The Regal Angel Thread

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...98#post6569498

[fishpimp69]

Just a quick ?, had my regal for 2 weeks was eating everything including my zoo's. But then i went away sat came back didn't see him, thought I would go to bed and look in the morning, and came to find he was not there. So it's been 2 days and still no sign. Are these fish jumpers or what could of happened to him on sat. I have looked everyewhere. It was also around 5 inches. You would think i would see bones or some kind of body right? Any ideas?

[MATTT]

Did you look around the floor where the tank at, you might find a dry up fish. Or some time when a fish die, with a 5" fish it might get to one of the cave and die. It might be hard to see, but look close in the rocks you might find it there. If it is dead, I would try and take it out of your tank. That is a big dead fish to leave it in a tank til it turn to bones.

mattt.

[delafe]

Got the blasted damsels out of my tank! The regal is venturing out from the rock and exploring his new home. It is an AWESOME fish!

If anyone in New York needs a good maintenance guy I have the person for you! He spent the better part of the day taking out rock and catching two HUGH damsels that had been tormenting everything else in my tank. Didn't charge me all that much to boot.

-Alfred

[delafe]

Got the blasted damsels out of my tank! The regal is venturing out from the rock and exploring his new home. It is an AWESOME fish!

If anyone in New York needs a good maintenance guy I have the person for you! He spent the better part of the day taking out rock and catching two HUGH damsels that had been tormenting everything else in my tank. Didn't charge me all that much to boot.

-Alfred

[JDS]

I see a lot of people here using mysis shrimp, which I also used when I first got my regal. I switched to frozen Pacific plankton and my regal likes it just as good as the mysis. Which I'm thankful for, because I feel there's more nutritional value in Pacific plankton. That's just my opinion

[elekamit]

Well, Here is my newly placed regal:





As u can see it has a blue/grey belly.

It is already eating all sorts of frozen foods. and is grazing at the rocks.

and it is doing A-OK with the rest of my tangs, they don't bother him, he doesn't bother them.

so far (555), he has been a role model citizen, not touching any of my corals.

I am hoping we will be together for a long long time :-)

[stuart0413]

thinking about getting a red sea regal....i am worried that he will eat my coral, though. have lots of zoos, lps, sps, etc. if he does start helping himself to the coral buffet, i will never be able to get him out!!!!!

[HOZERTHEBONEFISH]

Odds are, your zoos will be eaten. SPS are safe usually although there are some regals that eat sps.

Its matter of what you like more...corals vs fish. Thats what a second tank is for!!

[delafe]

Added my regal last Saturday. He was harrassed by a HUGH damsel and got the damsel out three days later (Had to tear down my 180!!!) Now he is VERY shy and barely comes out.

He was eating mysis in the store and now he wont come out for feeding times. When he is out I see him picking hard at rocks, I am hoping that he is grazing enough to live until he gets over the shyness. Any ideas? I have tried feeding the tank very well with a mix of all of the frozen formulas and frozen Mysis.

-Alfred

[Aquaduck]

Alfred,

Try some Nori on a veggie clip near the regals hiding place. I think the grey bellied Regals have a heavy algae diet. My regal eats as much nori as my yellow tang.

[Psionicdragon]

Well, I just got my first ever Red Sea Regal and I want to know somethings.

It has been hiding behind the rocks for a couple of days, when will it show itself?

I think it is eating, but I am not sure. How can I tell and what motion do i look for especially when it stick's its butt in my face :P ?

[64Ivy]

Finally took the plunge and picked up this 3 1/2" RS Regal yesterday.



Already eating PE Mysis, Pro-V, and Formula 2 and was actually harrassing a pair of saltwater catfish at the LFS! Good signs all in my book. I am currently housing it in my 40g frag tank which used to be my fuge and is still remoted to the main tank. There are several pieces of live rock for it to hide behind as well as pods, snails, a few favia, some Frogspawn frags and even a few SPS frags to keep it company. No other fish. My plan is to keep it here at least a month and test it for any appitite red flags that happen to appear. I am hoping that by switching a few 'LPS' and 'SPS' morsels in and out, I can see any problems before it gets into the main tank. Also, the fish is not perfect. It has a tiny 'cyst' on its anal fin (barely visible in the picture) and another on its other side. The person who accompanied me to the LFS (Not a store employee, rather a published expert on reef fishes) told me not to worry about them as they didn't look to be parasitic. But as this is literally the first new fish I've introduced to my system in about a year, I'm just a tad nervous about them. So far, the fish's behavior seems completely normal but if anything changes, you all will be the first to know. In the meantime, any comments, warnings, or general advice would be appreciated.

[Psionicdragon]

So lets recap on how to get a regal to eat:

Spectrum Pellets
Mysis Shrimps
Veggies
Clam on a half shell


Am I missing anything?

[GSchiemer]

64Ivy,

It's too late now, but I meant to tell you to acclimate that fish VERY SLOWLY. After you left the store I was told that the specific gravity of the fish system was 1.014! Most fish can tolerate a rather large downward movement in salinity but it's more difficult moving up, especially if you're running your reef at NSW levels (1.025). Anyway, it doesn't appear that there was any harm done since you've indicated that it's eating well. In addition to the foods you've mentioned, which are all excellent, you might want to try a live clam on a half shell and red macro-algae (Seaweed Selects brand from Ocean Nutrition).

