Regal angelfish reef safe?

[SkillKing21]

I was looking around my local fish store last week and I saw a beautiful regal angelfish for 200$! I also kept in mind that people have kept regal angels in reef tanks but I still wasn’t sure if they are atleast somewhat reef safe like the flame angelfish.

 

[reefologist55]

Def not reef safe...the few thay had success were just lucky. You take that same regal and place it in a different reef system and all bets are off

 

[SkillKing21]

Are there any alternatives for a regal angelfish?

 

[Geebs19]

Angels are all pretty much not reef safe. The larger ones are a def no go. Some have had success with flames and coral beauty’s but that’s still a toss up. I don’t think it’s worth them dining on my expensive coral.

 

[ReefTeacher]

hmmm....over the last 20 years I have had 2 Regal's for a length of time. One died in a stupid tank crash and one I sold before moving. They are safe with limited corals. I have never seen one go after SPS, but zoanthids are lunch. Most softies are ok, but I had one fiercely attack a Green Polyped Leather. Funny enough he left the yellow leather alone!
They are so beautiful, I would go for another one if it were eating and healthy. Sometimes you limit your corals to your fish, not always the other way around!

 

[EmdeReef]

I’ve never had a tank without angels but I’ve also given up on softies and most LPS. Sps can usually survive though I’ve had losses. Only large angels will actually eat a chunk off an sps coral, most smaller angels will at least taste polyps and go after themucous.

You can forget PE during the day and may see corals end up with “white spots” due to tissue recession. If you have a bunch of sps frags, be prepared to lose some, however it’s unlikely a smaller angel will destroy a full sps colony unless the tank is small and it’s the only coral around. Bellus and watanabei are most common reef safe angels.

 

[this is me]

Well............
It's depends on what your "reef" consists of. Sure, if it's full of acans, brains, and zoas, the regal would be very happy until those corals are gone.
I've kept a trio of Regals and other angelfish in my SPS dominated reef and they're perfectly fine. As with any angelfish, you have to know what type of corals you can keep and not keep.
More details in my tank build.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nicks-360-gallons-reef-tank-with-angels.347824/