Captive bred juvenile Regal angels not eating
- Thread starter jrmailo
- Start date
- Tagged users None
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
Good news! After 1 month and 3 days, the regal started nibbling on calanus/cyclopods pieces that’s floating in the water column. I believe that introducing other small toddler fishes to the system facilitates the feeding response from him as he see the other small fish eating from the water column (the other small toddler fishes hang out together with him near his cave).
Attachments
I have a Bali Aqua captive Regal via Biota and he’s eating PE mysis pellets (small size) and PE Calanus frozen. (2 weeks in my care) day one in QT he ate the PE pellets. Nibbles on rods food and frozen PE mysis but the size of the food is too large for him to ever get ahold of. Can’t take it down. He’s around 1 inch head to tail and smallest regal I’ve ever seen. However he’s more adapted to eating after shipment than I’ve seen among wild caught Red Sea or Indian Ocean Regal angels. (Often 2-4 inches shipped)
I haven’t needed to prepare live foods for this one. Key thing I’ve noticed is he won’t eat anything over 1mm and I think needs .5mm food size. I moved him to an acclimation box in main display with an auto feeder just for him - 2x/day with PE my sis pellet, elos SV and reef nutrition pellets which are small enough to sink. I think it could take a while to get him into a main tank bc he cannot compete for food and is very shy. I’m debating putting him in a small tank without competitors before he’s introduced to an established tank. Or if he’s eating aggressively in the acclimation box and stops hiding when I approach the tank I’ll release him sooner. I have an emporer angel and a couple tangs that will outcompete him for food and worse keep him in hiding all the time. The one thing I’m not worried about is him eating corals. I’m more worried about the aggressive fish that could take him down or keep him in hiding bc he’s so tiny. Small vid attached when I pulled him out of QT and hanging on display
Zionas
5000 Club Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2020
- Messages
- 5,700
- Reaction score
- 3,569
Can you send a pic of the little guy? I wanna see if it’s one of those misbars / extreme misbars or whether it has well-developed, straight bars. Good to know it’s learning to eat, hopefully everything goes well here onwards.
However for now, I think I’ll just stick to Bali Aquarich’s Majestic and Goldflake (I will pick the pure Goldflakes from the hybrids, they produce both) Angels as they should be easier overall.
However for now, I think I’ll just stick to Bali Aquarich’s Majestic and Goldflake (I will pick the pure Goldflakes from the hybrids, they produce both) Angels as they should be easier overall.
bruno3047
Valuable Member
Live adult brine shrimp isn’t going to work. They’re too big. What you need to do is to get a hatch of baby brine shrimp and release it into the tank. I used 1/3 of a teaspoon for my 125. Unless he sees something that can fit in his mouth and is moving in an enticing manner, he’s not gonna eat. I haven’t read all of the posts so maybe someone has posted this already, but this is your best ticket to saving that fish. In the wild, these juveniles feed on microplankton. In your tank, the best substitute for microplankton is live baby brine shrimp. Good luck.
Last edited:
Zionas
5000 Club Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2020
- Messages
- 5,700
- Reaction score
- 3,569
That really makes me concerned if I consider a CB Regal as where I am live foods aren’t easy to get. I wonder if the CB Majestic, Gold Flake, Blue Lined need such feedings as juveniles.
bruno3047
Valuable Member
Anyone can hatch brine shrimp. You buy it on eBay and you hatch it in a 2 L Coke bottle with the top cut off. An air pump, a rigid tube and short piece of airline. Or you could just buy a hatch kit.
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
I am glad your regal started eating early on. That is always a good news.
My regal has grown fairly chunky at about a size of an US quarter now.
Currently he is going after biggest pieces of mysis when I feed (about 1/4 his size). Surprisingly he is able to do this even before my 3x 4inches+ tangs can get to them. So he is certainly used to the tank and can compete with other fishes that are much larger than him.
Unfortunately, he also started nipping at corals. Almost exclusively SPS corals…. Sometimes he would harass a frag to the point of where I would have no polyps extension for a day or more.
Attachments
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
My Regal did not go after baby brines. He completely ignored them even when they swim right in front of him. So while live food might help in some case, it is certainly not a requirement to getting CB regals to eat. At least in my own experience.
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
I’m not sure if it’s one of those Misbar. I think I saw some of the BA CB “misbar” regals being sold for $800+ on a online vendor that I frequent, so I doubt any would find their way to me at base price. Anyways this is the little guy
Attachments
bruno3047
Valuable Member
Bali Aquarich Designer Regal Angel EXPERT (Pygoplites Diacanthus)
Origin: Reef Compatibility: Care Level: Diet: Temperament: Approx Size: .75-1.25"
reefbeauties.com
bruno3047
Valuable Member
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
Yup there they are. With their hefty price tag.Bali Aquarich Designer Regal Angel EXPERT (Pygoplites Diacanthus)
Origin: Reef Compatibility: Care Level: Diet: Temperament: Approx Size: .75-1.25"reefbeauties.com
bruno3047
Valuable Member
But not $800+. Liveaquaria has them for $450. Big difference, wouldn’t you agree?
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
(BA) "Designer" Regal Angelfish - Saltwater Fish
Bali Aquarich is arguable the world's leader in marine ornamental aquaculture. Their ability to produce perfectly proportioned fish along with the scale of being able to produce large quantities is unmatched. The endeavor of breeding marine aquarium fish has been one that often produces many...
www.marinecollectors.com
these are the one I’m talking about from marine collectors. It seems other vendors got a hold of them. And for a MUCH MUCH more reasonable price.
Dennis2213
Community Member
He's stressed out, from being in a new tank also he might be getting bullied by the OG in the tank. Try mixing food with garlic for aquarium. This will really entice him. Also add a mirror to your tank this will distract the Original squad in your tank and take the attention off him. Leave it for a few days. Hell acclimate in no time.Almost 3 weeks ago today, I received a captive bred Bali aquarich regal angel from marine collectors. The little one is about the size of a US quarter and seems to be overall very healthy (swimming in and out of rock work all day and no visible disease symptoms). However I can not get him to eat anything that I prepare. I have tried focus feeding him (gently squirting food near him via a long pipette and or leave sinking food near his cave) with pellets, frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, chopped clam, sponge meal, nori (rubber banded to the rock), mussel on half shell, oyster eggs, frozen cyclopods, and various species live copepods. I have also tried mushing massticks into the rock work where he frequents. However non of this worked. He simply does not recognize that what I am feeding is food
I do have a bunch of other fishes in there with him including a purple tang, Achilles tang, hippo tang, a few anthias, a few clowns, and a yellow wrasse. He is not getting picked as other fish completely ignores him due to his tiny stature. Sometimes I even see him hanging out with anthias who comes down to relax in the rock work.
currently he is staying alive by picking at my rocks all day and I do see him pooping sometimes. However I am worried about his longevity as my tank was a dry start and 7 months simply does not produce enough biodiversity for him to live off of in the long terms.
If anyone have any experience in getting regals to eat I would love to hear what you did to succeed!
OP
OP
jrmailo
Active Member
He’s been eating for a while now (took 1 month and 3 days). This tread is still on going for other discussions.
That said, bigger fish was definitely part of the problem for sure. My regal was (and still is) smaller than the yellow part of my purple tang tail. Picture for reference
Attachments
Similar threads
