Regal Angel Won't Eat, Advice needed!

[Lebreton33]

Grab Seachem Entice. It has worked for me.
A) Try Brine shrimp, mysis shrimp with garlic added.
If this does not work,
B) Try live blackworms
If still does not work
C) Give Selgado Aquatics (sponsor for R2R) a call. He seems to get all his to eat.

Thanks! I have a good feeling he's going to start eating soon. For the first 5 days, he simply ignored any and all food as it came by him. Last night he took only a couple small bites. Today he seems to be eyeing all food as it goes by him but only nibbling on small particles. I think he's getting there...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks! I have a good feeling he's going to start eating soon. For the first 5 days, he simply ignored any and all food as it came by him. Last night he took only a couple small bites. Today he seems to be eyeing all food as it goes by him but only nibbling on small particles. I think he's getting there...

One thing also.... verify salinity ( should be 1.025-1.026) . If in doubt, take a water sample to a trusted LFS and have them test for you and to compare with your readings for a piece of mind.

 

[Lebreton33]

I’m at 1.024...

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’m at 1.024...

SLOWLY bump it up one point

 

[Lebreton33]

Will do, thanks!

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Thanks! I have a good feeling he's going to start eating soon. For the first 5 days, he simply ignored any and all food as it came by him. Last night he took only a couple small bites. Today he seems to be eyeing all food as it goes by him but only nibbling on small particles. I think he's getting there...

I did a ton of research before purchasing my regal angel and I took the route of eliminating any possible stresses during the first 3 weeks of acclimation. I did this by acclimating him solo so he didn't compete with any other fish, no lights for the first 2 weeks, and keeping water quality pristine and as close to natural sea levels. It took several days for him to start eating but now he eats everything I throw in the tank. I initially enticed him with raw oysters and clams. Kept feeding fresh raw and then moved to frozen food after a couple weeks.

If he has a parasite this is just another added stresser but if he has started to eat then I'd wait and see if you can get a good meal in before treating. I suggest conducting a FWD first off to identify if you're dealing with flukes. As mentioned there is the TTM or if go the route of medications, the copper treatment will suppress flukes buying you time to eradicate ich first and circle back around to treat the flukes.

Scenario 1 (with only 1 QT tank in rotation)
-Copper at therapeutic levels 35 days
-Add carbon and conduct large water change at least 50% water volume
-Make sure fish is eating
- 2 rounds of Prazipro as directed on the bottle
- Observe for 2 weeks

Scenario 2 (with 2 QT in tanks in rotation)
-Copper at therapeutic levels 14 days then transfer to sterile tank
-Make sure fish is eating well and then administer 2 rounds of prazipro as directed on the bottle
- Observe for 2 weeks

Scenario 3 (with only 1 QT tank in rotation)
-Copper at therapeutic levels 35 days
-Make sure fish is eating
-After two weeks in copper, dose 1st round of API general cure wait 5-7 days, conduct 25% water change and conduct second round wait 5-7 days (Must make sure to hold therapeutic copper levels, its not advised to mix medications but GC and copper can be combined. Have done it on many occasions without ill effects)
- Run carbon and conduct 50% water change and observe for 2 weeks

The challenge is to make sure you keep copper at therapeutic levels which means you need to pre dose medication in your fresh saltwater batches prior to adding it to the QT tank.

Check out this article.

Best Practices: 4 Step Process to Help Prevent Fish Disease Outbreaks

This article highlights on establishing a 4-step streamlined process that in my experience has proven to be beneficial in preventing fish disease outbreaks.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Sailfin11]

From the pictures, I don't see ich but it may be something more visible in person. I always treat with Prazi regardless of other factors as it usually has minimal effect on the fish and can be safely used with other medications in the future. I would be careful about using copper before your regal starts to eat. I think that people forget that it is a "poison" analogous in application to chemotherapy drugs for human cancer patients. My preference is always to minimize stress and to avoid overtreating when possible. As some of the previous posters have mentioned, blackworms and half-shell clams are usually a good bet for getting them to eat. Best of luck with this beautiful fish!

 

[Lebreton33]

I did a ton of research before purchasing my regal angel and I took the route of eliminating any possible stresses during the first 3 weeks of acclimation. I did this by acclimating him solo so he didn't compete with any other fish, no lights for the first 2 weeks, and keeping water quality pristine and as close to natural sea levels. It took several days for him to start eating but now he eats everything I throw in the tank. I initially enticed him with raw oysters and clams. Kept feeding fresh raw and then moved to frozen food after a couple weeks.

If he has a parasite this is just another added stresser but if he has started to eat then I'd wait and see if you can get a good meal in before treating. I suggest conducting a FWD first off to identify if you're dealing with flukes. As mentioned there is the TTM or if go the route of medications, the copper treatment will suppress flukes buying you time to eradicate ich first and circle back around to treat the flukes.

