Captive bred angelfish opinion

[Wildreefs]

Are the captive bred angels I am seeing (regals, venustus etc) which are about the size of a nickel really hardy when they are that size? I imagine multiple feedings are need a day similar to seahorses ?

 

[blaxsun]

No idea, but I imagine lots of tiny feedings (calanus, brine) would be applicable. I'm also assuming they won't ship quite that small, but I could be wrong.

 

[bruno3047]

Just be aware that you’re going to be buying a gray belly regal angel. Not a yellow belly. Big difference in appearance and in value.

 

[i cant think]

Just be aware that you’re going to be buying a gray belly regal angel. Not a yellow belly. Big difference in appearance and in value.

The regal angels they’ve captive bred are actually Pygoplites diacanthus flavescens. So they will have the yellow belly but are also the brightest of the three colours.

As for the OP’s question. These are supposed to be trained onto eating a variety of prepared foods, pellets, frozen ect… however, pellets alone cannot suffice as a diet for any fish (Even Clownfish, Gobies, Blennies ect) so it’s best to go for the varied or frozen and herbivorous diet (Personally if I have a tunicate or sponge suitable tank then I would propagate that for food for the Angel as it is their natural diet).

As for how often you should feed, since the angels you’re seeing are the harder species, yes they need 3 times a day feeding unless you have plenty of grazing areas throughout the day.

 

[bruno3047]

The regal angels they’ve captive bred are actually Pygoplites diacanthus flavescens. So they will have the yellow belly but are also the brightest of the three colours.

As for the OP’s question. These are supposed to be trained onto eating a variety of prepared foods, pellets, frozen ect… however, pellets alone cannot suffice as a diet for any fish (Even Clownfish, Gobies, Blennies ect) so it’s best to go for the varied or frozen and herbivorous diet (Personally if I have a tunicate or sponge suitable tank then I would propagate that for food for the Angel as it is their natural diet).

As for how often you should feed, since the angels you’re seeing are the harder species, yes they need 3 times a day feeding unless you have plenty of grazing areas throughout the day.

Says Pygoplites Diacanthus only. Doesn’t say anything about the sub species Flavescens. In addition, someone who had inquired directly with the company was told that they are the gray belly variety. And he posted that on here in a recent thread. Maybe you can find it.

Regal Angelfish SM

Pygoplites diacanthus - The Regal Angelfish is a favorite among reef aquarists for its beauty and temperament, but wild caught Regal Angelfish are difficult to feed and keep in captivity. These captive bred Regal Angelfish are better adapted to life in captivity than their wild caught cousins...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[i cant think]

Says Pygoplites Diacanthus only. Doesn’t say anything about the sub species Flavescens. In addition, someone who had inquired directly with the company was told that they are the gray belly variety. And he posted that on here in a recent thread. Maybe you can find it.

Regal Angelfish SM

Pygoplites diacanthus - The Regal Angelfish is a favorite among reef aquarists for its beauty and temperament, but wild caught Regal Angelfish are difficult to feed and keep in captivity. These captive bred Regal Angelfish are better adapted to life in captivity than their wild caught cousins...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

Here’s a reef builder’s article on them:
https://reefbuilders.com/2022/02/15/a-close-look-at-captive-bred-regal-angelfish/

“One of the first companies in the U.S. to get their hands on the cultured regal angelfish from Bali is marine collectors who shared these close up images of the gorgeous baby Pygoplites and boy are they cute! These F2 cultured regal angelfish are the Indian Ocean, yellow belly subspecies Pygoplites diacanthus flavescens which is reflected in the dominant golden yellow color of these aquacultured angelfish.”

Also, I will add that it doesn’t say they get a blue/grey belly either, it only says about the eyespot and patterns.

 

[bruno3047]

The regal angels they’ve captive bred are actually Pygoplites diacanthus flavescens. So they will have the yellow belly but are also the brightest of the three colours.

As for the OP’s question. These are supposed to be trained onto eating a variety of prepared foods, pellets, frozen ect… however, pellets alone cannot suffice as a diet for any fish (Even Clownfish, Gobies, Blennies ect) so it’s best to go for the varied or frozen and herbivorous diet (Personally if I have a tunicate or sponge suitable tank then I would propagate that for food for the Angel as it is their natural diet).

As for how often you should feed, since the angels you’re seeing are the harder species, yes they need 3 times a day feeding unless you have plenty of grazing areas throughout the day.

And these are the other captive bred Regal Angelfish sellers. As you can see, they also do not specify the sub species Flavescens for the yellow belly variety exclusive to the Red Sea and the Maldives/Indian ocean.

Saltwater Fish for Sale | Buy Marine Aquarium Fish | Marine Collectors

Handpicked Marine Life for the true marine aquarist! The online shop for healthy, quality saltwater pets. We specialize in quarantine, hand-selected healthy fish, and the rare, one of a kind fish for the hobbyist and industry professional.

www.marinecollectors.com

 

[bruno3047]

Here’s a reef builder’s article on them:
https://reefbuilders.com/2022/02/15/a-close-look-at-captive-bred-regal-angelfish/

“One of the first companies in the U.S. to get their hands on the cultured regal angelfish from Bali is marine collectors who shared these close up images of the gorgeous baby Pygoplites and boy are they cute! These F2 cultured regal angelfish are the Indian Ocean, yellow belly subspecies Pygoplites diacanthus flavescens which is reflected in the dominant golden yellow color of these aquacultured angelfish.”

Also, I will add that it doesn’t say they get a blue/grey belly either, it only says about the eyespot and patterns.