If it picks at corals and you decide that you don't want it, let me know because I'll take it.

Greg

[GSchiemer]

Originally posted by Psionicdragon
So lets recap on how to get a regal to eat:

Spectrum Pellets
Mysis Shrimps
Veggies
Clam on a half shell


Am I missing anything?

Yes you are.

I think the clam on a half-shell is a good idea to coax a new Regal Angel to eat, but "veggies" and pellet food would not be on my initial list. I'd try live adult brine shrimp initially, as well as Pro-V (Pro Salt) and red macro-algae.

Frankly, there is no magic list. My recommendation would be to try all the foods mentioned until something works, then stick with it.

Greg

[HOZERTHEBONEFISH]

64 ivy:

Not a bad wingman to have when you are shopping for a regal!!

Looks like a beautiful male. Best of luck and keep us updated please

Henry

[64Ivy]

Originally posted by GSchiemer
64Ivy,

It's too late now, but I meant to tell you to acclimate that fish VERY SLOWLY. After you left the store I was told that the specific gravity of the fish system was 1.014! Greg

I always make it a practice to test the S.G. of the vendors water when I acclimate a new fish OR coral. The water tested out at 1.023 (I keep mine at 1.025). Nevertheless, I acclimate by the drip method anyway and in this fish's case, it took over 3 hours. I hear you on the food too. Do you recommend clam on the half-shell even though it's eating already?

[Steve Atkins]

Originally posted by Psionicdragon
Well, I just got my first ever Red Sea Regal and I want to know somethings.

It has been hiding behind the rocks for a couple of days, when will it show itself?

I think it is eating, but I am not sure. How can I tell and what motion do i look for especially when it stick's its butt in my face :P ?

After spending it's first few hours at the front of the tank, ducking other fish, mine then spent most of the next week in behind the reef. From time to time I saw it thru the tank ends and it appeared to be just calmly pecking its way through what was growing back there. Since it did not come out to feed I would put an occasional freshly opened mussel (clam I s'pose in some parts) down the back for it (plus one in front to keep the others busy). Although I did not get a clear view, it seemed to get into these. At that stage, the most encouraging part was that despite still hiding away, it appeared to be behaving otherwise pretty normally.

Steve

[delafe]

I am having the same problem. My new regal comes out and is clearly pecking at the rocks, but as soon as I come out into the open it quickly hides in the rocks.

I have been heavily feeding the tank a mix of mysis, brine shrimp, Formula 2, Reef Plankton and Julian Sprung's Sea Veggies (some kind of red algae) and I am not 100% sure if it is eating. It WAS eating mysis in the store.

Any ideas on how I can get it used to people in front of the tank?

-Alfred

[sonofgaladriel]

My new Red Sea Regal. Only had him a few days now but he seems to have settled in nicely. He swims out in the open most of the day and is picking on the rocks all day long. He has nibbled on nori but I have not seen him eat any prepared foods. I'm trying the half clam/mussel trick tomorrow and will try some live brine. All outward signs point to an apparently healthy fish that tolerated acclimation and his tank mates well.

[delafe]

What is the fish to the right of the regal? Beautiful!

-Alfred

Originally posted by sonofgaladriel
My new Red Sea Regal. Only had him a few days now but he seems to have settled in nicely. He swims out in the open most of the day and is picking on the rocks all day long. He has nibbled on nori but I have not seen him eat any prepared foods. I'm trying the half clam/mussel trick tomorrow and will try some live brine. All outward signs point to an apparently healthy fish that tolerated acclimation and his tank mates well.

[GSchiemer]

Originally posted by 64Ivy
I always make it a practice to test the S.G. of the vendors water when I acclimate a new fish OR coral. The water tested out at 1.023 (I keep mine at 1.025). Nevertheless, I acclimate by the drip method anyway and in this fish's case, it took over 3 hours. I hear you on the food too. Do you recommend clam on the half-shell even though it's eating already?

That's kinda funny. They told me that the specific gravity of the fish system was reduced to 1.014 because a new batch of fish had recently arrived. Either you or the store has a faulty instrument. I'm betting it's the store.

I'd try additional foods, such as the clam, in order to bulk the fish up. While it was eating at the store, it wasn't eating heartily and it's uncertain whether it can get enough food from the water column to sustain itself. These fish are not used to feeding from the water column; they feed primarily from the substrate in the wild and actually need time to "learn" how to feed from the water column.

Greg

[delafe]

Greg:

How would you suggest I feed my newly acquired (shy) regal?

I am using a clip to feed red algae and will pick up some nori tomorrow. Other than that I am (over) feeding my tank frozen foods of all kinds so that they float behind the rockwork.

Thanks,

-Alfred

[delafe]

Oh, had a similar problem with a swing arm hydrometer. The older they get the more inaccurate they are. All stores should have a refractometer. (All hobbyists should also!) Best $60 I ever spent, got a good one so that I will never have to invest in one again.

-Alfred