Regal Angel Primer

[carrots]

jmm I have a regal in a tank with a larger purple tang. The tang was in the tank first. The angel always tries to stay away from the same area as the tang. The tang is a much more aggressive eater and I have learned that I have to spread out the food over the tank vs. just feeding in a corner so the angel gets fed. I don't have butterflies but if they are anything like tangs we may need to work towards a tank with more peaceful tank mates. I am close to the point of re-homing the tang. Just so I can see the angel more.

[jmm]

Originally Posted by carrots

jmm I have a regal in a tank with a larger purple tang. The tang was in the tank first. The angel always tries to stay away from the same area as the tang. The tang is a much more aggressive eater and I have learned that I have to spread out the food over the tank vs. just feeding in a corner so the angel gets fed. I don't have butterflies but if they are anything like tangs we may need to work towards a tank with more peaceful tank mates. I am close to the point of re-homing the tang. Just so I can see the angel more.

That might solve the problem, but three active fish (or at least two) for one "hider" might be a poor trade.Those are rare butterflies and were just as expensive as the Regal. Since butterflies usually don't live longer than five or six years, I might just wait it out. Regals can live for decades.

The Regal must be getting food or he wouldn't be so fat and healthy looking.

[alton]

Like jmm said give it sometime, if the purple is not attacking the regal you should be fine. My two have to compete against this mob of tangs and emperor angel and they do fine.

[humaguy]

Originally Posted by this is me

I never had any experience with an Indo Regal, but all of my Indian Ocean Regals are out and about all day long. They are good eaters after they're accustomed to eating food out of the water column.
I went through the same ordeal as everyone when I first got into them. Killed a couple in QT and trying to get it to feed. My best method I've found is to not do any QT but to keep the newly acquired regal in a large acclimation box and hang the box in the display. Drop different food in the box and if the fish don't eat it in a couple hours, it's time to take it out and try it again later. The fish is a curious animal. It will eventually peck at the food and realize it's edible. Now the most important part is to keep the fish until it eats food out of the water column. After a couple of weeks, release the fish into the display. Fin rots and white dots on the tail is quite common with newly acquired regal angelfish. All of mine has it. But after a couple of weeks of good diet, it'll go away.

To not qt is such an enormous risk, this should never be the way to add new livestock

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[Pslreefer]

Originally Posted by humaguy

To not qt is such an enormous risk, this should never be the way to add new livestock

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Your opinion, as it isn’t the only way to add fish. My regal and other more sensitive fish have always done best with no qt.

[this is me]

Originally Posted by humaguy

To not qt is such an enormous risk, this should never be the way to add new livestock

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I understand where you're coming from. However, for me to do a quarantine system the right way would require a lot of space, a lot of time, and a lot of work.
Putting a newly acquired fish in a 20gallons or smaller and expose it to all sort of medicines didn't end up well for me. Like I said before the best way for me is to isolate the new fish either via an acclimation box or a separate tank that is hooked up to the system and feed it well. I've just finished adding a small Juvie emperor(2") to the tank via an acclimation box. Sure, Emperor is way easier than a regal but I've added 3 regals with this method and they all lived.

[humaguy]

Originally Posted by Pslreefer

Your opinion, as it isn’t the only way to add fish. My regal and other more sensitive fish have always done best with no qt.

My opinion is shared by everyone in the hobby, from the top down. Good luck

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[Cancun]

Hi everyone! I thought I would join the discussion. I just bought a Regal ( my first) from my Favorite LFS. The had it in their coral tank for over 4 months.....it eats Mysis like a champ. I have seen there for at least 4 months, so after reading through this thread I decided to go for it. Especially since it is eatting Mysis so well.....

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[alton]

Congrats on joining the Regal Club!

[Cancun]

Originally Posted by alton

Congrats on joining the Regal Club!

Thanks!! I just put him in my tank about 2 hours ago....and he ate Mysis with the rest of the gang...he isn't shy at all, I guess that is because the LFS had him in the coral tank with a bunch of Wrasses...LOL!

