Regal Angelfish Care?

[BigBlueTang]

Hey guys,
so recently I saw a regal angel at my LFS and I fell in love with it. I have a 75 gal display, and I know it is a large angel and my tank size is not big enough, but I asked steve, (snorvich) and he said I should be fine, granted I get a small specimen, and reccomended I get a red sea regal.

Does anyone have any thoughts? I am open to suggestions and really do want what is best for my fish. I have heard that sometimes they are hard to get eating?

 

[ThRoewer]

They may be tricky to get to eat in the beginning but the ones I got to take frozen foods would eat like pigs. After a while they even went for flake foods.

"Going all dry rock" may not be working with a regal in the beginning as they like the kind of sponges that only grow on real live rock. They also like some algae

As for the Red Sea regals, they are the prettiest with a nice orange yellow base coloring but according to some experts in Germany also the toughest to get to eat.
The easiest to get to eat are in my experience the ones from the Maldives. They are a hint more yellow than the Red Sea ones but hardier and easier to accept frozen foods. Though here in the US I haven't seen any Maldives regals yet , only those from the Red Sea or Pacific regions

I had a pair of the blue-gray Pacific variant for several years. From my observations they like a calm and peaceful tank. I would not put them with very nervous or restless fish like tangs.

As a beginner I would recommend only to buy small individuals that are eating well at the store and are well nourished. Avoid skinny ones at all cost.

I also think these are fish that should be kept as a pair.

 

[BigBlueTang]

They may be tricky to get to eat in the beginning but the ones I got to take frozen foods would eat like pigs. After a while they even went for flake foods.

"Going all dry rock" may not be working with a regal in the beginning as they like the kind of sponges that only grow on real live rock. They also like some algae

As for the Red Sea regals, they are the prettiest with a nice orange yellow base coloring but according to some experts in Germany also the toughest to get to eat.
The easiest to get to eat are in my experience the ones from the Maldives. They are a hint more yellow than the Red Sea ones but hardier and easier to accept frozen foods. Though here in the US I haven't seen any Maldives regals yet , only those from the Red Sea or Pacific regions

I had a pair of the blue-gray Pacific variant for several years. From my observations they like a calm and peaceful tank. I would not put them with very nervous or restless fish like tangs.

As a beginner I would recommend only to buy small individuals that are eating well at the store and are well nourished. Avoid skinny ones at all cost.

I also think these are fish that should be kept as a pair.

Thank you!!!

So tank size should be okay right??
I will try and see if I can get any live rock from my local reef clubs, because I absolutely adore this fish.
So buying online is not a good idea? I was planning to buy at my LFS anyways since the shipping charges on most sites are massive.
They will be the only "Large" fish in the tank, no tangs. A mccoskers wrasse, leopard wrasse, and a butterfly or two in a FOWLR

I will do everything you said! Thank you so much!
Any other suggestions??

 

[Dmorty217]

The tank size is pushing it for sure. What other fish are in the tank currently? Established, aggressive fish will not make good tank mates and the Regal will never feel comfortable and start eating and thrive.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Regal Angelfish Care?

The tank size is pushing it for sure. What other fish are in the tank currently? Established, aggressive fish will not make good tank mates and the Regal will never feel comfortable and start eating and thrive.

No fish currently... I had a proposed fish list in my other post... I think it will be good, but you are the expert

 

[alton]

Go buy a bunch of that Tampa Bay Live rock loaded with sponges. Let it stabilize and you should be good to go. Buy a small adult or large Juvenile. Do not buy a small juvenile! Leave that for the experts. I love Redsea, but that is just me.

 

[cFloor]

I personally think a 75 is a little too small for a regal. That might be just me, but I couldn't picture mine in a 75. They use every inch of my 190gal.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Go buy a bunch of that Tampa Bay Live rock loaded with sponges. Let it stabilize and you should be good to go. Buy a small adult or large Juvenile. Do not buy a small juvenile! Leave that for the experts. I love Redsea, but that is just me.

Red Sea looks really good..
I already have 75 lbs of marco rock and I do want space for the fish to swim, so I might only order 5-10 lbs of TBS rock.. is this enough?>

 

[ThRoewer]

I had my pair in a 750 liter (~200 gallon) tank and that was about what should be the minimum for 5 to 6 inch regals.
Though much depends on the layout and decoration of the tank. With enough separating structures a smaller tank may be sufficient. These fish rather need less swim room but a lot of surface and overhangs to search for food on. A minimalistic decorated tank won't be ideal, especially if it's on the lower size limit.

