Regal Angel Feeding Behavior

[CuttleKid]

I have never kept a regal angelfish until now. I purchased one about a week ago. it was plump and happy at my LFS and i assumed it was eating well. i brought it home and as i expected, it ignored all food completely. Then after about 5 days she started eating like a pig. She comes out of her cave a lot more know and i believe it coincided with her starting to eat. I know they are considered one of the most difficult angels to keep. I read all about them and i saw that the orange chinned fare better than the blue bellies but mine is a blue chin so i am wondering what is wrong with them?

I also wanted to ask if this is normal angelfish behavior. To hide for a while refusing food, and then suddenly coming out of hiding and eating everything in sight from frozen mysis to pellets to frozen krill?

Thank You for putting up with my babbling and I hope you all have a Happy Holiday!

 

[progman2000]

How has it been with your corals? I am totally on the fence with picking up a Regal...

 

[CuttleKid]

Oh Sorry i didn't mention that it is a FOWLR tank.
But what i have heard is that they are very good with corals but it all depends on the individual. I may be wrong so you might want to wait for someone else with a reef and a regal to help.

 

[agreeive?fish]

well i give you my experience with my regal

at lfs the regal was out and about eating nori and mysis like a pig

in my QT tank it hid for the 1st day but snuck out to eat nori when i wasn't around, day 2 it started to eat mysis but still extremely shy by the end of the 1st week it was eating anything and everything

added to display after qt.. biggest fish in tank...buddies with yellow tang.
still slightly shy after 1 year this week but the boss of the tank and still buds with yellow tang they swim together and sleep together.. loves nori and devours any food i feed

my regal is a blue belly

in comparison to my other large angels

scribbled angel.. ate anything and everything out of the bag. very bold and out constantly from day 1. at 5 months died of what appeared to be a heart attack right in front of my eyes (rip)

false personifer angel... took a week before it even started grazing and at 2 weeks would eat anything and everything. very bold and out constantly from day 1

asfur.. not a real good example because he was a trade in to the lfs and was there 6 months before i bought him but ate right out of bag... very bold and out constantly from day 1

so using my experience with my large angels i would say that regals are more shy than some other large angels and eating is an individual fish thing and just because its eating is no guarantee it will be alive the next time you look at your tank

disclaimer... this is just an opinion based on my limited experiences

edited to add. mine is in my "reef" which only has colt corals and it has not even paid any attention to them. my reef is a fowlr with a couple corals..lol