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[this is me]

Getting an established Regal is the way to go. Congrats!

[Cancun]

Originally Posted by this is me

Getting an established Regal is the way to go. Congrats!

Thanks.... reading this thread has really helped me have the patience to find a good one! You guys are amazing!!!

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[falconut]

Figured I'd check with some experts on here. I found this 5"-6" Indo beauty at my LFS this week. He's in a section that's around an 18" cube, so pretty small. I was there Tuesday & he wouldn't eat frozen mysis or live blackworms, but was biting & spitting out. Wednesday I visited again & this time he ate some frozen mysis (maybe around 5 pieces of pe mysis).

He's been at the store since 7/8, so Monday will be 3 weeks. They keep their tanks at 1.019-1.020. This tank is in the system that's being medicated with pure copper (guessing cp) @ 2.0 & prazipro added every two weeks (she said she just added a dose yesterday).

I called to have them hold him for Friday pickup (tomorrow). The thing (other than eating) that has me worried is this odd swimming behavior he does. He swims normal most of the time, then he goes up & down in the corner & will bump his mouth on the bottom where it looks like he cleared the sand out. I was able to get a video of this & his normal swimming. So I ask the experts, is this something I should be worried about or just a sign the tank is too small?

https://youtu.be/uf9ev3sCAnQ

https://youtu.be/exbddNEQqSw

[ReefPhilTX]

Originally Posted by falconut

Figured I'd check with some experts on here. I found this 5"-6" Indo beauty at my LFS this week. He's in a section that's around an 18" cube, so pretty small. I was there Tuesday & he wouldn't eat frozen mysis or live blackworms, but was biting & spitting out. Wednesday I visited again & this time he ate some frozen mysis (maybe around 5 pieces of pe mysis).

He's been at the store since 7/8, so Monday will be 3 weeks. They keep their tanks at 1.019-1.020. This tank is in the system that's being medicated with pure copper (guessing cp) @ 2.0 & prazipro added every two weeks (she said she just added a dose yesterday).

I called to have them hold him for Friday pickup (tomorrow). The thing (other than eating) that has me worried is this odd swimming behavior he does. He swims normal most of the time, then he goes up & down in the corner & will bump his mouth on the bottom where it looks like he cleared the sand out. I was able to get a video of this & his normal swimming. So I ask the experts, is this something I should be worried about or just a sign the tank is too small?

https://youtu.be/uf9ev3sCAnQ

https://youtu.be/exbddNEQqSw

To me it seems the problem is that the fish is in a small space currently. Looks like a good specimen to me. I would still quarantine the fish and train it to feed on different varieties of food before putting it in the display. I did that with mine and he now eats everything. Once established, I've found regals to be hardy and fantastic. Good luck!

[falconut]

Thanks, I'm hoping that it's just the small tank size. Just had me nervous that he kept bumping his mouth in the same spot. Hopefully it eats again today and I'll pick him up.

[falconut]

Update: I purchased her on 7/27 after she nipped at a clam in the LFS. Unfortunately she only nipped a clam & a mussel for the next 15 days. On day 16, I grabbed some live black worms & a small zoa frag. She ate about 4-6 worms, but when crazy for the zoas. They were completely scraped off the rock & ingested by the next day. It also appears she ate a tiny mushroom polyp that came with the zoas. It's now been about 5 days & she eats about 4 worms a day. It's a start & she still appears to look & act normal. Hopefully she's past the worry period.

[pfan151]

Originally Posted by falconut

Update: I purchased her on 7/27 after she nipped at a clam in the LFS. Unfortunately she only nipped a clam & a mussel for the next 15 days. On day 16, I grabbed some live black worms & a small zoa frag. She ate about 4-6 worms, but when crazy for the zoas. They were completely scraped off the rock & ingested by the next day. It also appears she ate a tiny mushroom polyp that came with the zoas. It's now been about 5 days & she eats about 4 worms a day. It's a start & she still appears to look & act normal. Hopefully she's past the worry period.

