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. They are already trained and raised on prepared foods readily available to hobbyists like marine pellets and frozen foods.
Feeding and Care
The ideal diet for Regal Angelfish should include high quality pellets like Easy Reefs DKI pellets and Masstick, Tdo pellets, frozen mysis, frozen Spirulina brine shrimp, and frozen angelfish diets containing sponge. Young or new fish should be fed at least 3 - 5x a day.
Though the captive bred individuals are easier to keep, this species is still sensitive to changing/swinging water parameters, immature aquariums, and poor water conditions. This species does best when kept in a very mature, stable aquarium with lots of rock work for hiding and grazing. If you plan to quarantine your new angelfish, take a look at our article about how to keep the parameters stable and the tank free of detritus and organic matter at all times in a quarantine tank. You can also use an acrylic acclimation box to introduce these small fish to your display aquarium. Please also be sure to follow our important acclimation procedure.
Compatibility
Few marine angelfish are considered to be completely reef safe, and the Regal Angelfish is considered by most hobbyists to be one of the more reef safe angelfish species. Wild Regal Angelfish may pick at fleshy LPS corals, soft corals, and clam mantles, but are generally safe with larger colonies of SPS corals and some unpalatable soft corals. Reefers who are keeping captive bred Regal Angelfish are reporting that they seem be to even more reef safe than wild ones when well fed, and that they prefer prepared foods over ornamental inverts and corals.
Small juveniles may be raised in smaller aquariums, but adults can grow up to 10" and need a minimum of a 125 gallon aquarium with plenty of swimming room. Juveniles are peaceful, and large adults are considered to be semi-aggressive. They are territorial with other large-type angelfish, but can usually cohabitate with dwarf angelfish species.
Coloration and Pattern
Regal Angelfish juveniles are yellow with white bars and a false eyespot at the base of the dorsal fin. As they mature, the bars become alternating white and yellow bars and the eyespot fades into deep blue coloration on the rear of the dorsal fin. The parents of these babies are yellow belly but come from a region where Regal Angelfish carry genes for both the yellow belly and grey chest. However, all but one of the ones we've watched grown up so far have been the yellow belly variant. Most wild Regal Angelfish have uniform vertical bars, and the "misbar" specimens with unique patterns are rare. Captive bred Regal Angelfish may be more likely to mature into individuals with these exciting, variable "misbar" patterns, each as unique as a fingerprint. You may request a particular pattern at checkout, and we'll do our best to accommodate your request. Since this fish has so much pattern variation, we aren't able to guarantee the color or pattern during any lifestage.
Testimonial
"I hope more people realize growing one of these fish out is typically going to give you a way better end result than buying a mature wild angel . My regal is an amazing fish with great personality and has grown super fast. I have a 4” fish in under 5 months." - Biota customer John
Current sizing ~ 0.5"