Scenario 1 (with only 1 QT tank in rotation)
-Copper at therapeutic levels 35 days
-Add carbon and conduct large water change at least 50% water volume
-Make sure fish is eating
- 2 rounds of Prazipro as directed on the bottle
- Observe for 2 weeks

Scenario 2 (with 2 QT in tanks in rotation)
-Copper at therapeutic levels 14 days then transfer to sterile tank
-Make sure fish is eating well and then administer 2 rounds of prazipro as directed on the bottle
- Observe for 2 weeks

Scenario 3 (with only 1 QT tank in rotation)
-Copper at therapeutic levels 35 days
-Make sure fish is eating
-After two weeks in copper, dose 1st round of API general cure wait 5-7 days, conduct 25% water change and conduct second round wait 5-7 days (Must make sure to hold therapeutic copper levels, its not advised to mix medications but GC and copper can be combined. Have done it on many occasions without ill effects)
- Run carbon and conduct 50% water change and observe for 2 weeks

The challenge is to make sure you keep copper at therapeutic levels which means you need to pre dose medication in your fresh saltwater batches prior to adding it to the QT tank.

Check out this article.

Best Practices: 4 Step Process to Help Prevent Fish Disease Outbreaks

This article highlights on establishing a 4-step streamlined process that in my experience has proven to be beneficial in preventing fish disease outbreaks.

www.reef2reef.com

Ok thanks! I usually do two rounds of prazi and then 35 days of copper safe at 1.75. I'll wait to see if he eats a meal or two and then start treating. Thanks again!

 

[Lebreton33]

From the pictures, I don't see ich but it may be something more visible in person. I always treat with Prazi regardless of other factors as it usually has minimal effect on the fish and can be safely used with other medications in the future. I would be careful about using copper before your regal starts to eat. I think that people forget that it is a "poison" analogous in application to chemotherapy drugs for human cancer patients. My preference is always to minimize stress and to avoid overtreating when possible. As some of the previous posters have mentioned, blackworms and half-shell clams are usually a good bet for getting them to eat. Best of luck with this beautiful fish!

yeah I was leaning towards starting prazi first and then copper. I only see a couple white spots on it's tail (and maybe 1 or 2 on it's rear body. If you watch the video you will see them pretty clearly. Thanks everyone for all your input, I am truly grateful!

 

[Lebreton33]

So he still won’t eat a full meal and hasn’t nibbles on anything that I can tell in 2 days. That’s 8.5 days now without a full meal, I feel like I’m in the danger zone now. I started prazi last night. I’m not sure if these white spots on tail are ich, they seem bigger and longer than ich. He also had a sore on his right side. I’m thinking of starting furan and kana today and then general cure tomorrow (because I just dosed prazi 12 hours ago). What do you guys think? Maybe he has a parasitic/bacterial issue that’s causing him not to eat?

White spots on tail

open sore on third white stripe from the back at bottom

 

[vetteguy53081]

for that sore, Melafix will treat that
DO try I/2 clam in the shell. It should nibble on that !

 

[Lebreton33]

for that sore, Melafix will treat that
DO try I/2 clam in the shell. It should nibble on that !

Thanks! I tried a clam on a half shell twice and he has not touched it yet. I've just been dropping it in frozen, however. Would you recommend letting it thaw first or is it fine to just drop in?

So no furan or kanaplex today? will that make his appetite worse? I feel like something is bothering him and that's why he won't eat. No real behavioral issues that I can tell aside from not always feeling fully comfortable to swim out and about. When I leave the room he comes out more.

 

[Fishnut]

Try freezing the clam and then before feeding open it and with a razor slice small thin pieces and feed. I always found that new regals start picking at small bits of food off the bottom before eating from the open current. Turn off the wave makers and sink the food in a front corner and step away. Good luck.

 

[jefra]

SLOWLY bump it up one point

Just curious why you'd think this is necessary. I thought running lower specific gravity was preferred in quarantine?

 

[Cwentz758]

I thought the garlic added to stuff was because fish are attracted to the smell/taste? Is that correct?

 

[jefra]

I thought the garlic added to stuff was because fish are attracted to the smell/taste? Is that correct?

That's usually the primary reason, but it also boosts the immune system.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just curious why you'd think this is necessary. I thought running lower specific gravity was preferred in quarantine?

They have higher salinity in their natural origin. Lower salinity beneficial for parasite and fluke resistance yes.

 

[Lebreton33]

So I'm happy to report he seems to be eating! Took his first real meal this morning. Hopefully I'm not celebrating too soon. I did a combo of Mysis, Spiriluna and Brine all soaked in vitamins and omegas. He went nearly two weeks without eating! Thankfully he came in super fat from Mike at Quarantined Fish, this may be the only reason he pulled through.

I treated with Prazi last Thurs, then started Metro, Furan and Kana on Friday. I've continued with the latter and will dose Prazi again this evening for round two. Once the antibiotics and two rounds of prazi are done, I plan on waiting a couple days for recovery and many meals and then once stable, slowly ramping up copper. Thanks everyone for the help, fingers crossed.

 

[hobbyreefer]

Any updates? I just picked up a new regal. Mine will nibble at live clams in the shell, but won't touch anything else. Just curious how your is progressing.

 

[Lebreton33]

Hey! So after 14 days he finally ate and is now eating very well. He may have been eating algae or something else because for 14 days he didn't seem to get overly skinny. As far as active, visual eating, Spirulina soaking in vitamins is what worked for me. It's a good sign he's nibbling, that's how mine started. Also, after he wouldn't eat for 10 days, I started Prazi, Furan 2, Kanaplex and Metroplex because I thought maybe something was bothering him. This may or may not have contributed to his improved appetite. Good luck, hang in there with him.