just got a moorish idol

jenreef

jenreef

New member
i have heard very bad things about this fish, that it is so difficult to feed. so my number one worry was buying one at a lfs that i could see in person and know for sure it is eating, what is it eating, and that it is healthy. so after i seen one at my lfs that was eating like a pig on frozen brine shrimp and it looked very healthy. i had to get it. wish me luck
 
Well since brine shrimp is not highly nutritional, you must get it to eat other stuff. Good luck.
 
I agree with the change of food. I would try to include a angel fish food with some sort of sponge in it. I would also watch out for any type of fleshy coral you might have. Mine tried to eat a clam.
Your 120 wont be big enough very soon.
 
i did buy angel food that contains sponges just because i know that's what moorish eat in the wild. im hoping if i feed the moorish very well like 3 times a day it will not destroy any of my corals that i do get in the future. i am going to expect some picking at corals but i hope for no real distruction
 
I had my MI for 1 year until it died of no apparent reason, eating a staple of new life spectrum food which is much, much better than brine or mysis shrimp. These fish need sponges(alot of it). Just because the fish eats, doesn't mean its fine and dandy. Getting it to eat is just a small part of it. Good luck!
 
I had my MI for 1 year until it died of no apparent reason,
Click to expand...
Thats basically what moorish Idols do. I have had many of them and spent many hours with them on the reef. In the sea I never saw them eat anything but sponge and they spend all day taking long trips around the reef to find it. In a tank they will eat anything, mine would eat cardboard if I put a picture of a clam on it. :hmm2:
But eating and eating what will keep them alive are two different things. Also, food is not their main problem. Their main problem IMO from hanging out with them is that they live in mated pairs, the male is first swimming many yards in front of the female to find sponges, He eats for a minute or so and when the female shows up, he leaves to find more sponge while the female finishes the sponge. I observed this a few times but not enough to make a scientific observation but I believe it is the problem with these fish and if you get a female, they are not good at eating because they are used to following a male to food, sort of like my wife and restaurants. :strange:
I collected sponge in the sea for mine and few it almost every day along with pellets. The pellets were soaked in fish oil and I invented a feeder for him that would deposit a few pellets in a dish for him a few times a day. They ned to eat a few times a day.
They are not an easy fish and no one has kept one for 10 years, five years is extreamly rare and 6 months is more common.
Good luck, you will need it.
Paul
 
I have had a Moorish Idol for 21 months now.

The other thing you should feed is Nori or seaweed of some type. I have noticed that when it does not get this, the pennant will get short and not re-grow. As soon as you feed the Nori, it will start growing again.
 
pinnatus said:
I have had a Moorish Idol for 21 months now.

The other thing you should feed is Nori or seaweed of some type. I have noticed that when it does not get this, the pennant will get short and not re-grow. As soon as you feed the Nori, it will start growing again.
Click to expand...

i do have nori and seaweed. i will try and feed it to him today. see if he eats any
 
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