How to keep Moorish Idols Fat?

O

Ostri

New member
Looking for some suggestions from experienced reefers. Got two moorish idols eating very well right now.

I make mixed food.

Prawn, chopped shrimp, brine shrimp, PE mysis, Hikari mysis, Angel Formula, Formula 1, krill, black worms. All are frozen so I add a little bit of everything.

Use the brightwell angel addition and Secon.

They also seem to eat seaweed sheets.

I feed a ton too but they still have the bone showing. Not too obvious but I'm wondering how to get them fat...

Anyone with long term success on keeping them fat?
 
If they lost a lot of weight and developed a "knife back" then it can take a couple of months.
If you feel that they don't gain weight at all you may want to try if a round of medication against intestinal parasites helps.

Also, with grazers you may want to feed often and provide nori to snack on in-between feedings.
 
I had one for two years, went through QT and everything. I lost that one when I came home to a cracked tank. The other idol I had was almost two when I broke my tank down and sold it. That was roughly two years ago. As far as I know it's still alive and kicking. But as far as keeping them fat, I couldn't keep either of them to stay well fattened up. They would constantly eat to the point they looked like they would burst, and a few hours later they were back to normal. They got nori everyday plus anything else I threw in the tank. These guys are better sutied for fowlr tanks I believe because they need to many feelings to stay healthy. I had tangs and other fish in the tank that were nice and healthy. But the idols just needed a little to much food for a reef.
 
i have had mine for 7 weeks and i could see its dorsal spine when it first came in. it has since gained wait and eats very well. i feed green or purple algae sheets once per day and lrs fish frenzy twice per day as well has a half cube of oc angel formula.
 
looks like this is really by individual... I've got mine for 1 week. Two idols. Eating very well surprisingly. They were directly from HI so a lot healthier than the ones from Asia.
 
Eating well is one thing, eating what they need is another, their diet in the wild largely consists of live sponge, this is why many don't have luck in keeping them long term.
 
I have only had my Moorish Idol six weeks.It's appetite is strong,eating mysis,brine shrimp,blood worms,and green sponge & coralline algae growing on my LR.He is fairly thick in the stomach area.I feed it approx. every 3 to 4 hours.Quite a dominant personality in the aquarium after only six weeks.
 
usmc1812 said:
Leave them in the ocean.
Click to expand...

I'd wager that not a single person in this thread collects fish, let alone moorish idols so the pedantic nature of your advice is misplaced to say the least.

One might argue that if they aren't purchased they won't be collected but we all know that just isn't true. Despite that fact, the moorish idol is probably on the lower end of the collection spectrum in terms of numbers because it is well known that they do so poorly in captivity.

The individuals that found them in a fish store, likely, didn't specially order them (maybe they did) but they ended up with one anyway.
Ignoring and dismissing these people serves no purpose but to doom the moorish idols already in captivity. On the other hand, discussing these topics, however futile, means our understanding of this species grows and grows and maybe, just maybe someone will keep a specimen for a very long time.
 
Mine used to love clams or mussels on the half shell in the tank. It would pick at them all day. Frozen food for angels has sponges in it which is their natural diet so they would also be a good choice.
 
I'm using a lot of sponges & mysis shrimp. They eat so much and poop everywhere. It's causing my water to deteriorate. I had to take down my refugium because it went nuts.
 
Wonton Soup said:
I'd wager that not a single person in this thread collects fish, let alone moorish idols so the pedantic nature of your advice is misplaced to say the least.

One might argue that if they aren't purchased they won't be collected but we all know that just isn't true. Despite that fact, the moorish idol is probably on the lower end of the collection spectrum in terms of numbers because it is well known that they do so poorly in captivity.

The individuals that found them in a fish store, likely, didn't specially order them (maybe they did) but they ended up with one anyway.
Ignoring and dismissing these people serves no purpose but to doom the moorish idols already in captivity. On the other hand, discussing these topics, however futile, means our understanding of this species grows and grows and maybe, just maybe someone will keep a specimen for a very long time.
Click to expand...

I completely understand usmc's concern. Having said that, this is a wonderful post.
 
I just lost mine after +8 years. It was VERY fat and would eat constantly. Hikari mysis, NLS pellets and quality flake food is what it really liked. It would eat all the time. Probably the best eating fish I've had. Feed as often as you can and like others said keep things in there that it can graze on. Personally I would treat with Prazipro at some point.
 
Mine is nearly 7 years old. I feed mostly nls pellets. The key is to have food for it all day long. With pellets, you can feed several times a day, and overfeed so pellets are all over the bottom and he can graze all day. Nori helps to keep the pennant growing. I have never in 7 years fed sponge, and don't have any growing in the tank.

If the idol won't fatten up you may wish to treat for flukes. However, if the idol is out competed for food by some other fish, it will also not get enough food and will get skinny. I had to remove several tankmates that ate too much.
 
It seems like treating an idol like a huge anthias is good advice. Feed variety, feed often, and you'll set yourself up for the best opportunity for them to do well. Mine ate anything I had, and both it and my anthias did very well.
 
LargeAngels said:
I just lost mine after +8 years. It was VERY fat and would eat constantly. Hikari mysis, NLS pellets and quality flake food is what it really liked. It would eat all the time. Probably the best eating fish I've had. Feed as often as you can and like others said keep things in there that it can graze on. Personally I would treat with Prazipro at some point.
Click to expand...

what happened to yours ? sorry too hear that.
 
I can't get mine to eat the angel food with sponge for some reason. Mine eat primarily red and green seaweed and sometimes the mysis or reef frenzy I feed the tank. There is some discussion, similar to tangs, that running carbon all the time can lead to them having a loss of appetite or lateral line disease.
 
I have had my idol for about 6 months and it has grown a lot and is fat and healthy. I have an auto feeder that feeds a small mix of pellets 3 times a day. At night I spot feed my corals with a variety of frozen that my fish eat also. I also feed Mysis in the morning sometimes. My Idol swims right under the auto feeder and waits for it. He eats everything. I like that the auto feeder keeps him busy during the day and I still feed a variety of frozen morning and night.
 
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