Regal Angel Primer

[Salty150]

Good to know!

What makes the Red Sea one prized so much then - if there are other yellow bellies?

 

[ThRoewer]

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I have no idea. I know he isn't Red Sea but he is not from Indo. Any experts have an opinion?

He eats LRS, PE mysis, Nori. He hits on pellets but he spits them back out. They may be to hard for him.

At that size they are all yellow and it is nearly impossible to tell which color form it belongs to until he starts changing.

 

[OrionN]

My blue chest was just over 2 inches, as big as a large Flame angel with the spots 2 years ago. Grew about 1 inch in 2 years. Now he is about over 3 inches. He lost his spot at least 1 year ago.

2 years ago

Now

 

[ThRoewer]

My blue chest was just over 2 inches, as big as a large Flame angel with the spots 2 years ago. Grew about 1 inch in 2 years. Now he is about over 3 inches. He lost his spot at least 1 year ago.

2 years ago

Now

And his chest turned gray.

 

[OrionN]

I like BLUE. Call it blue does not make it look better but it sound better

 

[fabjr]

If a regal has paradites in gills, what are good cleaner critters for them?

.. And for worms?

 

[GimpyFin]

Throewers map outline is very good. The yellow bellied ones are supposedly handled and ship better than the ones from the Indo-pacific.

 

[carrots]

Fab, you have to start with a freshwater bath and then move to a QT tank and follow the treatment procedure you will find on this web site. Good luck

 

[ThRoewer]

Seems the Red Sea variant is distinctively different from the Indian Ocean variant:

After continents divide: comparative phylogeography of reef fishes from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean

...and finally P. diacanthus populations have been isolated for 660,000 to 830,000 years. Of the older separations, L. kasmira was characterized by high subsequent gene flow, whereas gene flow was restricted for N. sammara (and P. diacanthus); these two species also have the highest level of divergence between the Red Sea and WIO based on ΦST (Table 2). ...

... Neoniphon sammara and P. diacanthus had fixed differences between regions. ...

... N. sammara and P. diacanthus represent long-isolated evolutionary lineages in the Red Sea. These final cases in particular indicate that some Red Sea residents survived the major temperature and salinity crises recorded 19,000, 30,000 and 450,000 years ago ...

...
Two species in our study reveal a strikingly different pattern: N. sammara and P. diacanthus were characterized by high ΦST (or Jost's D) values relative to all other species and strong mtDNA differences between regions. For P. diacanthus in particular, Red Sea and WIO haplotypes are separated by at least three mutations at cyt b and one fixed mutation at COI, indicating isolation for several hundred thousand years. This genetic separation is matched by coloration differences between Red Sea and WIO populations (Allen et al., 1998), indicating long-isolated populations that, unlike other species examined, have failed to reconnect during interglacial periods. Notably the species is absent from sites in the Arabian Sea, indicating geographic isolation (Kemp, 1998). While we know of no coloration or morphological differences in N. sammara that may indicate cryptic lineages, this possibility merits further investigation.
...

(WIO = Western Indian Ocean)


Regal phylogeography: Range-wide survey of the marine angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus reveals evolutionary partitions between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean

Highlights

"¢ Regal angelfish represents a monoypic genus with a deep evolutionary history.
"¢ Oldest coalescence in the Pacific during early Pleistocene (< 2 MY).
"¢ Radiations from the Red Sea yield two lineages in the Indian Ocean.
"¢ Divergences between Red Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans match biogeographic barriers.
"¢ Based on color differences & genetics, evolutionary partitions below species level.

