Captive bred angelfish opinion

[Oredigger77]

Just to add to the confusion. I bought my CB regals through Marine Collectors. At that time they were selling them as Red Sea yellow bellies. After we paid for ours I got a call from Eliot at Marine Collectors and he told me that while he specifically paid for and ordered yellow bellies he had since discovered that BA was breeding both types and growing then out in the same tank. Since there was no way to distinguish the two at that age there was a chance that the fish could be either one. He has since changed the wording on his web page to reflect that they are just captive bred regals.

 

[i cant think]

So that must be why Biota only has them labelled as “Regal angelfish” and not a specific species. Still not willing to risk that 50/50 chance though.

 

[bruno3047]

Just to add to the confusion. I bought my CB regals through Marine Collectors. At that time they were selling them as Red Sea yellow bellies. After we paid for ours I got a call from Eliot at Marine Collectors and he told me that while he specifically paid for and ordered yellow bellies he had since discovered that BA was breeding both types and growing then out in the same tank. Since there was no way to distinguish the two at that age there was a chance that the fish could be either one. He has since changed the wording on his web page to reflect that they are just captive bred regals.

Sounds to me like these people need to get their act together. Seriously.

 

[i cant think]

Sounds to me like these people need to get their act together. Seriously.

Yeah, I think they should really be breeding/raising the two/three colours in seperate tanks to eachother. Especially since when young you don’t know what species they are.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, I think they should really be breeding/raising the two/three colours in seperate tanks to eachother. Especially since when young you don’t know what species they are.

They really should have started with that setup, I agree, but because of where they collected the broodstock from they might not be confident just yet on what the offspring will look like when grown.

My guess is that they will start doing this eventually, but it will probably take a few generations before they can say for certainty what you’re getting from the parents (i.e. both parents might show the yellow coloration or the grey coloration, but they might be carrying/passing on a gene for the other color - if that’s how it works for this species - so, they might not be able to guarantee what color the offspring will be for the next few generations).

Just speculation on my part, of course, but it would make sense to me if this was the case (because I really agree, if they had access to confirmed broodstock of the individual colors and chose to just dump them all into the same breeding tank regardless, that would be incredibly unwise from a business perspective).

 

[Oredigger77]

Yeah, I think they should really be breeding/raising the two/three colours in seperate tanks to eachother. Especially since when young you don’t know what species they are.

Yep, I totally agree and I wouldn't be surprised to see their procedure change soon since Eliot said he wouldn't be buying any more since he doesn't like the grey bellys. I think a lot of other people will be turned off by greys at that price too so BA will see less reorders.

 

[Oredigger77]

Just speculation on my part, of course, but it would make sense to me if this was the case (because I really agree, if they had access to confirmed broodstock of the individual colors and chose to just dump them all into the same breeding tank regardless, that would be incredibly unwise from a business perspective).

Well, from what I was told, they are bred seperatly but grown out together. Eliot was told they know which is which but since the only way they could tell is size it's certainly not 100% reliable.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Well, from what I was told, they are bred seperatly but grown out together. Eliot was told they know which is which but since the only way they could tell is size it's certainly not 100% reliable.

Yeah, that would be poor planning then.

 

[bruno3047]

Yeah, I think they should really be breeding/raising the two/three colours in seperate tanks to eachother. Especially since when young you don’t know what species they are.

It would make so much more sense to separate them and identify them according to their region. Red Sea Regal, Indian ocean Regal and Pacific Ocean Regal. I’m sure they realize that there would be a huge premium for Red Sea fish, or somewhat smaller premium for Indian ocean fish, and then just your base price for Pacific ocean fish. Or maybe they don’t realize it.

 

[Wildreefs]

They suck, avoid. About as fragile as any 3/4 inch wild angel or tang. Purely suck.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

They suck, avoid. About as fragile as any 3/4 inch wild angel or tang. Purely suck.

Can u pls share, how so? Vendor exp, breeder, or the fish that are on the market?

 

[i cant think]

They suck, avoid. About as fragile as any 3/4 inch wild angel or tang. Purely suck.

I’d probably say similar to this now. Just because it’s captive bred doesn’t mean it’s immune to all diseases or has a thicker slime coat. It just says you could be buying a fish that is more prone to disease than a healthy established mature specimen. My other issue with this specific species is how many come in and don’t eat properly or aren’t eating a healthy diet. It also says you could be buying a fish that could be a yellow belly or could be a VERY pricey grey belly.

 

[bruno3047]

I’d probably say similar to this now. Just because it’s captive bred doesn’t mean it’s immune to all diseases or has a thicker slime coat. It just says you could be buying a fish that is more prone to disease than a healthy established mature specimen. My other issue with this specific species is how many come in and don’t eat properly or aren’t eating a healthy diet. It also says you could be buying a fish that could be a yellow belly or could be a VERY pricey grey belly.