 

[horseplay]

IMO a 75g is sufficient for a small or medium specimen. So you should be good for a while at least.

I tried twice one from the LFS which died the other online which survived. If you can find a fish store that's willing to acclimate the fish for one or two months at their risk them it's great but this is very unlikely. Otherwise online is better. LA offers 14 day live guarantee. When a fish is shipped from online it does not go thru one more stop at LFS which IMO is better.

I did not QT my fish. There are a lot of pods and algae in the DT for it to graze on which contributed to success. So make sure you have an established tank like other have said with sponges etc ...

Regals are very timid fish make it the only big fish. Without aggression it has a good chance to survive. Get some Chromis as dither fish before the Regal. I also have Anthias which kind of teach the Regal to eat from the water column.

Mine ate very little for more than a month. It became very skinny. Now it has almost regained its weight.

Good luck. This fish worth your time and effort.

 

[bat21]

Maybe I'm biased, but I think a community of a dozen small fish would be much more interesting than 3 or 4 large fish like you listed.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Regal Angelfish Care?

Maybe I'm biased, but I think a community of a dozen small fish would be much more interesting than 3 or 4 large fish like you listed.

Haha I like big fish, and also which fish are big in my list? Only the regal is a big fish.
Mccoskers: 3-4" max
Leopard: 4"
Pearlscale: 5"
Still deciding on another, probably a starry blenny
+the angel which is 5-6" max

Also at what point should I add the angel? And should I qt?

 

[ThRoewer]

Regal angels are tricky to quarantine. That said, I wouldn't skip it. A regal can easily be quarantined in a smaller tank as long as it has live rock with some sponges and lots of macro algae.
I would set up a 20 gallon tank for this purpose and only buy the regal when tat tank is properly cycled.
I once quarantined a 5 inch Maldives regal in a 60 liter (~15 gallon) tank and it worked out fine.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Regal angels are tricky to quarantine. That said, I wouldn't skip it. A regal can easily be quarantined in a smaller tank as long as it has live rock with some sponges and lots of macro algae.

I would set up a 20 gallon tank for this purpose and only buy the regal when tat tank is properly cycled.

I once quarantined a 5 inch Maldives regal in a 60 liter (~15 gallon) tank and it worked out fine.

Could you do a brief outline on the supplies you used? And how much rock? Pictures too if you could

Btw thank you everyone! You have been a great help...

 

[ThRoewer]

I got to dig out the pictures I took and scan them - it was before the age of digital cameras

 

[alton]

I have always used a 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub, except for my juvenile. I used a 40 gallon full of liverock. I would use a whole lot more of real liverock than 5 to 10 pounds.

 

[BigBlueTang]

I got to dig out the pictures I took and scan them - it was before the age of digital cameras

Thats fine
Thanks for your help!

I have always used a 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub, except for my juvenile. I used a 40 gallon full of liverock. I would use a whole lot more of real liverock than 5 to 10 pounds.

DO you mean in the DT or the QT?
I know, since the shipping of TBS is really high I don't know if I should get it or not.. I probably will..

 

[alton]

If you really want a Redsea regal you are going to spend $200+, a Juvenile will cost you $300. So spend the money up front so not to lose it. My next suggestion is to find a local fish club member that is selling there tank off and buy there established live rock?

 

[BigBlueTang]

If you really want a Redsea regal you are going to spend $200+, a Juvenile will cost you $300. So spend the money up front so not to lose it. My next suggestion is to find a local fish club member that is selling there tank off and buy there established live rock?

Good idea.. Hmmm.. Spent the last couple of hours on my local reef forums, no one seems to want to part out their rock, everyone wants to keep their system, same on craigslist.. I will keep searching.

If anyone else has any other suggestions or experiences that would be appreciated! I am halfway through the Regal Angel Primer :thumbsup::lol:

 

[ThRoewer]

If you really want a Redsea regal you are going to spend $200+, a Juvenile will cost you $300. So spend the money up front so not to lose it. My next suggestion is to find a local fish club member that is selling there tank off and buy there established live rock?

That sounds like the the prices from Live Aquaria or Blue Zoo. In stores you find them usually a bit lower priced.
I saw a 4.5" "missbar" Red Sea regal two weeks ago in a local store and if I remember right they were asking $150. They also had 2 cute 3" Pacific blue ones that were eating. For those they only wanted $45. Unfortunately I'm currently not prepared for them.
Another store here had a pair of very nice 6" Red Sea regals ($250 each) but sold the female alone. They didn't even knew what they had there. :debi: