Regal Angelfish - Pygoplites diacanthus

[i cant think]

Hey there guys, so I unfortunately lost my Genicanthus Angel yesterday and have been looking into alternatives I may want to choose. Now I’m thinking of going for an Angel I was looking at before I got this guy 3 years ago and one of those was a Regal Angelfish. Also, I likely won’t actually get another fish for a while (until I find the perfect filler).

Now, I am aware of their natural diet being sponges and my tank is just covered in pineapple sponges since I have a thriving sponge that just constantly releases younger sponges. I also keep ontop of my live good sources weekly, so the diet isn’t too much of an issue for me - I also have a trust worthy LFS that I will likely get the fish I chose to replace my Angel from.

My question is about the coral and growth side of things. My tank is a 4’x2’x18” that’s a mixed reef. Although it is heavily leathers I have some mushrooms, a beautiful Miyagi Tort colony and a few non-fleshy LPS (fleshy LPS are out of the question as I have a CBB anyway, same with zoas as something already eats them). So what sort of coral should I avoid? I have a liking towards Fox Corals however I assume they’re also out.

And my second question is is my tank big enough for this species as they seem to be extremely slow growers.

Again, I haven’t made a decision of what I’ll go for and I likely won’t make a decision for a while.
This is a rather outdated photo of my reef now as my Angel is no longer with me however the rest is the same.

 

[Dbichler]

Sorry for the loss. I’ve never noticed my angels eating pineapple sponges before as I still have a ton with a 7” emperor. I tend to choose fish that have beautiful color and have to be easy to get eating. My hardest and most risky as most consider is a powder brown tang and I don’t and won’t quarantine. One thing to consider is a 4’x18” tank limits the size of angel to start with because they will stress. My emperor uses the entire tank even more so then any of my other fish just not as fast.

 

[i cant think]

Sorry for the loss. I’ve never noticed my angels eating pineapple sponges before as I still have a ton with a 7” emperor. I tend to choose fish that have beautiful color and have to be easy to get eating. My hardest and most risky as most consider is a powder brown tang and I don’t and won’t quarantine. One thing to consider is a 4’x18” tank limits the size of angel to start with because they will stress. My emperor uses the entire tank even more so then any of my other fish just not as fast.

The emperor was one of the angels I would love (obviously knowing I would rehome it eventually) however the Regal is just too striking.

Its floor space is 4’x2’ but the height (which the Regal isn’t too much of a tall fish) is only around 20”.

 

[Dbichler]

Yeah either way that’s still small for most larger angels. Regal may be okay for around 2 years but pushing it after that. Lamarks would be another option just not nearly as striking.

 

[i cant think]

Yeah either way that’s still small for most larger angels. Regal may be okay for around 2 years but pushing it after that. Lamarks would be another option just not nearly as striking.

In theory wouldnt the lamarcks also not fit?
They both hit very similar max sizes of 10 inches. Surely if one is pushing it the other is also pushing it - also from my experience, Genicanthus have been more active than the Pygoplites genus was (I have had experiences with Regals in an LFS environment but outside of that I don’t have much experience). The other thing is, from my research the Pygoplites diacanthus is a cave dweller whilst Genicanthus are much more pelagic.

P.S. this isn’t meant to offend you, I’m just curious as to why you think the lamarcki would fit but the regal wouldnt.

 

[alton]

Buy a juvenile. I have kept this one for five years.

 

[Dbichler]

In theory wouldnt the lamarcks also not fit?
They both hit very similar max sizes of 10 inches. Surely if one is pushing it the other is also pushing it - also from my experience, Genicanthus have been more active than the Pygoplites genus was (I have had experiences with Regals in an LFS environment but outside of that I don’t have much experience). The other thing is, from my research the Pygoplites diacanthus is a cave dweller whilst Genicanthus are much more pelagic.

P.S. this isn’t meant to offend you, I’m just curious as to why you think the lamarcki would fit but the regal wouldnt.

just another option and wasn’t saying they wouldn’t fit just not indefinitely for either.

 

[i cant think]

Buy a juvenile. I have kept this one for five years.

How fast is the growth on these guys?
I haven’t seen any that are over 6-7 inches in my time in the hobby (10ish years).

 

[Zionas]

Dang. Sorry for the loss. what happened to your Genicanthus?

 

[i cant think]

Dang. Sorry for the loss. what happened to your Genicanthus?

Honestly, I don’t actually know unfortunately.
I think it’s something systemic as he did seem to ‘shut off’ rather fast after taking his last breath.

 

[LaloJ]

Wait a minute, you lost your beautiful G.melanospilos? Hell, if that's the case, I'm so sorry, amazing fish. If you want to add Regal angelfish simply get a juvenile specimen, you are going to want to do this for two reasons, first is that they take a long time to grow to adult hood as discussed above, and second is that the juvenile specimens are better suited and you can offer them plenty of food which they may end up accepting easily, so if you get a 2" specimen that would be great.

 

[i cant think]

Buy a juvenile. I have kept this one for five years.

I did take in all thought to account. This one was a definite one I would’ve done anyway however I wanted to show you all my result (sorry for the bad photos, he’s camera shy). As you can see he has started the maturing colour phase already however I’m hoping I lucked out and got a Red Sea (I don’t see the chest going grey so I think I did luck out).

 

[LaloJ]

I would bet money this guy is a red sea, amazing fish when they are adults, yours has a long way to go so enjoy it a lot.