Regal Angel

[P.A.D]

One of my LFS has recently got in stock a small 3'' Regal Angel (Pygoplites diacanthus).

I am absolutely blown away by its beauty, but after much research I understand that they are rather delicate and difficult to keep.

Has anyone here had any experience of keeping them?

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=422

[SCOOB]

my favouritest fish in all the world.

first important thing to look out for!!!!

in that live aquaria link you will notice the fish has a grey neck. this means he has come from indonesia/phillopines. sadly this means it is quite likely to have been caught using cyanide thus wont last long. i've yet to hear of a success story with a phillipino one. the red sea/indian ocean variant tho has a bold yellow chest the same coulour as the rest of it. these don't have the same perishable tag with them.

as for keeping, mine is more than happy, eats everything that goes in the tank and quite a lot of stuff that stays there, softies and zoas are mere snacks. well some softies, xenia, pussey and bush coral are his favourites.

here's a couple of attempts at pics of mine, bugger never stays in front of the camera long enough.

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/monregal.JPG

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/monregal02.JPG

[P.A.D]

Hey Scoob, thanks for the reply. Those are spectacular photos you've taken there.

I've read the info about the chest colour and I'm sure, from what I can remember, that this specimen is the yellow chested variety. My tank contains mainly soft corals with a few LPS & SPS. Has yours done much damage to the softies.

Also I've read that they cannot be housed with any other Angelfish. I currently have a Flame angel in my tank, along with a Yellow tang & a Regal tang. Do you think they would be compatible ?

Phil.

[SCOOB]

mine has not touched any lps, not even sniffed at my sps but did totally devour a very large pussey coral, a very large batch of xenia (everybody reports this) and nips at the african bush coral i have but this grows so quickly you'd never notice. i added some red zoas the other day from maidstonemarines tank and he had finished them before they hit the sand bed :D :D he has not touched any sarcophytons, sinularias, discasomas, rhodactis, ricordias etc etc. he is an absolute model citizen imo.

as for mixing with other angels, it depends on the angel. i would think he would be more than fine with dwarf angels. a flame would be fine imo provided you have the space. i plan to add a flame one day. mine is also in with a yellow tang and a regal tang and they all get on fine. i have a few other more aggressive tangs and apart from the sohal giving chase once in a blue moon, he is fine with everything.

[LTD]

I've also recently added a Red Sea Regal Tang to my tank. Stunningly beautiful fish.

Mine has only been in a week, eats well enough and generally potters around. At the moment he is a bit reclusive as my YT gave him a bit of a welcome :( and pinned him into a corner for a while.

I'm also planning to add Dwarf Angels to the tank but wouldn't add another Large Angel.

[P.A.D]

Hmmm, I would love to get it, but the softie eating is concerning me somewhat. I have three large Pussey corals which I've grown from frags, aswell as various Xenias, so would hate to lose them.

Phoned a friend tonight whose daughter has one and apparently her's hasn't touched a single coral despite being in the tank for about 18 months. So I suppose it very much depends on the fish, afterall they are all individuals and no two will act the same. For instance, I was warned that my Flame angel would peck at corals but I've never witnessed this at all. Could possibly depend on how well fed they are.

Anyway, I think I will mull it over until the weekend then go and see if its still there on Saturday.

Cheers Phil.

[jimmy911]

what size do they reach in tanks they are beautiful
tony

[P.A.D]

what size do they reach in tanks they are beautiful
tony

They are reputed to grow to around 10 inches in the wild and possibly larger. However, a book that I have states that one documented speciemen grew to 5 inches over a seven year period whilst in capitivity.

I suppose it very much depends on how much space it has and the sort of diet it is provided with.

[SCOOB]

i certainly believe them to be the smaller of the large angel family. i reckon 5-7 inches tops, never seen one bigger but would love to stand corrected.

[P.A.D]

As of this weekend I am now the proud owner of a juvenile Regal angel. He is an absolute stonker and I'm thrilled to bits with him.

I was extremely careful how I acclimatised him, dripping water into the bag over several hours. I also left the main tank lights off, leaving just the actinics on so that he wouldn't get too stressed.

When he was released I kept a close watch to make sure the Yellow & Regal Tangs didn't give him a hard time, but after a little jostling they seem to have accepted him.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e142/phillipdodd2/REEF444.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e142/phillipdodd2/REEF440.jpg