Regal Angel Primer

Got this YBR about 2 weeks ago. I was told it was eating at the store so I got it shipped. Upon arrival, it did not eat but showed interest in the mysis/spirulina brine I fed. On the second day, it ate a few bites but stopped eating. I was worried so I went to the grocery store and got two steamer clams. At first, it just looked at it. I took the clam out and made slices with the clam on the shell and drop it back in. After a couple minutes, it pecks and ate the clam. After feeding the clam, it suddenly got its appetite back and took the mysis/brine. I went and got more Larry's food and it has been eating very well.

BEAUTIFUL!

Glad the sliced clam and LRS food worked out!

How big is he?
 
Thanks guys,
The YBR is about 4-4.5". I'm pretty sure this one is a male with the long gill spine.
I'm now looking for a smaller one to pair it up. But I don't know if I should wait until my 360gallons is ready. The tangs are the most troublesome when adding a new fish. I had to take out the powder brown out of the display for a week and let the YBR settled and get comfortable and chase after the food. I just put the PBT back yesterday and everyone is getting along. Will have to watch them closely though.
 
Thanks guys,
The YBR is about 4-4.5". I'm pretty sure this one is a male with the long gill spine.
I'm now looking for a smaller one to pair it up. But I don't know if I should wait until my 360gallons is ready. The tangs are the most troublesome when adding a new fish. I had to take out the powder brown out of the display for a week and let the YBR settled and get comfortable and chase after the food. I just put the PBT back yesterday and everyone is getting along. Will have to watch them closely though.

How do you keep so many Tangs in a 5 foot long tank?

:confused:
 
I like fish. :)
It's not easy to introduce new fish into the tank. I usually have to trap and take out the agressive one for a week or two and re-introduce it back. The good thing is that since they're very aggressive feeder, they'll go in the trap pretty quickly.
The new 360g dimension will be 72"x48x24". This elos has been a dream to run. I'm a little hesitant to do the transfer but it must happen.
 
I've never seen any fighting among the tangs other than the first newly introduction. The yellow tangs are the tamest. The lyretail anthais actually can chase them away. The purple tang and the PBT don't care for each other.
I will try to see if I can put a livestream cam so that we can see them on a normal basis and not during feeding. Or maybe I can put a long *** video lol.
 
I had 7 tangs in my 245g with no issues, including a vlamingi and a hippo that were both a foot long. Strong flow helps a ton.
 
A purple tang can be a PITA. If the harrassing is too much, you will have to take it out.
I use the an Aquamedic fish trap and I can pretty much fish out any fish in the tank if I have to. Some fish require more patience than others but they all eventually goes in the trap for food. Assuming the aggressor is also an aggressive feeder.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...d=PPC-G-6135&gclid=CM_Kw66a7M0CFYIfhgodWLEKJA
Also, if you can divide your DT tank with an egg crate to isolate the new comer, it will help tremendously as well.
 
A purple tang can be a PITA. If the harrassing is too much, you will have to take it out.
I use the an Aquamedic fish trap and I can pretty much fish out any fish in the tank if I have to. Some fish require more patience than others but they all eventually goes in the trap for food. Assuming the aggressor is also an aggressive feeder.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...d=PPC-G-6135&gclid=CM_Kw66a7M0CFYIfhgodWLEKJA
Also, if you can divide your DT tank with an egg crate to isolate the new comer, it will help tremendously as well.

You have that backwards - you use egg crate to isolate the trouble maker - not the new comer.

You give the new comer free reign to explore their new surroundings - minus the small section you have the trouble maker in.

:thumbsup:
 
You have that backwards - you use egg crate to isolate the trouble maker - not the new comer.

You give the new comer free reign to explore their new surroundings - minus the small section you have the trouble maker in.

[emoji106]
^^ this!
The gangsta is the one who should go to prison, not the guy he beat up.

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Got this YBR about 2 weeks ago. I was told it was eating at the store so I got it shipped. Upon arrival, it did not eat but showed interest in the mysis/spirulina brine I fed. On the second day, it ate a few bites but stopped eating. I was worried so I went to the grocery store and got two steamer clams. At first, it just looked at it. I took the clam out and made slices with the clam on the shell and drop it back in. After a couple minutes, it pecks and ate the clam. After feeding the clam, it suddenly got its appetite back and took the mysis/brine. I went and got more Larry's food and it has been eating very well.