I agree 100%. I’ve read many narratives where buyers of these captive bred Regals are ecstatic that they’re eating flake. I don’t see how that’s a good thing because I don’t see how you could raise a healthy fish on flake food. It may be convenient, but it certainly isn’t the healthiest diet for this fish. Especially this fish. I’m not saying every one of those individuals was unsuccessful in weaning their fish over to a more healthy diet, but what if that’s the case? What if the fish never eats anything else? This fish’s peculiar eating habits go both ways, if you understand what I’m saying. Wild caught regals feed on micro plankton in the wild as part of their diet, for which newly hatched brine shrimp is an excellent substitute. Another comment I wanted to add about the captive bred Regals. From what I’ve read and seen, many of them, if not all of them, have misbarred stripes. Some people may like this. I don’t.

 

[i cant think]

I agree 100%. I’ve read many narratives where buyers of these captive bred Regals are ecstatic that they’re eating flake. I don’t see how that’s a good thing because I don’t see how you could raise a healthy fish on flake food. It may be convenient, but it certainly isn’t the healthiest diet for this fish. Especially this fish. I’m not saying every one of those individuals was unsuccessful in weaning their fish over to a more healthy diet, but what if that’s the case? What if the fish never eats anything else? This fish’s peculiar eating habits go both ways, if you understand what I’m saying. Wild caught regals feed on micro plankton in the wild as part of their diet, for which newly hatched brine shrimp is an excellent substitute. Another comment I wanted to add about the captive bred Regals. From what I’ve read and seen, many of them, if not all of them, have misbarred stripes. Some people may like this. I don’t.

The misbar pattern, I liked when it was a rarity but now it’s common I just feel like it’s getting a bit old. I prefer the misbar pattern in fish where it’s rare or uncommon, not where basically every specimen you see has a misbar. I totally get you though.

 

[PigFarmer]

I tossed a captive bread biota regal into a 200gal fish only tank. Was very small on arrivial and would only pick rocks for a month but is now eating frozen reef frenzy and mysis like a king fish

 

[bruno3047]

I tossed a captive bread biota regal into a 200gal fish only tank. Was very small on arrivial and would only pick rocks for a month but is now eating frozen reef frenzy and mysis like a king fish

I would be curious to know if it develops into a yellow belly or a gray belly. Maybe you can post a pic here when it starts to become apparent.

 

[najer]

Had mine for about a month now and it gets fed twice a day with everyone else, eats anything offered and grazes all day in my display refugium.
I guess we'll see what flavour it is as it grows.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Got one about a week ago. I feed once a day and leave masstick in her isolation box for her to pick at throughout the day. She's somewhat shy still and doesn't usually eat in front of me, but the food is gone when I come back from work.

I will say in terms of hardiness, when the store I work at ordered CB navarchus for the first time, the shipment was delayed for 40 hours and both were perfectly fine after that. Sample size of two, but that seems like a decent indication to me about their hardiness.

Of course, any younger fish should have a consistent supply of food, that's a no brainer, especially with grazers like angelfish. That's why people are making a big deal out of the captive breeding: the fish has to WANT to eat for that to work. That's why these companies are focusing primarily on the rarer and harder to keep species, because 1: they make more money and 2: they can have people find success with fish that are normally not easy to keep. I just missed out on the round of CB multibars that were floating around, really kicking myself about that after having this regal and seeing how she acts.

 

[bruno3047]

Had mine for about a month now and it gets fed twice a day with everyone else, eats anything offered and grazes all day in my display refugium.
I guess we'll see what flavour it is as it grows.

If I had to make a call right now I’d say that’s a gray belly. Pretty fish though.

 

[bruno3047]

Got one about a week ago. I feed once a day and leave masstick in her isolation box for her to pick at throughout the day. She's somewhat shy still and doesn't usually eat in front of me, but the food is gone when I come back from work.

I will say in terms of hardiness, when the store I work at ordered CB navarchus for the first time, the shipment was delayed for 40 hours and both were perfectly fine after that. Sample size of two, but that seems like a decent indication to me about their hardiness.

Of course, any younger fish should have a consistent supply of food, that's a no brainer, especially with grazers like angelfish. That's why people are making a big deal out of the captive breeding: the fish has to WANT to eat for that to work. That's why these companies are focusing primarily on the rarer and harder to keep species, because 1: they make more money and 2: they can have people find success with fish that are normally not easy to keep. I just missed out on the round of CB multibars that were floating around, really kicking myself about that after having this regal and seeing how she acts.

Same here. Looks like a gray belly. Pretty fish.