Regal Angel Primer

[this is me]

Here's an update of my regal. 4 weeks in. Very aggressive eater.
Video showing the regal feeding on nori.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtvWd6UA9Eg

[Salty150]

Originally Posted by Dmorty217

Those were huge Regals though... 7.2 and 6. Something which makes looking at the length of Gill spines easier for sure?? Wouldn't it be much more difficult to tell male or female with a 3-4" Regals?

You would think so...

[Salty150]

Originally Posted by this is me

Here's an update of my regal. 4 weeks in. Very aggressive eater.
Video showing the regal feeding on nori.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtvWd6UA9Eg

Again, beautiful fish and tank!

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by Dmorty217

Those were huge Regals though... 7.2 and 6. Something which makes looking at the length of Gill spines easier for sure?? Wouldn't it be much more difficult to tell male or female with a 3-4" Regals?

I would say regals below 4 inch are all still immature and female. That's why they are so easy to pair at that size. Just get a 3 and a 4 inch and they should get along if the tank is setup right (= lots of view blocking structures and hiding places).

The 5 to 6 inch regals I've seen recently were usually at least mature females.
The key indicator is the operculum spine.

Fully mature males have operculum spines that are about the length as the distance from snout to operculum edge (or the base of the spine).
The operculum spine of mature females is about half that length.
The pictures show that pretty clearly.

I'm not sure how the spine grows in captivity. All my regals are below 4 inch have very tiny spines.

In a large enough tank you could also try to pair mature individuals, but there is a high chance that they don't accept each other. In all the images I've seen of regal pairs in the wild, both were very close in size to each other. I've never seen a large male with a small female. So it is quite possible that they pair up around the time they mature and then grow up together.

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by this is me

Here's an update of my regal. 4 weeks in. Very aggressive eater.
Video showing the regal feeding on nori.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtvWd6UA9Eg

How large/long is that fish?

[this is me]

Originally Posted by ThRoewer

How large/long is that fish?

It's at least 5". Probably the biggest fish in the tank. I want to add another one but I probably will wait for the 360gallon upgrade(hopefully by the end of the year).

[john37]

Both of these are from LA
Regal has been with me for about two months now. Was pretty skinny when I got it but eating well now. Goldflake had been in the tank for about an hour and is picking at rocks and ate some frozen mysis. Both juvis.

[this is me]

Originally Posted by twon8

I've noticed that many regal angelfish has the "pinching" behind the head and above the belly region. Is this a sign of malnourishment? In this article, it stated that it is and the fish may never recover from it. But yet, it shows a fish with such sign in the last picture and states that it's a healthy one.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/8/fish
"Observe a prospective regal angelfish "head-on" for signs of prolonged starvation. "Pinching" in the dorsal musculature (the region above and behind the head) indicates that the fish is malnourished. They rarely recover from this state, even if now eating."


"Given adequate space and proper nutrition, it's possible to maintain the regal angelfish ( Pyglopites diacanthus ) in all its glorious colors for many years. This one resides in the author's 500 gallon reef aquarium"

[ThRoewer]

Unless they were caught with cyanide and received a too high dose, they should recover just fine.

These were my Philippine Regals when I got them - scary thin:





One of them a year later



The other one recovered as well. It actually only took 3 months for them to fatten up again.

But it is always a risk to buy a fish that skinny as you never know if it was caused by not feeding enough or damage to internal organs.

[Code4]

What are your, anyone, feelings on keeping a pair of the YBR in a 140 gallon tank? Any thoughts would be helpful. And if you think it is possible what size would you suggest at purchase?

Other fish in tank include

4 bengai cardinals
Pearly jaw fish
Yellow eye kole
Copper band
Pyramid butterfly
Scooter blenny

No aggression in tank at this point

Shelley

[ThRoewer]

I have a pair in a 100 gallon, so 140 should work as well - at least for a while until they outgrow it (may take years). Important is also a good rockwork that allows the smaller one to get out of sight quickly.

Here 2 videos of the tank to get an idea what works:
Front view:


Side view:



My two are 95 mm (3.7") and 80 mm (3.2") in total length. The larger one is by now done with loosing its eyespot (color change from juvenile to adult), while the smaller one is close to loosing its eyespot. Both are still immature subadults with tiny operculum spines. Both eat pretty much everything I throw into the tank: frozen, pellets and flakes (haven't tried bread yet but I would expect them to eat that as well )

With your tank size you could probably go with 120 mm (~5") for the larger (male) and 100 mm (~4") for the smaller (female).

Sexing is usually quite easy with fully mature adults at sizes well above 150 mm (~6") (see here)

This should be a mature male:

Size (mm): 147 SL, 183 TL (7.2" TL)
Locality: Egypt, Nuweiba, Gulf of Aqaba

And this a mature female:

Size (mm): 130 SL, 162 TL (6.4" TL)
Locality: Djibouti, Maskali Island,

Note the much longer and more massive operculum spine on the male and the slightly more stretched body shape.
Fully mature males have operculum spines that are about the length as the distance from snout to operculum edge (or the base of the spine).
The operculum spine of mature females is about half that length.
With around 150 mm (~6") TL individuals the relative body length and operculum spine length of the individuals is more important: at about the same body height (not length!) one needs to be longer and have a longer spine than the other. The female should always be smaller than the male.

