Red Sea Regal Angel - He looked too good to pass up
The last time I had a Regal was about 20 years ago. He only lasted a few days.
Friday, May 6, 2016, after work I dropped into Oceanlife Aquarium here in Houston and spotted a 4-5” Regal that looked perfect. He was in a mixed fish tank, swimming with the rest of the gang, annoyed by a flame angel that he would chase once in a while. He wasn’t shy and would come right up to the glass. Not timid at all. He picked at some of the rocks in the tank but only looked at the food Nick put in to show me if he was feeding. They had him for a bit over a week. His body was in good shape and he looked well nourished.
My tank is loaded with Zoas which I know could become a tasty snack for this angel. Nick even put a 3 polyp Zoa frag in with the Regal just to see what sort of interest he had in it. He looked interested for a few seconds and then passed on it (for now).
It was one of those irresistible spot buys and I knew better but I brought him home anyhow.
After acclimating and in the tank he was still bold and explored his new home. My adult chevron didn’t seem too happy about the new addition and did some posturing. Here’s a video of the Regal about an hour after being added to the tank:
https://youtu.be/WbuL8xvtpb0
As the lights went down the Regal wanted to move into the cave in the tank but the chevron kept chasing him out.
Day two – The Regal had been bullied by the chevron overnight, had a split tail and was very shy. I tried all sorts of foods and he had no interest. He just wanted to stay away from the chevron and out of sight in the tank.
Skip a few days to Day 5 – The Regal was no longer intimidated by the chevron and looked interested in the frozen foods I feed each day. He would grab a piece in his mouth and spit it right out. It didn’t look like he was losing weight and I did see him defecate so I figured he must be eating something. The Zoas all looked healthy and fully opened. I picked up some live goose neck clams and fresh shrimp from HEB. Added a half shell of clam and some bits of shrimp and I saw him finally eat a couple of small pieces of shrimp.
Now almost a week later - He really likes to eat the shrimp but only in small pieces. He also picks at the clams and tears off a piece to eat every so often. He seems to be in constant hunting mode now for food. Not shy at all he completely ignores the chevron and his tail fin has fully healed. He swims everywhere in the tank but still stays out of the cave. He is not even scared when I put the half clam shell in the tank with my tank tongs. All Zoas (for now) are still looking good.
I took a big risk on picking up the Regal but it looks like he is going to do fine! Zoas may be a different story though…