Maybe try grabbing another zoa frag and spread some Masstick on the rock around the zoas. Hopefully it’ll pick up some of both when it eats and then just try to replace the masstick once all the zoas are gone.

[falconut]

I've put masstick on the zoas rock & occasionally she nips, but nothing like the zoas. I just picked up another frag & she went to town. At least it gives me more time switching her over to prepared foods.

[OrionN]

Originally Posted by carrots

jmm I have a regal in a tank with a larger purple tang. The tang was in the tank first. The angel always tries to stay away from the same area as the tang. The tang is a much more aggressive eater and I have learned that I have to spread out the food over the tank vs. just feeding in a corner so the angel gets fed. I don't have butterflies but if they are anything like tangs we may need to work towards a tank with more peaceful tank mates. I am close to the point of re-homing the tang. Just so I can see the angel more.

Given a little time the Regal will be fine. When I added my Baby Regal he have to use my carpets as refuge against the tangs. Given a little time he was just one of the boys, smallest of them but the tangs leaves him alone.

[pfan151]

I picked up another regal from my LFS a couple weeks ago. It’s doing pretty well overall. Picking at flake, algae, and eating clams pretty well. My issue is that when it grabs a piece of food it swims backwards shaking its head back and forth. My other regal doesn’t do this. I’ve had regals do it in the past but none of the ones that have done it has survived. Not sure if it’s at all related though. I’ve done FW dips and Prazi. Any thoughts? Normal?

[alton]

Do you ever notice your fish having that guilty look on their face?

[jmm]

I posted a couple of months ago (post 5969) about my Regal of 3 years that has been hiding for the last two of those years. Well, he finally started coming out about a month after that. He was interested in food but didn't eat much. He hung out close to a cave.

He didn't look as good as the last time I saw him. His color was bad and he wasn't as fat as I had remembered him to be. And then, a week ago he disappeared again. This time I think he's dead. There is a white stringy looking mass caught in the circulation pump that I can't really identify.

At least I can stop worrying about him. This proves that even with 3 years of captivity, a delicate fish is still not out of danger. The three butterfly fish are unaffected.

[prior20]

Quick update from a couple months back...

My LA Regal arrived with parasites and didn’t survive and they refunded my money. I then reached out to Bob at iBlueWater because I heard they had a strict quarantine protocol and he sent me video of the Regal eating before I paid. I had to pick up from the airport and unfortunately the Regal didn’t take the trip well and ultimately passed shortly after arrival. Bob follows up after the shipment arrives to make sure things are going well. Even though he does not offer a guarantee, he offered to send me a new fish at no charge. I waited for weeks while he quarantined and got the fish eating.

The new Regal acclimated well last week and was an aggressive eater right away. I have been dosing metro because he had some ich spots which are now clearing up. He is very active now and not shy at all.




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[OrionN]

Originally Posted by pfan151

I picked up another regal from my LFS a couple weeks ago. It’s doing pretty well overall. Picking at flake, algae, and eating clams pretty well. My issue is that when it grabs a piece of food it swims backwards shaking its head back and forth. My other regal doesn’t do this. I’ve had regals do it in the past but none of the ones that have done it has survived. Not sure if it’s at all related though. I’ve done FW dips and Prazi. Any thoughts? Normal?

How is this Regal?

[carrots]

Originally Posted by pfan151

I picked up another regal from my LFS a couple weeks ago. It’s doing pretty well overall. Picking at flake, algae, and eating clams pretty well. My issue is that when it grabs a piece of food it swims backwards shaking its head back and forth. My other regal doesn’t do this. I’ve had regals do it in the past but none of the ones that have done it has survived. Not sure if it’s at all related though. I’ve done FW dips and Prazi. Any thoughts? Normal?

All of my small Angels have exhibited the shaking of their heads as they eat. Two tank raised Angels that I have also do this. My Regals have since stopped doing this since they have grown.