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FAQs about the Regal Angel Behavior

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Angelfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Red Sea Regal Angelfish Problems 10/12/12
Hello WWM crew! I am in need of some help, and I can't think of anyone better to turn to then the WWM crew.
So I have been watching my new red sea regal angel the past few days, and it has been exhibiting some strange behavior.
<Such as?>
My tank is a 187 gallon tank, 60" x 24" x 30" tall. It has a 55 gallon refugium/sump combo, and it has a G2, 200 gallon Skimmer. My ammonia and nitrite are undetectable in the display, and nitrate is between 0 ppm and 5 ppm. I have 250 lbs. of established live rock in the tank. His tankmates are a purple tang and a Sailfin tang, 2 ocellaris clownfish, 2 yellow tailed blue damsels, a blue devil damsel, a melanurus wrasse, a niger triggerfish, a coral beauty angel, and an Amblygobius phalaena. I also have 50 Astraea snails, a dinner plate sized long tentacle anemone (which has been thriving for 3 months now, has doubled in size), and a single neon green Sinularia. There is quite a good amount of flow in the tank (around 15x turnover), and the tank is lit with 2 T5HO fluorescent lights, and 4 NO fluorescent lights.
<The Anemone needs more illumination than this>
Some background on this fish. He is a five inch specimen from the Red Sea (he was brought in with 2 other Regals, some 8 line flasher wrasses, some purple tangs, a sohal tang, and some semilarvatus butterflies). He came into the LFS on 10/2/12. He was treated here with Prazi pro and Cupramine.
I purchased him on 10/6/12 and added him to my 75 gallon quarantine, but he was moved from the quarantine tank to the display tank on 10/8/12 after I accidently left some frozen clams in the tank and the ammonia spiked. I treated the display with Prazi pro in case he shows flukes.
So I have been struggling to get this fish to feed. I have managed to get him to eat a bite or two of flake food, a couple bites frozen Mysid, and a few bites of clam in the half shell. As for Nori, he will take a bite and then spits it out. I have tried soaking the food in garlic as well as feeding it plain and there has been no change. He seems to only like eating from the water's surface unless it is the clam. Any suggestions on increasing his appetite?
<Vitamin and HUFA soaking of foods, addition to water... Spectrum... Read
here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/RegalAFdgF.htm
Anyways, as I have been observing this fish, I have noticed some strange behavior. First it began as the fish periodically swimming to the surface of the tank. No big deal, I thought, since nothing was picking on him (he is the largest fish in the tank, and the other fish seem to avoid him). Now he does this quite regularly, and has started turning upside down. He will swim around the water's surface belly up, then turn right side up and swim back to the rocks below like nothing ever happened. Any reason why he would do this?
<Both the non-feeding and this are likely related to the copper exposure... Just time going by should find this fish improving>
Sorry for the long email, but I really could use some help.
Thanks in advance,
Ashton Nietzke.
<Welcome in time. Bob Fenner>

Angelfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

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