Regal Angel, how fast does it grow
- Thread starter 125mph
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sandwi54
New member
regal angels are not particularly fast growers. it also depends on how big your tank is. most people who report fast fish growth tend to be the ones with larger tanks where fish feel more natural. i'd say a good, long-term environment for him would be a 72"x24"x24", or 180 gallon. In a tank like that, I'd expect 1-2" of growth per year until it hits 6-7". Then the growth really slows down but the fish will slowly grow to full adult size of 8-10" over the next 5-10 years or so.
In a small tank, fish's growth usually gets stunted and you may see no growth at all. it's common to see a fish with a 10" adult size to never get past 5" in a smaller-than-recommended tank, even after years and years of waiting. eventually they suffer premature death.
of course, diet is important too. regal angels are spongivores. feed it a wide variety of food, including ones containing sponge (such as the ocean nutrition's angel formula).
In a small tank, fish's growth usually gets stunted and you may see no growth at all. it's common to see a fish with a 10" adult size to never get past 5" in a smaller-than-recommended tank, even after years and years of waiting. eventually they suffer premature death.
of course, diet is important too. regal angels are spongivores. feed it a wide variety of food, including ones containing sponge (such as the ocean nutrition's angel formula).
copps
Premium Member
In my experience regals are slow growing and do not reach anywhere near full size in aquariums. I currently own five regals, the longest of which I've had for about seven years now, and none have ever grown beyond 5 to 6 inches (the oldest specimen is in a standard 180). One of my juveniles I received very small and have had in a 292 gallon and that fish too remains a very slow grower relative to other angelfish genera. One of the people I admired when I was younger was Greg Scheimer, and one of the first people I knew to successfully keep regals long term in good health, and his experiences were the same. And I disagree that stunted growth means a shortened lifespan... there are many examples in public aquaria of some very old fish (20+ years) that are nowhere near their full wild size.
With that said regals are still only for advanced fish keepers that have years of experience adapting and QTing fish. While this species is not tough to KEEP, it is still to this day tough to ADAPT, and specimens over 5 to 6 inches should be left in the ocean. This species is NOT DELICATE, but rather one of those species that requires good post harvest handling and care to get it adapted correctly... Here's a shot of one of my systems... notice the juvie regal at the bottom center with some tough customers...
And in one of my reef systems...
One of my little juvies acquired years ago... one note is that all regals start life as yellow bellies... even the Pacific ones (this guy was exported out of Majuro, Marshall Islands)...
This is my favorite angelfish species incidentally...
Copps
With that said regals are still only for advanced fish keepers that have years of experience adapting and QTing fish. While this species is not tough to KEEP, it is still to this day tough to ADAPT, and specimens over 5 to 6 inches should be left in the ocean. This species is NOT DELICATE, but rather one of those species that requires good post harvest handling and care to get it adapted correctly... Here's a shot of one of my systems... notice the juvie regal at the bottom center with some tough customers...
And in one of my reef systems...
One of my little juvies acquired years ago... one note is that all regals start life as yellow bellies... even the Pacific ones (this guy was exported out of Majuro, Marshall Islands)...
This is my favorite angelfish species incidentally...
Copps
125mph
New member
Hi coops!
Nice idea with the eggcrate. I just bit the bullet and ordered a beautiful yellow belly juvi regal angel from LA. I have a 3.5" potter's angel that I'm a little concerned might harassing the regal.. I will set up an issolated area in the tank so that he doesn't get picked on. Any think potter will harass?
"Indian Ocean juvenile Yellow Belly Regal Angelfish. Quarantined and conditioned in Kevin Kohen's office aquarium for 2 months. "
Nice idea with the eggcrate. I just bit the bullet and ordered a beautiful yellow belly juvi regal angel from LA. I have a 3.5" potter's angel that I'm a little concerned might harassing the regal.. I will set up an issolated area in the tank so that he doesn't get picked on. Any think potter will harass?
"Indian Ocean juvenile Yellow Belly Regal Angelfish. Quarantined and conditioned in Kevin Kohen's office aquarium for 2 months. "
