Regal Angel Primer

[GSchiemer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7002456#post7002456 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichK
For those who have regals in a tank with LPS, what are your experiences with the fish and the corals. I've been contemplating a Regal or a Mjaestic angel for my 125G SPS reef for quite some time now. My only worry is that it may find my family of Gonioporas a tasty snack. I've had an Asfur and flame angels before and they never touched the gonis, but what about the regal? Also, will a Regal eat Xenia (not that I care). Greg, do you
have any input on this?

IME amd IMO, a regal angel is unlikely to pick at Goniopora or Xenia corals. I have regal angels with both of these corals for many years without incident. Here's a picture of one of my regals in a tank with lots of xenia, SPS corals, and zoanthids. Sorry for the lousy picture quality; it's the 50KB limit of RC.

Greg

 

[RichK]

Well, 24 hours after adding the fish to my tank, it seems to be actively feeding on the rock. It seems to prefer algae and maybe a bit of sponge. It's hard to see exactly what it is eating, but it does chew it up pretty good and doesn't spit anything out. It has also tried a few bits of food floating by in the water column. It's an extrmely calm fish. When I add food, it seems to get excited but doesn't eat it yet. It hangs out in the "back" of the tank, but since my tank is viewable from both sides, I can keep an eye on it. Here's a picture for you viewing pleasure.

 

[RichK]

And one more:

 

[bureau13]

Any words of advice on whether to put a Regal and Majestic in the same tank (240 gal)? I have the Majestic right now...he's got adult coloration, but he's still fairly small...if I do this, how important is it that I add the Regal to the new tank at the same time I move the Majestic over?

jds

 

[hlama]

i would put the regal in first. the majestic is more aggressive. regals are kinda wussies comepared to most other angels, ofcourse there are those indivuals that are just mofo's.

 

[Steve Atkins]

RichK

The personality of your regal seems to be similar to mine, which is, judging from this thread, pretty unusual. Mine also took being chased a bit in its stride. The main difference is that mine spent most of the first 4-5 days cruising round under the reef eating its way through whatever had grown their over 10 years and only started to hang out with the other fish when it needed to start eating the food they ate.

Steve

 

[RichK]

Steve, mine has yet to really sample any foods offered (mysis, formula 1&2, Vibra-gro pellets, Nori, and sea weed flakes). It does however, continue to feed from the rock work. Whatever it is eating, it really chews it up. From what I can see, it seems to be`eating hunks of algae that is growing under and between the rock. I just hope it is getting enough. Maybe some of the others who have had their fish for a while can chime in here.

 

[Steve Atkins]

From what I recall, mine did not take any real notice of what the other fish were eating until it ran out of whatever it was eating under the reef and started to get hungry. It then took a while for it to get proficient at chasing down floating food. I am guessing that for a while it found plenty of food under the reef.

Steve

 

[doody]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7111950#post7111950 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichK
Steve, mine has yet to really sample any foods offered (mysis, formula 1&2, Vibra-gro pellets, Nori, and sea weed flakes). It does however, continue to feed from the rock work. Whatever it is eating, it really chews it up. From what I can see, it seems to be`eating hunks of algae that is growing under and between the rock. I just hope it is getting enough. Maybe some of the others who have had their fish for a while can chime in here.

Just a thought. If you gan blow some food onto the algea its eating so that it sticks to it, maybe he'll start to get a tast.

 

[pecan2phat]

Rich,
When I purchased my Regal last year, it did not eat for about 2 weeks. During this time, it just foraged on the live rock. About the 3rd week, it started to munch down on the zoanthids in the tank and by the 4th to 5th week, it started to accept frozen prepared foods. Afterwards it also will take Spectrum pellets too.
Now I can understand why the failure rate of keeping Regals were so high back in the 80's due to acclimating them into fish only tanks, established reef tanks with live rock is almost a must IMO.
I wasn't worried due to the fact that I had introduced an Golden pygmy angel a few months prior to the Regal and I never saw it eat prepared foods for about 3 months. Pretty cryptic fish but now it eats with everyone.

 

[RichK]

Well, this morning I went down to see the tank before I left for work and the Regal was right out front hunting stuff on the rock. It is definitely eating caulerpa roots and such that my Doliatus rabbitfish missed. The angel tears at them and munches them down. I was alos glad to see it out front because it was just staying in the rear corner area of the tank not venturing out much. I am sure glad my tank is viewable from both sides. This allows me to keep an eye on the fish and to see what exactly it is eating. When it finds something it likes, it really tears into it. So I don't think I am too worried about the fish at this time. However, it would make me feel better to actually see the fish take prepared foods.

Right now, it seems to have settled in nicely. My rock is over 10 years old with plenty of growth, both algae and sponge, on the underside and other places the rabbitfish can't get to. These fish are so nice to look at. The colors are awesome. I hope it stays with me for a long time.

 

[copps]

Hey Rich, have you tried the clams on the halfshell as we discussed?

 

[Rondelet]

I had lots of macro algae (a couple species of Caulerpa), but my Regal Angel demolished 6 months worth of growth in about 2 weeks. He's a major grazer. I also had a nice growth of Halimeda, which he tears at, but just seems to damage it rather than eat it. I now propagate blade Caulerpa in another tank for feeding to my Regal on occasion (he eats it way faster than I can grow it). Interestingly, he's not a big fan of Seaweed Selects (Red or Green) and only picks at them sparingly. I'm slowly trying to wean it over as it would be a lot easier for giving him green stuff (other fish in the tank love the stuff). Not surprisingly, his favourite food (by a mile) is frozen ON Formula II. It's a Indo-Pacific Regal which I think have a strong preference (requirement?) for marine plant material.

