New to me Yellow Belly Regal Angel and have questions

[JJKK]

I picked up this 5" yellow belly Regal Angel from another R2R member on Tuesday. He is doing relatively well. Has been swimming openly in my tank without any other fish bothering him. I knew he ate zoas, which is why he was forsale. I am absolutely okay with the trade of this beautiful fish for the zoas currently in my tank. The previous reefer mentioned that this guy also ate Masstick.

I have tried live black worms, frozen PE mysis, PE Pellets, Sustainable Aquatic pellets, Cobalt spirulina flakes, nori soaked in Selcon and none has been taken so far. I did see him started picking on zoas yesterday and today. I also saw he had white stringy poop hanging out yesterday. I also added Masstick yesterday and they were all gone but not sure if it was the Regal Angel or the other fish that ate it.

So questions:

How do you treat internal parasites on a fish that isn't eating anything but zoas?
How long can this fish be sustained by only eating zoas?
Any other thing to try feeding-wise besides going out to get a clam, oyster or mussel. If it worked for you, did you freeze it and toss it in the tank or did you freeze then thaw first?

Thanks for any answers. I do hope that this one will make it. Pics of the getaway after nipping at the Magician zoas.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi

First thought that comes to mind is how long prior owner have it. Also, see what has been feeding. I would start there

 

[falconut]

I purchased a 4"-5" blue bellied regal a while back from my LFS. It was slightly eating brine & mysis at the LFS. But, would only eat zoas for me. He looked perfect but passed after around 2 months. Eventually he stopped eating zoas shortly before dying. So, I can say mine lasted 2 months without really eating, if that helps. Good luck with yours, beautiful fish.

 

[JJKK]

Hi

First thought that comes to mind is how long prior owner have it. Also, see what has been feeding. I would start there

The previous owner had it for about 3 weeks. One of those was in the sump. He said Masstick is what was eaten. Which is why I got Masstick. I suck at making it as they break apart pretty quickly in the tank and have not stayed stuck on the glass. So, I put it right next to the zoas that he has been picking on.

The next batch of Masstick, I will use less water.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Do you know if he happened to QT or FW dip. And any signs of white spots or,other irregularities?

Gorgeous fish

 

[JJKK]

The guy said it was treated for internal parasites. Not sure what method of QT. I will text him to find out.

No white spots. Thanks.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I would try to find out as much as you can and go from there. This is one of the more difficult fish to keep, the more you know the better. Just as a thought what size tank is he in, environment is always important.

The white poop could be parasites or just stress. That can be handles with food soaked in meds but first they need to eat.

Sounds like so far you did good offering food including black worms. You can try clam or mussels, I feed that at least 2 times a week. They should be frozen first. Paul b has a short section on how to feed them you can search for. I would also suggest if able get some LRS reef frenzie or other meaty mix to give a good variety.

Like you mentioned once the food supply is gone you will need something as back up.

Hopefully someone else may have some other ideas.

 

[outerbank]

Try cutting some bay scallops to about medium pellet size. That's a beautiful fish. I would recommend placing him in a QTank with bare bottom and offer the small scallop "pellets" a few at a time. He will probably start eating them after they fall to the tank bottom. It can be hard to teach a larger fish new eating habits.

 

[JJKK]

I would try to find out as much as you can and go from there. This is one of the more difficult fish to keep, the more you know the better. Just as a thought what size tank is he in, environment is always important.

The white poop could be parasites or just stress. That can be handles with food soaked in meds but first they need to eat.

Sounds like so far you did good offering food including black worms. You can try clam or mussels, I feed that at least 2 times a week. They should be frozen first. Paul b has a short section on how to feed them you can search for. I would also suggest if able get some LRS reef frenzie or other meaty mix to give a good variety.

Like you mentioned once the food supply is gone you will need something as back up.

Hopefully someone else may have some other ideas.

Didn't know that fish can have white stringy poop from stress. Did a search and scan through the thread started by Lasse. I've personally have seen fish that are still in my tank that had white stringy poop. I have never medicated my fish tank and they are still around. So, hopefully not internal parasites. Will keep an eye out. Thanks.

 

[Fishnut]

I would try buying small fresh clams. Freeze them and then open them up and slice a few small thin pieces of the meat off. Turn off power heads and try to sink the food in the area the angel hangs out. Once it starts eating the clam start soaking pellets in the clam juice and feed at the same time as fresh meat. Unfortunately regals imported this big have a poor survival rates. I wish you luck.

 

[JJKK]

I would try buying small fresh clams. Freeze them and then open them up and slice a few small thin pieces of the meat off. Turn off power heads and try to sink the food in the area the angel hangs out. Once it starts eating the clam start soaking pellets in the clam juice and feed at the same time as fresh meat. Unfortunately regals imported this big have a poor survival rates. I wish you luck.

