queen angel help

[screwsloose]

i picked up a queen angel two days ago and he is showing feeding interest but so far isnt hitting on anything other then the sponge growth on the rock. any idea of things to try to win his appetite over?

 

[nsmith_mma]

Well...Angels are notoriously finicky eaters. I would try Rod's Food. That usually entices even the stingiest of eaters. Put some nori sheets in there too or some algae on a clip.

 

[screwsloose]

i have been feeding a mix of nori, mysids, pellets, flakes, brine, sponge, and krill. today he has shown the best interest and ate a couple pellets so i am thinking he may be making the curve.

 

[WETFISH]

I gave my blueface clam on the half shell to start,it was all he would eat.Then super glued some scallop and salmon to the shell (at first next to the clam flesh).He also likes grape caulerpa from my fuge.Now he is eating flake(spirulina).It was a long slow process,took 3-4 weeks to get him eating well,lucky he was in qt so no competition.

 

[jjk_reef00]

I agree with everyone above.
If he starts eating one thing keep feeding what he likes (or will eat). Eventually he will associate your presence with food and will gladly eat many other things.
How big is your angel?
I've had luck with ocean nutrition angel formula. It seems like some fish are attracted to the red color or the texture of the cube.
You may also want to try scallops.
As for nori, I cut mine into thin strips so they dangle in the water. That seems to entice the fish more than one large sheet.

 

[alton]

I had a Chrysurus once that went two weeks to finally eat. Once it did it ate like a pig. You did not state what size? Small ones usually will eat right away, whereas adults are more finicky.

 

[MrTuskfish]

A fresh clam is always my 1st choice to get a fish eating. However, I really don't think there is anything you can offer that will get a non-eating fish in the mood. Two days is nothing to worry about. Give him time, they can go a much longer without eating than most folks think. If he's grazing on the LR, sooner or later, he should start feeding; these aren't timid fish. BTW, juvi large angels usually start feeding sooner than adults.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I must have missed Alton's post, right above my other one. I just repeated what he said; but (typically) took twice as long to say it. Please keep us posted on this fish. I love QAs, it was the 1st large angel that I was ever really successful with. They almost disappeared for a while, I haven't owned one in years and am trying to figure out where i could put one; I've heard that the ones arriving recently are great fish. Good luck with him.

 

[screwsloose]

thanks for the comment. hes about 5-6 " tl . and is reacting well to the new life spectrum pellets and the sponge based cubes so ill stick with those for now. he is an awesome looking fish and seems to be getting settled in now. ill get some pics of him soon.

 

[nsmith_mma]

Yes please do. Queen Angels are definitely my favorite fish. Is it in a reef tank or fish only?

 

[screwsloose]

mixed reef.i am at the point now where im going to add the fish i want to see and remove the corals that dont work lol. i already have an odd stocking

 

[nsmith_mma]

Yeah that's a good call. Let me know what you find out because eventually, a queen angel is on my "fish I absolutely have to own" list. I'm pretty sure they do a lot better with SPS than they do with LPS.

 

[clsanchez77]

This is an old thread but can you provide us an update.

Ive been itching to return to the hobby and was thinking about setting up a reef tank around a Queen Angel. The current TOTM has inspired to start looking into this further. Im just interested in how you have done.

How is yours doing?

What size tank do you have, tank mates, what corals are you keeping with it, what have you had to remove?

Thanks, Chris

 

[clsanchez77]

By the way, if you check out the Queen Angel on Fishbase, sponge makes up over 95% of the fish's diet. In my opinion, no experience, the Angel and Butterfly food from San Francisco Bay Brand would also be a good option for training the fish to accept other foods and maintaining a source of sponge in its diet.