Reef Builders is an observing third-party. If I don’t see the company that’s getting my $575-$675 specify Flavesens sub species, I’m going to assume that they are just a plain regal Angelfish.

 

[bruno3047]

Here’s a reef builder’s article on them:
https://reefbuilders.com/2022/02/15/a-close-look-at-captive-bred-regal-angelfish/

“One of the first companies in the U.S. to get their hands on the cultured regal angelfish from Bali is marine collectors who shared these close up images of the gorgeous baby Pygoplites and boy are they cute! These F2 cultured regal angelfish are the Indian Ocean, yellow belly subspecies Pygoplites diacanthus flavescens which is reflected in the dominant golden yellow color of these aquacultured angelfish.”

Also, I will add that it doesn’t say they get a blue/grey belly either, it only says about the eyespot and patterns.

By the way. At the size that these angelfish are when the breeders sell them, the regals are always yellow belly. The gray belly develops after they reach one and a half to 2 inch size.

 

[i cant think]

Reef Builders is an observing third-party. If I don’t see the company that’s getting my $575-$675 specify Flavesens sub species, I’m going to assume that they are just a plain regal Angelfish.

Although plain regal angelfish could be any of them. Also the subspecies was a relatively new addition to the genus pygoplites so they may not have added it. I’d be rather annoyed if I bought a CB regal for an rather big price just to have it become a grey belly P. diacanthus. I’ve heard P. diacanthus flavescens is easier to breed so I assume that it’s that and not a grey belly.

 

[bruno3047]

Although plain regal angelfish could be any of them. Also the subspecies was a relatively new addition to the genus pygoplites so they may not have added it. I’d be rather annoyed if I bought a CB regal for an rather big price just to have it become a grey belly P. diacanthus. I’ve heard P. diacanthus flavescens is easier to breed so I assume that it’s that and not a grey belly.

I noted that on here recently in a thread. That many people were plopping down $600 for a Regal and they had no indication that it was a yellow belly. That’s when somebody interjected into the thread that he had inquired directly with Biota and they told him they were the gray belly variety. I tried looking for my thread post notification but I can’t seem to find it. It was a recent thread within the last week or so.

 

[i cant think]

I noted that on here recently in a thread. That many people were plopping down $600 for a Regal and they had no indication that it was a yellow belly. That’s when somebody interjected into the thread that he had inquired directly with Biota and they told him they were the gray belly variety. I tried looking for my thread post notification but I can’t seem to find it. It was a recent thread within the last week or so.

Do you remember the name? I may be able to bump it for you

 

[bruno3047]

I know a lot about Regals because I raised one from about an inch and a half to 2 inches that was wild caught. And I did a lot of research because I wanted to make sure that I was getting what I paid for. A yellow belly Regal.

 

[bruno3047]

This is my wild caught yellow belly Regal that I owned for three years.

 

[i cant think]

This is my wild caught yellow belly Regal that I owned for three years.

That was a beautiful specimen! I’d love a regal angelfish but after reading some more I think I’d try grab a wild caught instead of a CB. Did you see any differences between yellow bellied and the grey bellied when it was growing?

 

[bruno3047]

A lot of people pay the big money for those captive bred Regals because wild caught Regals have such a terrible reputation for not eating. From my experience, if you manage to get your hands on a wild caught 1 1/2 to 2 inch yellow belly Regal, which will run you about $300, there is almost zero chance that fish will ignore newly hatched brine shrimp. Virtually no chance. Mine used to go nuts for them. He was so enthusiastic for them, that it was easy to then wean him over to Hikari Marine S pellets

 

[bruno3047]

That was a beautiful specimen! I’d love a regal angelfish but after reading some more I think I’d try grab a wild caught instead of a CB. Did you see any differences between yellow bellied and the grey bellied when it was growing?

The only gray belly regal that I ever owned was a 5 inch specimen that was shipped to me in error by liveaquaria. I had ordered a small yellow belly, and they sent me a large gray belly with one eye bulged out. They were obviously just trying to get rid of it, hoping they could just dump it on somebody.

 

[bruno3047]

If I was going to be in the market for a yellow bellied Regal, I wouldn’t be afraid to order from liveaquaria, but they have not had small yellow bellied regals in stock for quite some time.

 

[Flame2hawk]

I checked in with Biota and they stated the following about captive bred regal offered:
Matthew Pedersen of Reef2Rainforest magazine said in the comments section of recent article on topic that it is likely the yellow chested variety. But he does also mention in one comment that the parents are from a location that could have genes from both yellow chested and gray varieties, but he's fairly certain they are the yellow chested variety.

I suppose only time will tell with absolute certainty….

 

[bruno3047]

I checked in with Biota and they stated the following about captive bred regal offered:
Matthew Pedersen of Reef2Rainforest magazine said in the comments section of recent article on topic that it is likely the yellow chested variety. But he does also mention in one comment that the parents are from a location that could have genes from both yellow chested and gray varieties, but he's fairly certain they are the yellow chested variety.

I suppose only time will tell with absolute certainty….

So you inquired directly with the breeder/importer, and the breeder/importer referred you to a comment from a magazine editor? A third party? Who then states that they are “likely“ yellow belly Regals. That’s rich. Doesn’t exactly breed a lot of confidence that they’re being forthright and honest. From my perspective, if they were breeding/importing yellow belly Regals, they’d be shouting it from the rooftops. Not referring you to some magazine editor who says that they “likely” are the yellow belly variety. That is borderline comedy. Except that if I was going to plop down $575-$650 for a Regal, I’d like to know ahead of time what I was buying. Gray belly or yellow belly. At that price, I would have no interest in a gray belly regal.