Red sea regal Angel

909reefer

In Memoriam
Have been searching for a juvenile red sea regal angel (preferably around 3 inches or less) for approximately 2 1/2 months. WOuld anyone happen to have any leads on where I can purchase a healthy specimen? Please pm if you do. Any help is truly appreciated.
 
I got mine from bluezooaquatics. My red sea regal has been doing great. I bought it about 3 1/2". Eats everything right off the bat and thriving after 6 months.
 
tried them, no luck..
after pm-ing with john copps, he's informed me that it's virtually impossibly to find true red sea regals and I should look for regals from sumatra which also have a yellow chest. so the search continues.
 
tried them, no luck..
after pm-ing with john copps, he's informed me that it's virtually impossibly to find true red sea regals and I should look for regals from sumatra which also have a yellow chest. so the search continues.

He' right. Red Sea fish are almost impossible to find now because of all the turmoil in the area. FedEx isn't even flying out of Yemen at present (or on a very reduced schedule). Yemen has been the main shipping point for Red Sea fish.
 
"Red Sea regal" has become synonymous with "yellow belly regal", even though they are not the same. Yellow bellied regals can be sourced from Kenya to the Red Sea to the Maldives all the way to Sumatra in our trade. There is no difference in the fish other than collection location. True Red Sea regals have been *nearly* nonexistant in the trade, although they are now coming back... Michael at nyaquatic did get some recently, but no juvies... and if history is any indicator we'll see next to no juvies from the Red Sea... Sumatra would be a better bet (909reefer asked me specifically about juvies from the Red Sea in his PM). Blue Zoo and many other vendors list "Red Sea regal angel" simply to mean yellow bellied, as in reality these regals are not truly from the Red Sea...

Also, the whole "yellow chested regals do better than blue chested ones" is one of those myths based somewhat on truth in the past. Years ago most all regals came in from the Philippines and Indonesia... they were blue chested and endured a long chain of custody in addition to other factors that made them "living dead" by the time we saw them... when the Red Sea started exporting regals starting trickling in in much better shape... so people always said "get the yellow chested ones... they do better"... and back then they did for that reason... not because yellow chested regals are inherently hardier... nowadays there are good regals coming out of the Pacific from locations like the Marshalls and Vanuatu that could adapt just as well... I've had two of them (blue chested) for years now... there are still however rough ones coming in from everywhere so beware...

Copps
 
He' right. Red Sea fish are almost impossible to find now because of all the turmoil in the area. FedEx isn't even flying out of Yemen at present (or on a very reduced schedule). Yemen has been the main shipping point for Red Sea fish.

The absence of Red Sea regals has been for years now... not from the recent turmoil. Yemen has been the only steady shipper of Red Sea fish in recent years and they only ship that short list of fish for the most part that have been common (purple tangs, semilarvatus butterflies, sohals... etc.)... no regals really. Other countries are again exporting, getting us back to the variety we saw in years past, including paucifasciatus and mesoleucus butterflies and regal angels...

Copps
 
Pomona isnt too far from San Diego; theres an LFS by the name of VetsPets here in San Diego that acquires Yellow Belly Regals on occassion. They are a reputable retailer here for local hobbyists; Owner Chris is super cool and handpicks very healthy fish. If they dont currently have it, he can pick one up for you on the next Wholesaler run.

Check em out. GL!
 
Thank you all very much for your help. Although it's an hour and a half drive from pomona to san diego, I think it's definitely worth it for a healthy specimen.
 
My point exactly... if they are from Oman they are not Red Sea regals... again, not that it really matters... just trying to break this misinformation from years ago...

Copps
 
My point exactly... if they are from Oman they are not Red Sea regals... again, not that it really matters... just trying to break this misinformation from years ago...

Copps

Oman is closer to the red sea than the Philippines ;). The 'red sea' regal's territory extends well into the Indian ocean.
 
Oman is closer to the red sea than the Philippines ;). The 'red sea' regal's territory extends well into the Indian ocean.

No... Red Sea regal angels territory extends only to the Red Sea. All Red Sea regals are yellow bellied, but not all yellow bellied regals are Red Sea. There is no difference between a regal collected in Eritrea, for example, and a regal collected in the Maldives, other than origin. The one from Eritrea is collected in the Red Sea, while the Maldives specimen is not. They are both yellow bellied, but only the specimens from Eritrea is a Red Sea regal. Philippino specimens ARE different in that they originate from the Pacific and are blue bellied.
Yellow bellied regals range from South Africa to Western Indonesia. Regal angels as a whole, including both color forms range to the central Pacific.

Copps
 
No... Red Sea regal angels territory extends only to the Red Sea. All Red Sea regals are yellow bellied, but not all yellow bellied regals are Red Sea. There is no difference between a regal collected in Eritrea, for example, and a regal collected in the Maldives, other than origin. The one from Eritrea is collected in the Red Sea, while the Maldives specimen is not. They are both yellow bellied, but only the specimens from Eritrea is a Red Sea regal. Philippino specimens ARE different in that they originate from the Pacific and are blue bellied.
Yellow bellied regals range from South Africa to Western Indonesia. Regal angels as a whole, including both color forms range to the central Pacific.

Copps
Philippine fish are also far more likely to see rough handling and even cyanide capture, which is really on the rise again. I've always though Red Sea fish just may be a little hardier, possibly because of the higher SG where they live. Make any sense?
 
Marshall Island regals do very well, and come in small (1-3") more often than other locations. But they have the "blue-belly" lol... Copps has a few of these :)
 
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