Watch it in 4K!

It seems to me, and I may be wrong, but it appears that Regals do best when not put into QT - as you did here...

Since that really isn't the "best" option - I guess maybe a large QT with sand/rocks, etc to make it feel more like "normal"...?
 
I "quarantined" some in a reef tank and other in a more traditional QT and the outcome was not much different. Statistically it was actually exactly the same: 6 qt'd in a reef tank - 2 lost, 3 in regular QTs - 1 lost. Two were lost due to disease or cyanide, one to not eating.
I feel it depends more on the fish and how it was handled at and after collection on its way to you.
Regal angels should not be difficult fish if treated properly in the supply chain.
I had by now enough of them and seen even more at stores to say that them eating right away is nothing special but should rather considered normal, if the fish were treated correctly on their way to us.
If a regal refuses to eat, something went wrong.

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I "quarantined" some in a reef tank and other in a more traditional QT and the outcome was not much different. Statistically it was actually exactly the same: 6 qt'd in a reef tank - 2 lost, 3 in regular QTs - 1 lost. Two were lost due to disease or cyanide, one to not eating.
I feel it depends more on the fish and how it was handled at and after collection on its way to you.
Regal angels should not be difficult fish if treated properly in the supply chain.
I had by now enough of them and seen even more at stores to say that them eating right away is nothing special but should rather considered normal, if the fish were treated correctly on their way to us.
If a regal refuses to eat, something went wrong.

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I concur with this. As I had tells that will not eat at all. Then the is ones that eat like pigs and just due over night. It really comes down to how its caught. Hope this Marshall island regal I have is the final good one.


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Agreed. If the regal has not been mistreated, it should be quite robust in the tank.
I've had other large angels including japanese mask swallow tail and majestic angel that were eating at the store, I put them in the tank and there was no issue. Since my lfs does not carry RS regal, I had to order online. The first two regal I tried last year was so stressful to me that I decided to put it on hold. Thanks to ThRoewer for the point of contact of his lfs in CA, I called and they were honest to say that if the regal is eating or not. I've been checking with them for about 2 weeks until they got one that is eating and I asked them to ship it to me. This is the one that is doing great in the tank now. It's constantly in the open water waiting for food.
 
This picture collection at fishbase.org may be of general interest:
Pictures available for Pygoplites diacanthus

This is a larva just prior to metamorphosis and below it a just post metamorphosis juvenile (from my experience with breeding reef fish this change may happen within a couple of hours over night)

Size (mm): 16 SL, 20 TL (0.8" TL)
Locality: Palau, Palau

This is likely the smallest you will ever see in a store (at least I've seen some in this size at AC). This one still has only the first set of stripes, but the second set is already showing as shadows.

Size (mm): 29 SL, 36 TL (1.4" TL)
Locality: American Samoa, Tutuila

And this juvenile is roughly the size of the Maldives juveniles LA recently sold. The second set of stripes is present.

Size (mm): 48 SL, 58 TL (2.3" TL)
Locality: Marshall Islands, Enewetak

There seems little to no difference in the coloration of juveniles between the different subspecies and localities. If there is any difference at this stage/size it's likely the coloration of the tail fin, which IME is clear with a slightly greenish hue with the blue-gray Pacific varieties (Pygoplites diacanthus diacanthus) and transparent yellowish-orange with the yellow Indian Ocean varieties (Pygoplites diacanthus dux).


As for sexing:

This should be a mature male:

Size (mm): 147 SL, 183 TL (7.2" TL)
Locality: Egypt, Nuweiba, Gulf of Aqaba

And this a mature female:

Size (mm): 130 SL, 162 TL (6.4" TL)
Locality: Djibouti, Maskali Island,

Note the much longer and more massive operculum spine on the male and the slightly more stretched body shape.

These two were roughly twice in length than the two of my Sumatra pair (m: 95 mm TL, f: 80 mm TL).
 

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ThRoewer,
Great info. I also notice the "lump" on the female under mouth where the gill ends. Is this a trait of the female also?
 
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