreefguy/Fish%20pics%202011/regal2.jpg

[lilalove]

I see live rock in there. I thought you couldn't keep calciferous media while dosing copper? Doesn't it absorb it and throw off the readings, or something like that?

Good luck with the regal. They are absolutely beautiful, but I like my zoas a little too much to try one.

[SDguy]

Yes, you have to watch the level, and add more curpamine every so often.

[holdyourlight]

Got a Red Sea last week. in a 40gal breeder QT tank by herself with a few 1/2" chromis.

First day she ate a couple spectrum pellets, 2nd day she "picked" at a PE mysis.

Day 4 i add prazipro as a preventative. The medicine took her appetite away so i did a 25% water change and added carbon.

She still did not want to eat so i tried clam on the half shell and she swam over and started tearing at it instantly.

Not sure when/if i will try prazi again. Hope to get her on "normal" food again soon.

[holdyourlight]

also..
Talk about shy.....this fish will only eat when i leave the room..i have to hide and peek in on her LOL

[Sheol]

That is awesome Peter! I hated hearing about the fate of your last one. That would be my greatest nightmare, to get the fish I desire above ALL others and find it on the floor some morning.
Heartbreaking!
I hope the new Regal lasts 20 years for you!

Matt.

[Reefnut2010]

Also to get your favorite fish in the whole world. It makes it through with flying colors. You place it in your Reef and it eats only prepared foods. Then months later (2 days ago), you have to get rid of it because it begins to dine on your most expensive Corals !! That's the story of my Regal !! I'm quite sad !!

[szwab]

That's a bummer. I had to sacrifice my zoanthids. Mine don't mess with sps or the lps other than the occasional nip. But every single zoanthid was gone after adding the second regal. The first learnd from the second that they were good pretty quickly as well :lol:

[rhouse24]

Took delivery of this guy last week:)

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae329/rhouse24/_cfimg-2088995661201214714.png

He is about 4" from Sumatra. He shipped well but still hid for the first day. I started trying to give him mysis which he would only eat one or two at a time.

Feeding on the first day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw4axa7mPpw

In the last few days I started feeding him brine shrimp which he eats like popcorn (20ish pieces per feeding).

This is my second regal. I purchased a grey bellied 6 months ago and it starved, it was heartbreaking. So seeing this guy eat on the first day was so exciting I called all my friends to tell them, lol.

I would like him to take to the mysis but either the size or taste turns him off.

[125mph]

Nice one rhouse!

I just received my regal.. this guy is small and pretty.. was in Kevin Kohen's personal tank. It shipped okay, water was a bit cold and he was on his side.. but the minute I put him in the tank he was swimming normal. Hope he makes it!

http://www.liveaquaria.com/CFFileServlet/_cf_image/_cfimg-4502076138986330563.PNG

[rhouse24]

Nice one rhouse!

I just received my regal.. this guy is small and pretty.. was in Kevin Kohen's personal tank.

Oh cool, I saw him on DD. They said he's from the indian ocean. Is he taking any food yet?

[125mph]

Oh cool, I saw him on DD. They said he's from the indian ocean. Is he taking any food yet?

He's been hiding all day. I just tried to feed him but he wont leave his lil cave. No biggie yet. I've dealt with several shy fish before and they usually get more comfortable in a few days...

If after a week he doesnt change, then i'll start getting concerned.

He is pretty fat so LA did a great job conditioning him.

[szwab]

Just found out my Regals like how linkia starfish taste. :(
Added a linkia today (small one) at first I thought it was just "checking out the new guy" So I turned the lights off. After about 4 hrs turned the lights back on and both of them went right back at him. Not nipping it was a full out assault as they drug him back into the rock work. I turned out the lights again in hopes it wasn't too late for him to crawl out so I I could move him to another tank.
Anyone else experience this? I can say it's not because they are hungry both are fat and healthy. I feed 2-3x a day and usually have nori available.

[szwab]

Just found out my Regals like how linkia starfish taste. :(
Added a linkia today (small one) at first I thought it was just "checking out the new guy" So I turned the lights off. After about 4 hrs turned the lights back on and both of them went right back at him. Not nipping it was a full out assault as they drug him back into the rock work. I turned out the lights again in hopes it wasn't too late for him to crawl out so I I could move him to another tank.
Anyone else experience this? I can say it's not because they are hungry both are fat and healthy. I feed 2-3x a day and usually have nori available.

[ryanrid]

Took delivery of this guy last week:)

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae329/rhouse24/_cfimg-2088995661201214714.png

He is about 4" from Sumatra. He shipped well but still hid for the first day. I started trying to give him mysis which he would only eat one or two at a time.

Feeding on the first day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw4axa7mPpw

In the last few days I started feeding him brine shrimp which he eats like popcorn (20ish pieces per feeding).

This is my second regal. I purchased a grey bellied 6 months ago and it starved, it was heartbreaking. So seeing this guy eat on the first day was so exciting I called all my friends to tell them, lol.

I would like him to take to the mysis but either the size or taste turns him off.

