Captive bred juvenile Regal angels not eating

[jrmailo]

Almost 3 weeks ago today, I received a captive bred Bali aquarich regal angel from marine collectors. The little one is about the size of a US quarter and seems to be overall very healthy (swimming in and out of rock work all day and no visible disease symptoms). However I can not get him to eat anything that I prepare. I have tried focus feeding him (gently squirting food near him via a long pipette and or leave sinking food near his cave) with pellets, frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, chopped clam, sponge meal, nori (rubber banded to the rock), mussel on half shell, oyster eggs, frozen cyclopods, and various species live copepods. I have also tried mushing massticks into the rock work where he frequents. However non of this worked. He simply does not recognize that what I am feeding is food

I do have a bunch of other fishes in there with him including a purple tang, Achilles tang, hippo tang, a few anthias, a few clowns, and a yellow wrasse. He is not getting picked as other fish completely ignores him due to his tiny stature. Sometimes I even see him hanging out with anthias who comes down to relax in the rock work.

currently he is staying alive by picking at my rocks all day and I do see him pooping sometimes. However I am worried about his longevity as my tank was a dry start and 7 months simply does not produce enough biodiversity for him to live off of in the long terms.

If anyone have any experience in getting regals to eat I would love to hear what you did to succeed!

 

[jrmailo]

IMHO, I believe that what made him stop eating prepared food in the first place was the stress from him getting separated from the rest of his broods.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Can be a challenge when placed in a new tank after transfer.
Try brine shrimp, live brine shrimp or masstick food

 

[jrmailo]

Can be a challenge when placed in a new tank after transfer.
Try brine shrimp, live brine shrimp or masstick food

I’ve tried frozen brine shrimp and massticks. I am planning on purchasing live brine or black worms if the situation doesn’t improve

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve tried frozen brine shrimp and massticks. I am planning on purchasing live brine or black worms if the situation doesn’t improve

Both of those are good enticers.
Assure he is not being intimidated by other occupants.

 

[jrmailo]

Both of those are good enticers.
Assure he is not being intimidated by other occupants.

The way it seems right now is that he is less intimidated by them and more toward getting out competed by the others. Since he doesn’t recognize what I am feeding as food, he’s not going after any of it even when focus fed. He is even outcompeted by hermits and snails on masssticks mushed into the rocks unfortunately.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The way it seems right now is that he is less intimidated by them and more toward getting out competed by the other. Since he doesn’t recognize what I am feeding is food, he’s not going after any of it even when focus feeding. He is even outcompeted by hermits and snails on masssticks mushed into the rocks.

Acclimation box may be beneficial

 

[LPS Bum]

You might try attaching some clam or muscle to a dead coral skeleton, with a rubber band. I’ve seen that work well. The issue will be giving the Regal time to eat it without the other fish getting it first.

Can you move it to a cycled QT tank to allow it to settle and eat without competition?

 

[jrmailo]

Acclimation box may be beneficial

Yes this is my biggest mistake. I let him out too early in hope that he will acclimated to my tank faster.

 

[jrmailo]

You might try attaching some clam or muscle to a dead coral skeleton, with a rubber band. I’ve seen that work well. The issue will be giving the Regal time to eat it without the other fish getting it first.

Can you move it to a cycled QT tank to allow it to settle and eat without competition?

I had tried putting in mussle on a half shell but he did not seem interested. I think his small size might be the biggest issue to this approach (he is smaller than even the smallest clam I can find at groceries store).

i have been wanting to bring him out into a qt tank/acclimation box. But I have not figured out a way to reliably catch him. Since he does not want prepared food, I cannot trap him. And I can not catch him with a net because he will run to the smallest crevices as soon as any large object next to him.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I had tried putting in mussle on a half shell but he did not seem interested. I think his small size might be the biggest issue to this approach (he is smaller than even the smallest clam I can find at groceries store).

i have been wanting to bring him out into a qt tank/acclimation box. But I have not figured out a way to reliably catch him. Since he does not want prepared food, I cannot trap him. And I can not catch him with a net because he will run to the smallest crevices as soon as any large object next to him.

