thanks so much - I love these guys! only the best - it graduated from ERC's protocol (exoticreefcreations.com/qt-process)
Regal Angel Primer
- Thread starter DJPB
- Start date
3" red sea just received
3" red sea just received
Just received shipment of a 3" red sea regal from NY Aquatic. Fish came in at 62 degrees and laying down in the bag not breathing. I took Michael's advice and placed the bag in my sump to warm him up and he started breathing heavily within a few minutes. No ammonia in the shipment water. Did a very slow drip into the bag over 2.5 hours. He was laying on his side most of the time with an occasional effort to swim upright when I stirred the water for oxygenation. Released him into an egg crate sectioned off section of my tank with no other fish and he's been swimming and laying down intermittently. Lights are off and I have towels around his section of the tank. Still heavy heavy breathing. Stocked up on clams, mussels, oysters. He was eating frozen clams at NY Aquatic. Will keep you all posted. So tough to find one this size from the red sea. If he makes next step is to get him eating. No chance he will today with the stress he's been through.
Is there a way to upload .mov files on RC? cant find out how.
3" red sea just received
Just received shipment of a 3" red sea regal from NY Aquatic. Fish came in at 62 degrees and laying down in the bag not breathing. I took Michael's advice and placed the bag in my sump to warm him up and he started breathing heavily within a few minutes. No ammonia in the shipment water. Did a very slow drip into the bag over 2.5 hours. He was laying on his side most of the time with an occasional effort to swim upright when I stirred the water for oxygenation. Released him into an egg crate sectioned off section of my tank with no other fish and he's been swimming and laying down intermittently. Lights are off and I have towels around his section of the tank. Still heavy heavy breathing. Stocked up on clams, mussels, oysters. He was eating frozen clams at NY Aquatic. Will keep you all posted. So tough to find one this size from the red sea. If he makes next step is to get him eating. No chance he will today with the stress he's been through.
Is there a way to upload .mov files on RC? cant find out how.
Attachments
Did Michael tell you to drip it for 2.5 hrs?
BigBlueTang
Active member
Seems like everyone's experience with Michael isn't very good. With regals anyways.
Giovanni
AKA Flippa
Sorry about your luck. That fish looks thin also.
just upload to youtube and link embed here.
is this the one you got?
reef 2 reef.com/threads/some-of-this-weeks-beauties.235508/#post-2745910
did you use an ammonia binder like amquel or prime during that 2.5 hour acclimation?
Giovanni
AKA Flippa
I did a drip for that long to reduce stress at all costs. I did talk to him throughout the day and he recommended releasing him which I did at that time. He's been swimming upright all late afternoon and evening after a short stint on his side on the sand. Still breathing hard but not laying on his side. A friend of mine who's an expert in angels and has acclimated regals hundreds of times walked me through the process which i consistent with Michael. Only reason I dripped a little longer was to mitigate stress as much as possible. The most stress he went through was going from 62 to 78 degrees throughout that process. Also bear in mind he's going from copper/prazi at NYA to my reef water too.
2 heat packs. Water was at 62 when I opened the box. It may have been cooler earlier. This is not uncommon though for fish that come across the world, let alone overnight priority from NY to Atlanta GA. He was pretty much dead until i warmed him up by floating the bag and starting the slow drip (1 drop per second) into his bag while bag was in the sump
Wow that fish looks rough.
That is him I think. He's not that rough at all. Minor tail fin nipping - he was in a tank with a baby goldflake at NYA. Hes alone now in my tank in his own section. Finding a regal this size is worth the risk. I've been looking for a year or so now for a yellow belly at or under 3 inches. I've also had lights off all day and towels covering his section of the tank for privacy. He's been swimming upright now but hiding in a cave for about 5 hours.
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I tested for ammonia right away and 1 hour after starting acclimation. Negligible amount of ammonia in the bag he came in. The stress came from shipping and temp change no doubt. Regardless, Hes swimming now. I've chatted today with a few regal experts and it's not uncommon for these fish to arrive almost dead. (when coming in from overseas) Once I got him breathing in oxygenated water and acclimated he started swimming. Very fascinating to watch happen.
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I made a big purchase from him in Dec and everything came in perfect. He also gets his hands on fish I cant find anywhere. Even DD. I also think it's better to get a regal ASAP instead of letting him sit in a tank with other animals, copper and prazi. It's tough for any fish store to keep close attention to any one fish. I've seen a bunch of LFSs in ATL get regals in and throw them into a tank with other angels, tangs, or aggressive fish. Don't stand a chance.
Michael said he was eating frozen clam at the store. Great sign. Not even live clam. Also he's not thin but not fat. I do agree this is a low % chance but the fact he went from laying down to swimming in a matter of hours is a good sign. This is common for wholesalers and LFS owners when they receive shipments. What amazes me the most is that he wasnt breathing at all when i opened the bag. no gill movement. Then after warming up and getting some oxygenated water via acclimation he started breathing heavily and even swimming for a few seconds at a time.
ThRoewer
New member
Wow that fish looks rough.
And that was before it got shipped out!
At around 3 inch there shouldn't be any issues to get a regal eating if he is otherwise healthy.
It's the larger specimen that tend to make more problems.
The low temperature it arrived at is of concern as that may cause later health issues.
I somewhat doubt that there was no gill movement. More likely it was an extremely shallow and very slow movement.
I had a similar case with 2 starcki damsels in a shipment that got delayed over the weekend. One made it and is still doing fine months later while the other died 2 days after arrival.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4UjEAU2y74I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Somebody else with Vertical Video Syndrome...
Looks not great, but that he is swimming around is good. Though I would watch him closely for the next few days.
Salty150
New member
What are you feeding him?
Salty150
New member
Beautiful fish!
Have you tried LIVE FRESH oysters from shell – you have to open shell for it though.
LIVE FRESH mussels from shell?
New Life Spectrum Thera+ A Sinking Pellets (has more garlic)
New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Formula Sinking Pellet Fish Food
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