Thanks. I got a frozen clam and I opened it up about 120 deg(keeping both shelves). He took a couple of nip at the frozen clam. But than I saw him taking a couple of bites out of one of my green indo torch as well as an acan.

Now I am stress. I don't mind the zoas and acans, but I got a holy grail torch, an Aussie gold, dragon soul as well as an expensive skittle torch.

If he starts eating clams and oysters, and then pellets, would he leave the torches alone in the future?

 

[Pdash]

Thanks. I got a frozen clam and I opened it up about 120 deg(keeping both shelves). He took a couple of nip at the frozen clam. But than I saw him taking a couple of bites out of one of my green indo torch as well as an acan.

Now I am stress. I don't mind the zoas and acans, but I got a holy grail torch, an Aussie gold, dragon soul as well as an expensive skittle torch.

If he starts eating clams and oysters, and then pellets, would he leave the torches alone in the future?

If he is eating them now I doubt he will stop. sorry my friend

 

[JJKK]

Been monitoring today and he is still grazing on the zoas. Didn't see him nip any of the torches yet. I did notice that the 2 times he took a chunk out of the indo green torch yesterday, he went immediately to the cleaner shrimp to get his mouth checked out. Not sure if it was stinging him some how.

That specific torch that he nipped has opened up all day and I couldn't tell that it was bitten by the regal angel(except that I witnessed it last night and there were green tips floating in my tank). Hope it was just a curious nip and he didn't really like it.

He did polish off the clam with the Copperband last night/this morning. Will see.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Wow, he is eating through your tank and you seem fine with it. Realistic expectations are key, and so far it seems like you knew what he would nibble on and are okay with it. I respect that. Keep in mind all your zoas and LPS are fair game, including the gold torch.

Angels can be difficult to get eating, but once you do they are as hardy as any other fish out there. Live brine has worked for me, as well as nori, and blended assortment of seafood. Something else you can try is getting live little neck clams ($.70/ each) and see if he will eat those. Do not cook them, just throw half in shell and all while opening up the other half. I really prefer getting fish eating in QT. In your display it is very easy to go overboard with food just trying to find something he will eat besides coral.

 

[JJKK]

This is kinda like those before and after pic of the seaside town before the hurricane came through pics:

I moved the gold hammer away just so he doesn't accidentally nibble on it and acquire the taste. But the Magician Zoa colony is pretty much devasted. The red zoas(forgot name) are next. I understood that this fish ate zoas from the previous owner. Since this is my 3rd attempt at successfully keeping this fish in my tank, I was willing to take the risk. But if torches are going to be eaten, I will have to find a FOWLR buyer for this guy.

He is eating the littleneck clam that I got yesterday. I do freeze them first to make sure no additional bacteria get into the system. My hope is that I can keep his belly full and then the zoas and LPS don't look as appetizing.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

IME you don't have to freeze them. I have yet to introduce ANYTHING negative from the little neck clams. That definitely does not mean it is impossible, and I might just be very lucky, but based on where they are harvested I do not feel it is an issue. I find these little guys very interesting and put 1/2 dozen - one dozen in my tank. Either my clown trigger or harlequin tusk is eating them. One found a way to escape detection for over a year!!! Which tells me they can absolutely survive at the temperatures in our reef. I do special order mine, so as soon as they come in the butcher wraps them up for me to pickup. They do not sit in the display tank.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

I have a RS regal that is thriving. First thing I noticed is the white spots and cloudy eye in the photo you posted. Is that the glass or is the fish displaying this when you look? Also fresh clams and oysters are the way to get them interested in eating from my past experience. Let me know

 

[OrionN]

I only successfully keep Regal when I buy them small.
The conventional wisdom is at that age they are fairly fixed in their feeding habits. Best of luck.
I also notice the cloudy eye on the first picture.

 

[JJKK]

The cloudy eye on the first pic is from the glass. He has clear, dark, zoa-eating eyes.

Put Masstick in the clam shell and he hovers over it and looking but didn't take a bite at it. Will try raw oyster next.

 

[Fishnut]

I am glad to hear he is eating. Sorry to here that he is eating your corals. I have two yellow belly regals and both eat anything I put in the tank. One eats corals and the other doesn't touch any. the one wiped out; zoas, dunkins, sinularia, torch, montiporas, and chalice."So far" has not bothered my hammers or pocillopora. I can't add anything new to try because he goes right to it and will even pull the frag plug out of where I placed it in the live rock. I had to settle for the fish of my dreams and have the reef of my dreams in another tank.