Abstract

The regal angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus; family Pomacanthidae) occupies reefs from the Red Sea to the central Pacific, with an Indian Ocean/Rea Sea color morph distinct from a Pacific Ocean morph. To assess population differentiation and evaluate the possibility of cryptic evolutionary partitions in this monotypic genus, we surveyed mtDNA cytochrome b and two nuclear introns (S7 and RAG2) in 547 individuals from 15 locations. Phylogeographic analyses revealed four mtDNA lineages (d = 0.006 "“ 0.015) corresponding to the Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, and two admixed lineages in the Indian Ocean, a pattern consistent with known biogeographical barriers. Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean had both Indian and Pacific lineages. Both S7 and RAG2 showed strong population-level differentiation between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean (ΦST = 0.066 "“ 0.512). The only consistent population sub-structure within these three regions was at the Society Islands (French Polynesia), where surrounding oceanographic conditions may reinforce isolation. Coalescence analyses indicate the Pacific (1.7 Ma) as the oldest extant lineage followed by the Red Sea lineage (1.4 Ma). Results from a median-joining network suggest radiations of two lineages from the Red Sea that currently occupy the Indian Ocean (0.7 "“ 0.9 Ma). Persistence of a Red Sea lineage through Pleistocene glacial cycles suggests a long-term refuge in this region. The affiliation of Pacific and Red Sea populations, apparent in cytochrome b and S7 (but equivocal in RAG2) raises the hypthosis that the Indian Ocean was recolonized from the Red Sea, possibly more than once. Assessing the genetic architecture of this widespread monotypic genus reveals cryptic evolutionary diversity that merits subspecific recognition.

Graphical abstract

Seems I got my graphic largely right

It also seems that the Yellow Belly Regal line has its origin in the Red Sea.

 

[Salty150]

Seems the Red Sea variant is distinctively different from the Indian Ocean variant:

After continents divide: comparative phylogeography of reef fishes from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean

(WIO = Western Indian Ocean)


Regal phylogeography: Range-wide survey of the marine angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus reveals evolutionary partitions between the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean



Seems I got my graphic largely right

It also seems that the Yellow Belly Regal line has its origin in the Red Sea.

And in English? lol :lmao:

 

[ThRoewer]

Here is my 1. Sumatra Regal pair:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wuRw2mB2oiM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The "female" is as fat as is healthy.
The "male" eats well now, but still needs to gain more weight.

 

[OrionN]

I cannot get the full article. If you can, it would be great to post any information on the phenotypic characteristics of various strains of Regal angels in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. If they can only use genetic marker to tell the differences between various sub-population than it is not very useful to us (me).

At the interface between various population at this time, there got to be interbreed going on. It would be interesting to see what happen in the wild in these regions.

 

[GimpyFin]

My new Regal arrives today. After I get him settled in to his temp home, what seems to work well in getting them to start eating good? I have mysis, ROE, half shell clams, NLS pellets, even some hikari frozen angel food with sponge in it. Being my first Regal, I thought I'd pick the brains of some of the pros on here. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dmorty217]

My new Regal arrives today. After I get him settled in to his temp home, what seems to work well in getting them to start eating good? I have mysis, ROE, half shell clams, NLS pellets, even some hikari frozen angel food with sponge in it. Being my first Regal, I thought I'd pick the brains of some of the pros on here. Thanks in advance.

I would use the clams on the half shell as a last resort, but those usually work every time. Live black worms are also great to getting finicky eaters to accept food.

 

[GimpyFin]

I would use the clams on the half shell as a last resort, but those usually work every time. Live black worms are also great to getting finicky eaters to accept food.

Cool, thank you.

 

[Salty150]

Make sure you post some pics! :lol2:

 

[GimpyFin]

Make sure you post some pics! :lol2:

I will for sure. Pretty excited. :bounce1:

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Check out the RB blog for an article about subspecies designation posted today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GimpyFin]

Cool article. So, it appears that the two variants of Regal will each have their own subspecies designation.

 

[MondoBongo]

so i've had my eye on these fish for quite some time, but was always wary of their reef compatibility.

i've read through a decent bit of this thread, and it seems like they would be a reasonable stocking selection for what i keep (mostly SPS, euphyllia, some other random LPS, and clams). my CBB has already eaten almost all of my acans, so no concerns there.

for those of you keeping them, what is your preference on tank size? i'm seeing a huge range of sizes listed. from 75 gallons all the way 220 gallons. right now i have a 160 oceanic (72"x18"x29") with the only other large fish being a yellow tang and copperbanded butterfly.

i'm thinking about adding a regal at some point in the near future.