Regal Angel Primer

Tracey2 said:
These are my baby regals, they lived in my 100g sump together for about six months while my larger regal lived in the 270g display, about a month ago I moved the babies to the DT with the use of acclimatization boxes and dividers. They have their pecking order but they aren't any more aggressive to one another than they are toward my copperband.

This is a pic of the 2 babies

IMG_0507-1.jpg~original


I wish I had a good camera and some photography skills, when I try to get a pic with all 3 its always blurry.
Click to expand...

Beautiful looking Regals. Any chance or taking pictures of them in the DT with the larger Regal? I would have to say Regal Angels are my favorite fish now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks Clowndude,
I'm going to try again on the weekend to get a shot with all three. I love the smaller two because they have unusual markings, the one in the pic where you can see his face has a split marking that looks like an H and the smaller one in front is my favourite and she has a Y near her tail on the other side. The larger regal is very friendly but no unusual markings.
 
Oh yea, I see the markings you are talking about. Very cool. Do you know what gender all your regals are? I'm currently having my LFS hunt me down a male red sea regal as mine is a female. I'm really hoping to pair them up. Can't wait to see all three of your regals. They truly are an amazing animal.
 
What's the consensus on tank size for these guys?

I'm having trouble deciding on livestock for my new SPS Rimless "Cube" since the dimensions are not anywhere near ordinary.

The tank will be 36" x 37" x 18". The regal would be the only fish larger than 3-4" in the tank. It will be bare bottom sps only tank, with the rock work arranged in 3-4 towers.


I've been doing reefs for over 5 years, so qt'ing, treating, and feeding a fish of this caliber/difficulty level are not out of my experience level. I'm just not sure about the tank size since most people stick with standard tank sizes when making tank size recommendations.
 
I think the big question is, do you plan on upgrading the tank in the near future? If you plan to keep the angel in there for 5+ years you might have issues. I would suggest you get the smallest regal you can buy. I know my tank is pushing the limits for a regal, but I plan on upgrading to a much larger tank in about 2 years. Good luck and post a picture if you decide to get one.
 
I still have not been able to get a nice shot of all 3 regals, the smallest one is really good at not being in the same area as the other 2. I did get a couple shots though of the smallest ones cool markings

IMG_0657.jpg~original


IMG_0663.jpg~original
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I got one of all 3, I think the little one was just extra shy this morning because I had just turned on the mh's

IMG_0829.jpg~original


Ok, I'll stop bragging now, but I am proud of my babies.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sweet pics Tracey! how about a vid of the tank??

what are their sizes? Did you ever copper treat any of the regals?

Bluezoo has a 3-4" and a 4-5.5". i'm waiting for an email back to see what they are feeding before ordering.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys.

Geaux xman, I did treat the largest with hypo and low doses of copper and prazi, the 2 smallest ones came together and I did QT them for a bit but they looked so healthy I moved them to my sump(100g) and got them eating nicely, they lived there for months until I moved them to the DT. The largest would maybe be 3.5" and the smallest is the size of a poker chip. I'll see if I can make a video worth posting. Good luck with your regals.

clowndude, thats funny, I wish they were mom dad and baby. The biggest size difference now is between the largest and the medium but the medium one has grown quite a bit since I bought her, there wasn't much difference between the med and small at first. The small one actually taught the med to eat well, she is very brave. I have to name these guys instead of large, med small.
 
Yes not all yellow bellied are Red Sea. My understanding is very fw these days are actually from the RS.
They are by far not an easy fish to keep. Once established I think they do well. My 2 were quite a bit of work and stress. Both are now happy (I think). It will take a bit of luck and a good commitment and proper conditions on your part for success.
 
clowndude said:
Oh yea, I see the markings you are talking about. Very cool. Do you know what gender all your regals are? I'm currently having my LFS hunt me down a male red sea regal as mine is a female. I'm really hoping to pair them up. Can't wait to see all three of your regals. They truly are an amazing animal.
Click to expand...

Get a small one and let them decide what they're going to be. The larger the specimen the more married it is to its eating habits in the wild so you may have a more difficult time acclimating.

Natterjak said:
I got a Red Sea regal a couple of weeks ago - was said to be eating mysis and spirulina flakes at the store (I ordered it online - it had a very rough shipment), but the only thing it will eat for me is feather caulerpa. It eats that stuff like a pig, but I can't seem to get it to eat anything else. I've tried live brine, mysis, krill, fresh clams, mussels, Formula 2 and Angel Formula in a grid clip, nori (green, brown and red), NLS pellets and my own homemade mash squished on a rock. He swims out in the open and picks at rocks, but just won't go for anything else other than the caulerpa.