That is one handsome regal there, good luck with it

[125mph]

So far so good. Regal started eating as of day #2. I blew some mysis for him and he quickly went ate. He is getting braver and not hiding in the cave as much.

The tank is still divided so that the potters angel doesn't harass him. I hope to remove the divider in a month and see what happens.

[LukFox]

My pair is still doing well. Have had them for about a year and a half now. Here's a short feeding video of the fish enjoying a clam. :)

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yw_556S-pHE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[shaka]

Did you purchase them as a pair or did you have one already and added the 2nd one later?

[LukFox]

Did you purchase them as a pair or did you have one already and added the 2nd one later?

I paired them myself, bought two 2.5" regals. I detailed the process in this thread, starting on page 110. About your goldflake thread, I'm sure you can pair them. I'd get one small and a slightly bigger one. Getting two of the same size like I did for my regals made the whole thing more difficult.

[shaka]

I started reading your posts regarding medicating your regals. I've had my regal for just over 5 years. She's always been a very timid feeder, but just recently her appetite has really diminished. She still eats NLS pellets, spirulina enriched brine, and fresh clam, just not with gusto. I've noticed her poop is stringy, but it's always been stringy ( for 5 years). Should I treat with Prazipro or just observe for now?

[LukFox]

I started reading your posts regarding medicating your regals. I've had my regal for just over 5 years. She's always been a very timid feeder, but just recently her appetite has really diminished. She still eats NLS pellets, spirulina enriched brine, and fresh clam, just not with gusto. I've noticed her poop is stringy, but it's always been stringy ( for 5 years). Should I treat with Prazipro or just observe for now?

Mmmm you could start soaking her food in metro+. That's what I did for my regals and some butterflies before and never noticed any side effects, but I didn't have corals in these tanks so I don't know. Still, the results were fantastic.

[Dr Colliebreath]

My pair is still doing well. Have had them for about a year and a half now. Here's a short feeding video of the fish enjoying a clam. :)


What are the two fish in the video other than the regals? They are nice-looking.

[LukFox]

What are the two fish in the video other than the regals? They are nice-looking.

The black one is a dusky butterfly (Chaetodon flavirostris) and the white one is a yellowhead butterfly (Chaetodon xanthocephalus). It can be hard to find a healthy dusky, and it can be hard to find yellowheads at all but they pop up now and again. :)

[SDguy]

I know this is the regal angel thread, but your butterflies are stunning, Alexa!!

[shaka]

NY Aquatics just had Yellowhead Butterflies ( Chaetodon xanthocephalus) in stock the other day.

LukFox- If I soak her food in Metro+ is there any risk of killing off any hermit crabs or other inverts that might scavenge the scraps?

[LukFox]

Thanks Peter! I knew you'd find this haha.

I'm not sure about the effect on inverts, I had them in a tank without snails, hermits, etc. There was no affect on the featherdusters and no noticeable difference in the bristleworms, though.

[SDguy]

Definitely. I didn't realize your dusky was so big!

[LukFox]

She's a beast, and eats like one too!

[SDguy]

Haha, I can tell in the video.

[Dr Colliebreath]

The black one is a dusky butterfly (Chaetodon flavirostris) and the white one is a yellowhead butterfly (Chaetodon xanthocephalus). It can be hard to find a healthy dusky, and it can be hard to find yellowheads at all but they pop up now and again. :)

I need a bigger tank. There are so many great butterflies out there and I just don't have room for a significant portion.

Back to regals, I have had a regal in quarantine with a Moorish Idol for just over a week. While the Moorish is out swimming around much more (the regal spends a portion of its time hiding), the regal greatly out-competes the Moorish Idol for food by a large margin. It eats more types of food and gets 80+% of the food that goes into the QT, regularly going to the top and eating off the bottom as well as getting most of the food in the water column.

[SDguy]

Just get the bigger tank now! You're already gonna need it for the MI.... I know how it feels, hence my signature :D

[Inklinkerman]

Im wanting to add another regal to my reef tank to join the one that I've had for just over 6 months now.
My current fish is a 5" maldive specimen and id like to add another yellow belly. would I be best to add a juvenile or a smaller adult?
am I right in thinking the dominant of the pair will become the male?

Any other tips to give them the best chance of forming a pair?

Thanks

David

[LukFox]

I think something like a 2.5-3" juvie should be best. Remember to keep them separate but with visual contact (like an acclimation box or eggcrate barrier) until they get used to each other. The dominant one will become male.

[Inklinkerman]

thanks. how long should I keep them seperate? and how do i know if they are paired?

[stuifbol]

This is mine:fish1: not completely sharp picture:hammer:
eats everything:frozen,flakes,.....

[Inklinkerman]

thanks. how long should I keep them seperate? and how do i know if they are paired?



bump:)

[kwl1763]

Has anyone found a good source for getting Juvi's. I have had one in my 450 for 4 years now. I would love to add a pair in my 180 but have never found a decent source for small ones.

[shaka]

NY Aquatic had a 1" specimen from Bali the last time I checked ( yesterday).
I've never ordered from him but I've heard good things.

