Regal Angel Primer

[nbd13]

Maximus, you will be fine, i am getting a regal on the 29th and i have 2 centropyges as you probably already know

you should be fine in terms of aggression, only problem is the coral..... Your zoos will probably be toast, might be ok with LPS.... It's a risk though as with any angel....

Nick

 

[GSchiemer]

Although I've heard enough anecdotal evidence of regal angels eating zoanthids to agree that it's a risk, it's by no means a certainty. In fact, IME regal angels picking at zoanthids is unusual. I just don't want this posted as if it were a fait accompli.

Greg

 

[ca1ore]

For what it is worth, my red sea regal has been an incredibly well behaved fish in my tank. I have nver seen it pick at any coral or clam - wish I could say the same about my coral beauty. I agree that keeping fish well fed is the first, best way to stop them from picking at corals. I also have an Afur which is equally well behaved; he ignores everything, including unfortunatley, the majano anemones that my LFS assured me he would eat. Oh well!

 

[zfunk007]

Maximus, I think Regal Angels are hit or miss when it comes to corals. Mine ate all those kinds of corals that you mentioned. So I had to move him to my fish only tank. He is doing just fine in there though. I collect live sponge from the wild and he loves it. Between him and my Moorish Idol they will eat a huge chunk of live sponge in a matter of a week or 2.

 

[RichK]

Been a couple days since my Regal started to eat after I tried the fresh clam idea. Well, it's Tuesday and the fish eats anything. From Omega One flake to Formulas 1 & 2, Mysis, homemade mush and Vibra-gro pellets. What a difference a clam makes! Since I have anthias as well, I think the Regal will enjoy the frequent feedings.

 

[Steve Atkins]

New camera so a new pic

New camera so a new pic

Still cruising at 9.8 months.

Steve

 

[Psionicdragon]

So from my understanding, most of you guys don't QT your regals?

Would copper treatment be horrible for them?

 

[Tremelle]

I have read that copper treatment is almost certain death for any angel. They seem to be less tolerant to copper than other species of fish.

 

[john37]

didn't QT mine.

 

[copps]

If QT consists of a 20 gallon with PVC pipe and a sponge filter, than you'd be better off not...

But, if you're able to provide a QT with excellent water quality, lots of live rock, dim light, and no competition for food or territory you'll have a much better chance... Many times it takes a while for them to take prepared foods, but chances are much better if the food is not disappearing from established fish within seconds... also, as I've recommended before, a clam on the half shell is virtually irresistable to these guys and will tide them over until they do realize that stuff floating in the water column could be food... which really isn't the case in the wild...

Incidentally, I never use medication, fresh water dips, hypo, copper, or anything else unless absolutely necessary... just concentrate on giving the fish the least stress... I've seen some people acclimate fish unnecessarily for hours, dumping water and swishing the plastic bag... Unless temperature, pH, and/or salinity are much different it's not necessary for too long...

Just my opinion... and man is it great to see this thread develop over the years with so many beautiful regals... We all differ in opinions here and there, but we all share a love for this beautiful fish!

 

[RichK]

John, I'd have to agree with your last statement. Without this thread, I would not know what makes these fish thrive. As with all fish, a varied diet is the key. However, for the fish to ake advantage of such a diet, it needs to be coaxed to eat in captivity. The information within this thread is a source of great information on how to get these wonderful fish to eat.

My Regal continues to do very well and as I said previously, eats anything I put in the tank. It even chases food that is on the other side of the tank. There is one thing I have found to be very cool. The fish trusts me enough to eat from my hand! This is after about 2.5 weeks in my tank. Simply awesome.

Another key is to get a good fish from the start. John, you recomended Live Aquaria. I have mail ordered delicate fish before from another well known on-line vendor and was a bit nervous about ordering such a fish as a Regal from somewhere different. But, Live Aquaria came through and sent me an awesome fish! My hat's off to places like Live Aquaria for excellent shipping of such a delicate species.

I can only hope I can continue to provide an excellent home to my regal in years to come.

 

[pecan2phat]

Thanks to this thread I also did things a bit differently by not quarantining my RA and placed him/her straight into my reef tank. Here's a couple of recent shots of my RA at 12 months and 9 days. This was a $45.99 fish that was not eating at he LFS!

 

[Psionicdragon]

The only reason why I was asking is because of ick issues.

 

[john37]

my regal is sick.
he's lying under a rock and breathing heavily.
are regals sensitive to water quality? i mean, i have 2 sunburst anthias' and they're fine as well as sps and everything looks good. only thing i can think of is that i raised my bio load too much the last few days. Added 9 blue green chromis' and a baby purple tang oh and a yellow wrasse into my 225 gallon for a total of 16 fish. but i took out 5 fish so really didnt add that many. the regal was eating flakes, mysis and even spectrum. my favorite fish. dang i'm goin to be so bummed if he/she dies. only thing i can think of doing right now is a 25 gal water change in a couple hours.
please pray for my fish. haha. i really love this fish

 

[pecan2phat]

How long have you had the regal?

 

[Aquaduck]

Did you quarantine the other fish before adding them to the tank containing the Regal? Perhaps it's caught a disease from the new additions?

 

[john37]

no i didn't qt. didn't really think of QTing chromises. i've had the regal since december.
maybe i should start qting fish.

 

[Aquaduck]

Any fish can carry disease and parasites and you can't tell by looking at them. Unfortunately you may have caused the demise of your Regal, but I will hope that he pulls through for you. It would be a shame if it died.

 

[john37]

man, if my regal caught it from one of the new fish i'm gonna be so ****ed at myself. ahhhhhhh.

 

[Steve Atkins]

Once again I feel thankful for the enforced 3 week quarantine, by the importer, we have in NZ. They are currently talking of increasing it to 4 weeks but the importers are not too happy about this.

Steve