I've had the fish for 6 months now without incident - and am hoping to beat Gary's odds for Pacific Regals. Mine eats very well, mostly ON Formula II and Angel Formula, along with macro algae, the odd clam on the half shell and even some live sponge. Interesting story - put a large live Red Ball Sponge about the size of a grapefruit into my tank to see what would happen. My Regal took a big interest in it and started to graze on it. In about three months, he appeared to have eaten about a third of it. Then the sponge started to die - which I eventually linked to a very mild ammonia spike due to a problem with a mechanical filter. I quickly moved the sponge, fixed the problem and restored my water. The Regal didn't bat and eye and the sponge is recovering, ever so slowly, in my Caulerpa propagation tank. My next move will be to try diced frozen squid as suggested by Steve - sounds like a good idea. I think the key to good nutrition is to keep with what works, but to constantly try new things. My Regal is also the undisputed dominate fish in the tank (I think mostly because he's by far the largest), which I also think goes a long way to husbandry success.

There's a picture in my profile from when I first go him. I will post an update shot marking 6 months.

BTW - Thanks to all who've contributed to this thread. I have found it to be invaluable for information on keeping Regals (read it in its entirely twice before I go mine). I agree that Regals are not forgiving, and therefore shouldn't be considered easy. My approach, like most I'm sure, has been to focus my attention and husbandry on my Regal - essentially building my tank around it.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Rondelet-
I noticed you keep a meridithi, beautiful fish BTW, with your regal. Do you keep any corals in your tank? I was also wondering how the yellowtail and the regal get along and wether they pick at corals. TIA.

 

[Rondelet]

Kahuna,

No corals per se. I did have some zoos and shrooms, but the Regal Angel didn't bother with them. I say had because I moved them after putting the Lattice Butterfly in (which went after them within hours of being in the tank). Apart the sponge, which the RA really liked - to nibble, I did have a large leather coral (not sure of the species). The RA picked at it from time to time - not sure why. I suspect it was picking stuff off of it, rather than picking at it. Hard to say. However, it was moved with the sponge as it appeared to be affected by the ammonia spike. My focus with the tank has been on the fish.

The RA and the Yellowtail get along - now. I say this as the RA really harassed the Yellowtail when I first put it in - to point of making it sick. I cleared this up and now, after a month, the aggression towards the Yellowtail (which is a lot smaller) from the RA has gone down quite a bit. Everyone knows their place relative to the RA, which the RA reinforces from time to time. My particular RA is a bully and he makes no bones about it. When the Lattice Butterfly (same size at the Yellowtail) was first put in, the RA chased it around and actually took a chuck out of his side (which has since healed). The Yellowtail for its part is a real champ - super hardy fish that can take a few knocks, appears not too susceptible to Cryp, and eats like a champ. There is a picture in my album if you're interested.

 

[Project Reef]

Rondelet, are you concerned with the potential health risks of Caulerpa toxicity if feeding your Regal large amounts, long-term?

 

[Rondelet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7117778#post7117778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Project Reef
Rondelet, are you concerned with the potential health risks of Caulerpa toxicity if feeding your Regal large amounts, long-term?

Now I am!

PR - can you expand on this? I don't give him that much, but he seems to really like it (along with my Coral Beauty and Regal Tang - although they don't seem to eat as much). What is the nature of the toxicity, is it species specific? Truth be known, I was more concerned about the sponge, but figured he wouldn't eat something that would kill him. Any info on Caulerpa toxicity that you can provide would be most appreciated.

 

[Aquaduck]

Zoos also contain a known toxin and my Regal Angel has eaten 40 to 50 at one time. Cleared a whole rock bare. Just because a plant or animal contains a "bad" substance doesn't mean it's not edible for another animal. They are all part of the food chain. So if the tang is eating caulerpa, then I think the tang knows that it's safe for him to eat it and likewise my Regal knows he can eat 50 zoos at a time with no ill effects.

 

[hlama]

yeah i agree. caulerpa gets a bad rap. i have never ever known anyone to lose a fish because it ate caulerpa. plus caulerpa is not really toxic. some fish and/or corals due find caulerpa noxious. but still compared to a leather corals or other softies caulerpa really is not all that noxious. if he eats it and likes it no worries just dont make it a main part of the diet, but just a little snack treat from time to time.

 

[RichK]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7116287#post7116287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by copps
Hey Rich, have you tried the clams on the halfshell as we discussed?

John, yes I did. I put in 2 on opposite sides of the tank. I figured one will attract the other fish, and the Regal can have one for itself. However, my Copperband(which has buddied up with the regal nicely) decided that they were both for it and totally destroyed both and also defended them. Neat to watch, but it wasn't my intention. The Regal has really started to venture out now. It has gotten much bolder and actually displays to the yellow tang now. This has made the tang decide to leave the regal alone. I'm gonna try the clam thing again this weekend when I can watch the copperband closely and see if the regal shows interest. So far, the regal really seems to be eating alot off the rock. It will find something and not leave that spot until it has picked the rock clean. So, I think it is eating fine at the moment. I hope it will start to show interest in other foods soon. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the help and ideas.