[BL1]

DD has been getting quite a few juvies in recently, and PIA has gotten some in too.

[mwilliams62]

Man this a really long read but very, very informative here but I was wandering for the QT for Regals what all needs to be in there for them so they want get stressed out and how big of at QT do you need for them?

[maxxII]

My QT just consisted of a 58 gallon tank filled up 1/3 of the way with two other fish (Tomini tang and Purple tang,both significantly smaller than Regal itself), a skimmer sitting in the tank, and some PVC fittings for cover for the fish to hide out in if scared.

The other fish needed to be QT'd also and "taught" the Regal to eat other foods she didnt recognize initially.

Nick

[Dr Colliebreath]

My ~3" regal is in a 20 long QT with a moorish idol and it is plenty of room. I have a 3" pvc pipe and a 4" pvc elbow for hiding. The regal is not as active a swimmer as the idol. It hides some but comes right out when there is food in the tank.

[mwilliams62]

Thnak you was not sure since they are more sensitive fish then most others.

[maxxII]

In my experiance, they are not MORE sensitive than other fish, but rather, much slower at adapting to captivity than most other fish. I've had two Regal's, (lost the first one in an accident involving my Ritteri anemone), and both took about a year to become fully aclimated to my system and begin eating with gusto and enthusiasm. Once you get them eating regularly and a healthy mix of food, its just a matter of time for them to become the boss fish. My IO Regal actually got bullied by a smaller Doliatus Rabbit in the tank while getting acclimated....The Rabbit got yanked quickly.

Nick

[mwilliams62]

Which ones are the hardiest ones from which Seas?

[szwab]

IMO there is no significant difference. Other than handling after collection. I have both a grey and yellow belly, both acclimated about the same.

[maxxII]

IMO there is no significant difference. Other than handling after collection. I have both a grey and yellow belly, both acclimated about the same.

Agreed.

Both of mine acclimated about the same, (one Red Sea, the other an Indo Pacific). I would suggest buying from a reputable dealer who legitmately takes care of their livestock and go from there.

The old adage of Red Sea Regals being in better shape used to be due to the Red Sea Collectors having a shorter supply line, and better control of how many hands their fish passed through before reaching the end purchaser. Now days, fish collectors have almost all stepped up their collection and holding techniques and the fish are all in better shape because of it.

Regals of any kind are still by no means "easy" IMO. But its easier to get a healthy one and get it acclimated to captivity.

Nick

[rhouse24]

My regal never took to eating mysis. In the last month he begin to eat less and less. I started trying to feed alternative foods (shrimp pieces, clam, melon etc) but with little success. I was feeding brine three or four times per day and the poor guy would only eat 3 or 4 shrimp per day, if he came out at all. In the last two weeks he would actually hide in the rockwork when I came in the room. This past weekend I found him, obviously starved. Such a beautiful fish, what a shame:( For the record he was a 4.5" Sumatran yellow belly from DD.

[flameangel88]

My regal never took to eating mysis. In the last month he begin to eat less and less. I started trying to feed alternative foods (shrimp pieces, clam, melon etc) but with little success. I was feeding brine three or four times per day and the poor guy would only eat 3 or 4 shrimp per day, if he came out at all. In the last two weeks he would actually hide in the rockwork when I came in the room. This past weekend I found him, obviously starved. Such a beautiful fish, what a shame:( For the record he was a 4.5" Sumatran yellow belly from DD.

Sorry to hear that. Regal angels are difficult to wean into prepared food but buying from DD gave you a better chance. I'm curious as to whether you treated the regal with prazi or not? I got a greytail angel a year ago and I couldn't get it to eat then within a month it starved to death. It came in skinny so I didn't dare to treat with prazi and I was hoping everyday that it would start eating but that never happened.

[rhouse24]

I'm curious as to whether you treated the regal with prazi or not?

I didn't do any treatments during or after acclimation in the DT. His tankmates (a wrasse and three anthias) gave him a wide birth but he was scared of his own shadow. He did not like something about mysis, sometimes he would eat it and spit it out. He was large enough were they should not have been a problem, so it had to be something else he didn't like (soaking in garlic didn't work either). That's as far as I got.

[MonsterTankMan]

I had a Regal for a month or so eating like a pig and all, but as I reached the 5th week things started changing. It's eating changed, it started hiding more. Velvet was It's death...I did not catch it in time.

[crobattt]

My Regal is eating clams, should i go to the grocery and see if the have any fresh clams? and if so how should i feed them? sorry i don't know much about clams...

[Tracey2]

Mine eat clams for the grocery store, make sure they are closed up tight when you buy them, put one in a bowl with hot hot water for a could mins to open it enough to get a knife in there and open it up, then drop in tank and freeze the rest.

[crobattt]

the only thing i could find was precooked clams.. is that ok to feed? they were steamed, no spices or anything like that.

[Tracey2]

I have never fed precooked clams so I'm not sure, I can't see why it would hurt but your regal may not like them as much.

[szwab]

Not ideal as some of the nutrients will be gone. I'd choose frozen clams/mussels over cooked.

[crobattt]

ok thanks