New Regal Angel - Dilemma

KevinC

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Thought I'd give an update. I kept the regal in the quarantine tank for a couple more days and monitored closely. The fin rot was slowly getting better but the fish would not eat anything- I must've tried a dozen different types of food and feeding methods. It showed no interest whatsoever. At that point, my gut was telling me it needed rocks and sand to graze on algae and pods and whatnot. I didn't feel good putting live rock and sand in the quarantine tank, so I took the risk and moved the regal to the display tank about 48 hours ago.

Hes been hiding in the rocks, but seems to be getting less and less scared by the hour. I've seen him pick at a couple of spots on the rocks and sand, but he's still not interested in commercial food. The fin rot is getting better and the two or three white spots that he had before are gone. I have noticed some white cotton-likengrowth in the gill openings under his mouth. I think it was there before but I couldn't see if because I keep my quarantine tank on the floor and couldn't get a view from underneath. It's very difficult to get a photo but it looks alskot like dead tissue and/or fungus.

I'm going to keep an eye on him and make sure it doesn't get worse. I'm considering treating with pimafix & melafix at half dosage rate for the fungus/infection as I've done that before in the display tank with no ill effects to the other fish, inverts or corals. It has worked well for me in the past.

Anyway, I feel like I made the right call by moving him to the main tank. At least he has the opportunity to graze and is getting the benefits of the larger water volume and stable water parameters. If I had suspected ich or velvet, I wouldn't have done it. And if his condition starts to deteriorate, I can always get him out and put him back in the quarantine tank. Thanks everyone for the input. Crossing my fingers that this guy can survive. Never buying from Pete's again.
Not really the fish stores problem honestly.... as someone who have went thru many regals, it’s very weird. Some are then stop, some never ate, some ate and spit it back out. All in all, getting them to eat is the hardest unless it’s a proven established one in aquarium
 
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NigeltheBold

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They sent me a sick fish... It already had fin rot and fin fungus when it got to me. There's no way it developed those problems overnight.
 
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NigeltheBold

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Unfortunately he died about a week after moving him to the display tank. He just wouldn't eat anything... he hid in the rocks and never really came out. I saw him picking at rocks/sand a couple of times, so I had some hope, but I don't think he was getting enough in his belly to help him fight off whatever ailments he had. Luckily, the other fish in the tank didn't pick up anything from him and everyone is healthy at this point. I may give another regal a try, but if I get another one that won't eat, it's just not worth spending the time/money on. And it's not cool to keep taking fish from the ocean that just won't survive in captivity.
 

Snoopy 67

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You can try stuffing a shell of a plate coral with clams or shrimp next time you have a finnicky eater.
 

Coralsdaily

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Instead of risking the DT with a disease that you may not be able to treat, make your QT more comfortable with rocks and light sand. If the fin rot is getting better and general health looks stable I would focus on getting it healthy and eating first before going into meds. 20g QT is a good size home for this fish for now and much easier to water change to get clean water
+1 on this, I’d try to make the QT a nice little spa if you can to pamper the fish. Get some rock with some microfauna on it from your DT for the fish to nibble on.
 

Eric Cohen

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You got any pic's of the fish?

I am not sure I would trust paraguard to get the job done. It's basically a disinfectant. Pretty weak sauce.
I actually like paraguard as a daily dose in the qt system as well in stronger doses for dips....but yes it needs to be used in conjunction with other treatments:).
 

Eric Cohen

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Thought I'd give an update. I kept the regal in the quarantine tank for a couple more days and monitored closely. The fin rot was slowly getting better but the fish would not eat anything- I must've tried a dozen different types of food and feeding methods. It showed no interest whatsoever. At that point, my gut was telling me it needed rocks and sand to graze on algae and pods and whatnot. I didn't feel good putting live rock and sand in the quarantine tank, so I took the risk and moved the regal to the display tank about 48 hours ago.

Hes been hiding in the rocks, but seems to be getting less and less scared by the hour. I've seen him pick at a couple of spots on the rocks and sand, but he's still not interested in commercial food. The fin rot is getting better and the two or three white spots that he had before are gone. I have noticed some white cotton-likengrowth in the gill openings under his mouth. I think it was there before but I couldn't see if because I keep my quarantine tank on the floor and couldn't get a view from underneath. It's very difficult to get a photo but it looks alskot like dead tissue and/or fungus.

I'm going to keep an eye on him and make sure it doesn't get worse. I'm considering treating with pimafix & melafix at half dosage rate for the fungus/infection as I've done that before in the display tank with no ill effects to the other fish, inverts or corals. It has worked well for me in the past.

Anyway, I feel like I made the right call by moving him to the main tank. At least he has the opportunity to graze and is getting the benefits of the larger water volume and stable water parameters. If I had suspected ich or velvet, I wouldn't have done it. And if his condition starts to deteriorate, I can always get him out and put him back in the quarantine tank. Thanks everyone for the input. Crossing my fingers that this guy can survive. Never buying from Pete's again.
Appreciate the update...Regals have always been challenging. I remember a good friend Mitch from Bowling Green, Kentucky who owned a fish store named Fishy Business....he was famous for having successfully kept regals....it's no easy task. Mitch also invented a cylinder aquarium that was on a rotating base, slowly spinning all the time. Of course if you can get your fish like this from companies (like mine) that hold their fish 30 days before shipping, your success rate on these more sensitive fish will go way up.
 

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