Any tips for getting him to eat other things? Should I continue to offer caulerpa along with other foods and just wait and see if he'll eventually take other foods? Any advice is appreciated!
Click to expand...

If it eats anything at all you're on your way to success. The problem with most regals is that they never start eating in captivity. If you continue to offer it anything and everything it will eventually begin to pick at other stuff. Mine now eat whatever goes into the tank - pellets, mysids, nori, flake, chunks of fish... but it took a long time to acclimate them to this diet! Consider the fact that yours is eating at all in your tank a huge success. It will adapt over time to the other things that you are feeding as long as you continue to introduce them.
 
Tracey2 said:
I got one of all 3, I think the little one was just extra shy this morning because I had just turned on the mh's

IMG_0829.jpg~original


Ok, I'll stop bragging now, but I am proud of my babies.
Click to expand...

Tracey, that's awesome that you are able to get 3 into your tank! You did it the same way I did with mine, put them into a sump with rock to acclimate and isolate rather than QT.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is a very impressive thread with lots of information. Thank you to all that have participated. I would like to share my recent experience in acquiring a beautiful regal. I have heard horror stories ever since I've been in the hobby. I was confident in my abilities and the LFS to get me a healthy specimen so I decided to give it a try.

I asked the owner of my LFS to order me a regal. I know that their source was in the Phillipines but the plus side is that their shipments are direct, no wholesalers in the picture. To me this meant less chance for screw ups. I'd seen lots of good looking fish from this supplier before so it didn't bother me too much. It only took about three days before I got a call from my LFS and they said that they would have the fish. I stopped in that day and was stunned. The fish was good sized (4" or so) and FAT although it is a blue/gray belly which I expected. I dropped some brine shrimp into the tank and the fish ate immediately so I brought it home.

I drip acclimated the fish rather slowly and added it right into the display. The two fish I was worried about bothering the new addition were the yellow and purple tangs who tend to bully new arrivals. They weren't overly aggressive towards the regal, but there was the expected tail flashing and a little chasing. This lasted about twenty minutes and that was it. While shy, the regal adapted well. It always stayed close to the rocks but was very active exploring the rocks and even picking at sponges within an hour. I put some nori in the tank at feeding time and wouldn't you know after the feeding frenzy, the regal swam up to the leftover seaweed on the magfloat and ate after only being in the tank for a couple of hours. A few days went by and it wouldn't take any other prepared foods so I picked up some frozen scallops. I dropped a couple in the tank and no other fish showed interest except the regal who had them all to itself!

It's been a week now and the fish is still doing well. It's still shy and swims in and out of the caves which I actually enjoy watching. Every day the regal bellies up to the dinner table alongside my yellow, purple and 12"+ naso tang to get his share of nori and it eats two whole scallops a day. It's starting to show interest in frozen enriched brine and mysis. It will take in a peice but spit it out. I'm confident that in a week or less it will be taking prepared foods no problem.

While after reading through this thread I certainly wouldn't recommend this fish to a beginner, if you are an experienced aquarist and have a source of a very healthy specimen you will have a better shot at success. Below is some info on my system and other livestock. It's a true community tank with very little aggression amongst my fishes. I think this is very important with a shy species like the regal.

The tank is 240g reef with mostly SPS but a fair share of LPS and a few clams. The rock structure is fairly "loose" with many caves for the fish and a lot of swimming room. The stocklist includes a 12"+ naso with streamers, purple tang, yellow tang, potters angel, flame angel, pair of swallowtail angels, mystery wrasse, pair of lineatus wrasses, two pink margin wrasses, radian wrasse, a couple gobies and a pair of black ocellaris clowns.
 
Wtench, great story and thank you for the detailed post. I would have to say this is one of my top five favorite threads on reefcentral. I just finished quaranting my female regal angel. She has been in the DT three days now and is getting less shy by the day. Mine still really goes crazy for mussels and will pick at other foods.

Here is a picture of her in the tank:

d2d47705.jpg~original
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks Outerbank, all 3 are still doing great. I would love to have the fish in your avatar but that might be pushing my luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

OrionN
Biota Hybrid CB Regal Angel. Please comment
Replies
4
Views
182
griss
griss
Q
What is the best way to add Queen Angel?
Replies
1
Views
590
wvned
wvned
T
New 55g setup. Advice for fish appreciated
Replies
6
Views
259
Uncle99
Uncle99
OrionN
Naso elegans, the Blonde Naso
Replies
1
Views
209
OrionN
OrionN
OrionN
Baby CB Regal Angel from Biota
Replies
8
Views
2K
OrionN
OrionN
Back
Top