Though larger individuals do not always adapt well to captivity. Alone for that reason I would rather go with smaller individuals.

[Code4]

Thank you, much food for thought. Not sure I will ever be upgrading though. Beautiful fish you have. And I appreciate and enjoyed the video of them.

Shelley

[Mr tap water]

Could not believe my eyes today my Regal has finally started to eat pellets after only accepting muscles and oysters for the last four months.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[this is me]

Excellent!! That's great news! Have you tried some LRS food? She looks very pretty! Would be perfect for my male. Hehehe

[Mr tap water]

Originally Posted by this is me

Excellent!! That's great news! Have you tried some LRS food? She looks very pretty! Would be perfect for my male. Hehehe

Thank you
So mine is a female how do you tell the difference is there dorsal fins larger or something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by Mr tap water

Thank you
So mine is a female how do you tell the difference is there dorsal fins larger or something.

If you go a few posts back you will find my explanation on how to sex them.

[Mr tap water]

Originally Posted by ThRoewer

If you go a few posts back you will find my explanation on how to sex them.

Will do thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ThRoewer]

Who snatched the WYSIWYG Juvenile Yellow Belly Regal Angelfish Blue Zoo had in their Collector's Choice section?

Saved me another headache

[CoralsAddiction]

Originally Posted by ThRoewer

Who snatched the WYSIWYG Juvenile Yellow Belly Regal Angelfish Blue Zoo had in their Collector's Choice section?

Saved me another headache

I wasn't going to buy that regal but did notice it was gone while I was paying for a wrasse.

[ThRoewer]

I considered getting it as a buddy for my little Maldives Regal but hesitated because they didn't specify where it was from - and because all my QTs are full ... I actually QT right now some smaller fish (a pipefish, a barnacle blenny, 2 Catalina gobies) separately in Lee's Specimen containers...

[shane147]

Greetings from England. I have been following the this thread for a few months now before I purchased my regal angel. Great tips on here but I would like to share my experience. I have a reefer 450 and I am basing the tank around this one fish. Tank has been running for 8 weeks now started with colony and dry rock. Stock at the moment are 4x barlet anthias and a red velvet wrasse.

I saw this regal eating some bits of brine shrimp in the shop so I decided to take the plunge. He resides in my fuge at the moment in peace, is about 4 inches and from the red sea. For the first 12 days I had him he refused to eat anything. Frozen brine, mussels, oysters (all shell fish), nori without any luck.

On day 12 he started to eat mussels out of nowhere. I have the fish now coming on 5 weeks but I feel he is not feeding enough. He will not eat out of the water column. Well he takes flake and spits it out. Only thing he eats is frozen shell fish (clams, oysters and mussels) plus nori banded on a rock. I have taken a few videos as I believe he is not feeding enough. He only takes very small bites from what I see. If he rips a big chunk off he spits it out again. Very strange behaviour. The most frustrating thing is I saw him eating frozen brine in the shop. Certainly not confidently though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlAWvJsHeAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHP2O41tqQw
In this video around 1;20 you see him spit a larger piece of muusel that he just ripped off.

Any suggestions or feedback to get him feeding confidently?

[shane147]

I forgot to mention since the first video I gave the fish a prazi bath as he was shaking his head.

[this is me]

Can you try hanging the mussel on a clip like you would with nori and see if you can train him to eat out of the water column?

[Salty150]

Originally Posted by shane147

Greetings from England. I have been following the this thread for a few months now before I purchased my regal angel. Great tips on here but I would like to share my experience. I have a reefer 450 and I am basing the tank around this one fish. Tank has been running for 8 weeks now started with colony and dry rock. Stock at the moment are 4x barlet anthias and a red velvet wrasse.

I saw this regal eating some bits of brine shrimp in the shop so I decided to take the plunge. He resides in my fuge at the moment in peace, is about 4 inches and from the red sea. For the first 12 days I had him he refused to eat anything. Frozen brine, mussels, oysters (all shell fish), nori without any luck.

On day 12 he started to eat mussels out of nowhere. I have the fish now coming on 5 weeks but I feel he is not feeding enough. He will not eat out of the water column. Well he takes flake and spits it out. Only thing he eats is frozen shell fish (clams, oysters and mussels) plus nori banded on a rock. I have taken a few videos as I believe he is not feeding enough. He only takes very small bites from what I see. If he rips a big chunk off he spits it out again. Very strange behaviour. The most frustrating thing is I saw him eating frozen brine in the shop. Certainly not confidently though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlAWvJsHeAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHP2O41tqQw
In this video around 1;20 you see him spit a larger piece of muusel that he just ripped off.

Any suggestions or feedback to get him feeding confidently?

Try taking the frozen shelled clams/oysters/mussels and scoring them with a razor blade, like a tic-tac-toe, to make the pieces he rips off smaller.

That should help.

Let us know!

[shane147]

Originally Posted by Salty150

Try taking the frozen shelled clams/oysters/mussels and scoring them with a razor blade, like a tic-tac-toe, to make the pieces he rips off smaller.

That should help.

Let us know!

Genius! This just might work.