Clam is what they prefer

 

[jrmailo]

Clam is what they prefer

I see. I will try that tomorrow!

 

[Oredigger77]

How large are the pellets you're feeding? My regals are still on the food they were eating from marine collectors and then I'm adding in different types on top. They do seem to have trouble understanding the bigger pieces are food.

You may want to try mixing in some of their tiny pellets in with the food for the other fish. Mine won't swim to the surface to eat but once they realize food is in the water they scour the bottom looking for it. Some small pellets may make it by your larger fish and be what they recognize as food.

 

[Tamberav]

Hope you can get him to eat soon. Beautiful little guy.

This thread is helpful that perhaps these guys should be conditioned and grown out before going into a big tank with lots of competition. Seem their tiny mouth may be a challenge among hungry tank mates.

I would like one some time so that’s good to know. I am growing out a baby marine betta from biota. So tiny and very shy so was worried about competition.

 

[jrmailo]

How large are the pellets you're feeding? My regals are still on the food they were eating from marine collectors and then I'm adding in different types on top. They do seem to have trouble understanding the bigger pieces are food.

You may want to try mixing in some of their tiny pellets in with the food for the other fish. Mine won't swim to the surface to eat but once they realize food is in the water they scour the bottom looking for it. Some small pellets may make it by your larger fish and be what they recognize as food.

Yes I am using the 3 types of small pellets given to me by marine collectors! So the regal should somewhat recognize this food.
I had completely given up feeding at the water surface, and instead I am feeding near where he likes to hang out during the day. I usually mix and soak the 3 small pellets type with hikari seaweed extreme, frozen cyclops, frozen brine, and chopped clams in selcon. I let the mix sit for about 10 minutes before using a long glass pipette to slowly deliver the food near or sometimes inside the cave. My hope is that some food will get stuck inside and he will have a chance to pick at them. I do this about 5 times a day.

Is you marine collectors regal the ba captive breed as well or a wild collect specimen?

 

[jrmailo]

Hope you can get him to eat soon. Beautiful little guy.

This thread is helpful that perhaps these guys should be conditioned and grown out before going into a big tank with lots of competition. Seem their tiny mouth may be a challenge among hungry tank mates.

I would like one some time so that’s good to know. I am growing out a baby marine betta from biota. So tiny and very shy so was worried about competition.

I agree. But I also cannot put the blame on the vendor as it was my own shortcoming in putting him inside the big tank without making sure that he eats first. I had hoped that he will acclimate faster under a more natural condition. However, I should had put more thought into what the fish POV and I regret my decision.

 

[jrmailo]

Currently, I am purchasing copepods from algaebarn on a weekly basis to ensure that there are enough pods in the system to sustain him until I figure something out.
Another aspect that I can try to tackle is the time of day of the feeding. Occasionally in the morning hours with only sunlight from the window, I will catch him swimming out in the open and going places that I have never seen him go when the LED comes on. So this might be a good window where I can try something.

 

[jrmailo]

These are the goon squad that’s trying to steal all of the little ones food even though they can’t reach into the crevices themselves.

 

[Oredigger77]

Is you marine collectors regal the ba captive breed as well or a wild collect specimen?

Captive bred. It's got to the the competition. I added mine as the first fish into my 120 and they were eating within hours of being in the tank on their original pellets. The first time I added frozen food from my LFS they went crazy it was just the bigger chucks I saw them eye and try and decided if it was food.

 

[jrmailo]

Captive bred. It's got to the the competition. I added mine as the first fish into my 120 and they were eating within hours of being in the tank on their original pellets. The first time I added frozen food from my LFS they went crazy it was just the bigger chucks I saw them eye and try and decided if it was food.

That’s great to hear. After hearing your experience, I think competition, or rather the lack there of, is the key to getting these guys to eat. Best of luck with your new tank and regals!