Tips for Getting Regal to Eat?

[Kengar]

Can anyone provide tips to help (try) to get a yellow belly regal to start eating? Had it since Wednesday and no luck so far. Trying mussels on half shell, fresh clams on half shell, PE mysis with garlic extract, Formala cubes (FII, Spirulina formular), Marine Cuisine, broccoli, nori. . . all with no luck.

[Grav]

Live Macro? Calurpa?

[davelin315]

Where do you have the fish? Copps is the resident expert and recommended to me (haven't gotten my hands on a regal yet, still trying) that I house it in dimly lit conditions with no competition. The hardest part about these guys is getting them to eat. Do a search for regal angel here and my name and see if you come across the thread where he described what to do.

 

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...;hl=regal+angel

[dandy7200]

Fresh clams on the half shell for 3 weeks in QT worked for me.

[scott711]

octopus, squid, mussel, scallop, shrimp, frozen cabbage, Pro V 100% vegetable food

Edited April 16, 2008 by scott711

[geofloors]

live blackworms, then switch to frozen brine and mysis after a few days.

 

 

George

[Kengar]

he's in 30g qt by himself. only ambient room lighting. still not eating. bought live blackworms and brine this pm; will try those tomorrow am.

[gregorfd]

I added mine straight to the display, and the other fish "taught" it how to eat out of the water column in about 5 days. Now eats anything that is dropped into the tank.

 

just offered as another perspective.

[Kengar]

I added mine straight to the display, and the other fish "taught" it how to eat out of the water column in about 5 days. Now eats anything that is dropped into the tank.

 

just offered as another perspective.

 

I've heard that others do the same thing, i.e., striaght to display. I might go that route if it doesn't respond in qt in a few more days. Given the size of the fish, it is quite mature. I think older fish have harder time adapting, particularly to the boring confines of qt, than younger fish. Getting him back to something slightly more akin to what it was used to may help.

[Brian Ward]

I've heard that others do the same thing, i.e., striaght to display. I might go that route if it doesn't respond in qt in a few more days. Given the size of the fish, it is quite mature. I think older fish have harder time adapting, particularly to the boring confines of qt, than younger fish. Getting him back to something slightly more akin to what it was used to may help.

 

Some angels are shy and have to become comfortable in their surroundings before they'll chase down food. My majestic took a while before he would chase down the mysis in QT - once I moved him to a larger tank, he went back to not chasing down the food for several days. now he's back to eating everything and even intimidates the trigger not sure if the regal is a special case or a particularly difficult fish ....

Edited April 17, 2008 by Brian Ward

[copps]

Kengar, how large is this fish? Keep in mind that regals are a difficult species to start, but specimens above about 5 or 6 inches become exponentially harder to adapt to a captive diet.

 

A couple things to keep in mind. Beware of ANY level of ammonia in the QT. Ammonia is a huge QT killer and is often the reason why many people fail. Also be sure the fish has places to hide and feel secure... stress needs to be lessened by all means possible.

 

Try as many different fresh bivalves as they have at the market... I've had certain angels show feeding responses to only certain things. At first all you need is calories in the fish in some form... and worry about long term nutrition later.

 

Where did you purchase the fish from? An angel can only go so long from the Ocean without feeding, so it's often good to know how fresh from the ocean it is. Again though, large regals should be left alone, along with certain other species and genera that are just so set in their ways at a larger size that they seldom adapt to a captive diet.

 

Good luck though... the best thing about having the fish isolated is that there is no competition for the food... but keep in mind this does not have to be a bare bones QT... it could be an established system with no other fish.

 

One other thing... are you treating with copper or any other meds?

 

Copps

[copps]

Update?

[Kengar]

Copps,

 

Thanks for your input. (I haven't checked here for a few days, hence the lack of earlier acknowledgment.) I put the regal in display per earlier post, thinking it would be more comfortable there. It perked up for a few days and was picking at sponge/algae. Unfortunately, however, the ich on PBT/in system spread to him, so he's back in QT -- now treatment tank. (I'm back to ich-duty re main tank as per other posting here.) To minimize overloading the treatment tank, I have sold the PBT (with full disclosure re ich, of course, and at substantial discount), and, if at all possible, am going to put just the regal, tomini tang, and picasso clowns in treatment tank.

 

Now here's the big question: copper or hypo? How well will a regal tolerate copper? Is hypo as effective as copper? Preferred? Maybe I should go to hypo since, if I recall correctly, it is far easier on the fish.

 

Re size of the fish, it is clearly mature at approx 6 inches, which is perhaps why it is more difficult to get to switch. Re where I bought it, Aquarium One -- before they even put it in their system.

 

Again, thank you for your input, and antying else you have to offer will be appreciated.

 

Regards

 

Ken

[scott711]

Ken,

 

I have been reading the reefcentral threads 80+ pages and they mention that treating with copper is detrimental to angels.

[copps]

Ken, very rarely and only under certain circumstances will ich kill a fish. Most of the time ich is opportunistic, and the fish die from secondary infections and other stresses. If a fish is fat, calm, and eating, they will usually shake ich.

 

The main issue you have is that the regal is on the larger end. Getting it to feed should be priority number one... that fish needs calories fast or it's a lost cause. Having all of those fish in a QT is a big stress on the regal.

 

I only use Cupramine copper, and have used it for years even with Centropyge angels. I've also used it under hyposalinity, and continue to this day... don't worry about it... I'm even using it with my clarion angel, in addition to antibiotics.

 

The biggest concern is keeping an eye on ammonia... this could creep up within hours and do in your fish in the hospital tank. Use this product to be sure...

 

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pa...moniaAlert.html

 

Without seeing the fish it's tough to tell what to do exactly... much of these circumstances require judgment calls based on experience, and is one of the reasons regals should be left to those with years of angelfish experience.

 

Has the fish eaten any prepared food? Again, I would buy a few of every fresh bivalve your supermarket has... if this fish does not eat soon it will be done, and treating for any disease will be a waste of time... the good news is that the fish should be relatively fresh from the ocean seeing as how you bought it straight from the shipment... and yellow belly regals do not sit too long at wholesalers nowadays...

 

Hope that helps...

 

John

[Kengar]

Thanks, Copps. The QT has been running for a while with a lot of filter on/in it, so bacterial seeding should be good. Nevertheless, I will be checking ammo regaularly and will pick up one of those gauges. As far as number of fish, I'm willing to sell the tomini tang; the picassos, on the other hand, are VERY unusual pattern, so they stay. QT is a 30.

 

Re feeding, I agree re needing calories, which is why I've been trying so many things. It becomes dicey, though, to put food into QT if it doesn't get eaten, since that will send ammo up. Plus, in a week, we're having twins, so ability to monitor may be limited. Ack!