moorish idol care tips please...

[kaimarkhirst]

after much deliberation, ive decided that the next fish after my achilles tang will be a true moorish idol....

I know about all of the nightmare stories and suh but if you look at my species list for the fish i keep (orangespotted filefish, bluespotted ribbontail rays, sharks, rare catfish, the list is long...), a moorish idol wont pose too much of a problem...

Does anybody have any tips or little hints on keeping these lovelies?

 

[slapshot]

They can be kept but only in the rarest of cases. I did have a friend who kept one for two years but he had a fuge full off live rock and continiually exchanged rock in his tank to provide a natural source of food. According to him, they need algae, sponges and tunicates to survive. Not just one of the three, but all three. Best of luck.

 

[anbosu]

I think there is a moorish idol primer on here somewhere, I would recommend reading that.

 

[RealReef7]

Lets just say I tried one last year, it ate everything for the next 6-8 months, then one day he was dead.

 

[melanotaenia]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=993712

Oh, and good luck.

 

[BlueFaceAngel]

I've kept moorish idols with no issue honestly...They real issue with them is getting them to eat, i got my moorish pair from a local lfs that had them eating PE mysis. The key is high protein diets. They can't be in a tank with aggressive eating tank mates. Make sure they are clean when you get them and keep them clean by making your water as perfect and clean as possible. Acclimation time should be roughly 8-9 hours

They are actually the bosses of my tank lol

Its possible.

 

[SlowCobra]

I've kept moorish idols with no issue honestly...

From your post it would appear you had Moorish Idols but they didn't make it?!? If that is the case, what happened to them? Did they die? If they died then there is an issue. How long have you had your current pair?

Most of the time the issue isn't with keeping them, it is with keeping them long term.

 

[LemonLemon]

getting a moorish idol to eat is not difficult. it's getting them to survive after that. there's the challenge.

i've kept mine for 8 months. feeds on pellets, bananas, mysis, nori, flake, basically all kinds of fish food and most everything you throw in. but one day he just died..

 

[JamesJR]

getting one to live a few months isn't hard. Getting one to live a year or two is harder. Having one live longer than that is extremely rare. Getting one that is eating doesn't really improve your odds of it living long term by a long shot as I've seen them eat flake food the day they arrive from the wholesaler and still not make it past a year in the best of aquariums.

 

[RealReef7]

The key is high protein diets.

I'm gonna have to disagree. In the wild they do not eat protein based stuff, their main diet is sponges and that should be their main diet in the aquarium for long term survival.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I kept one for almost 10 years, then Katrina got him. I tried, twice, to keep one before that guy and both refused to eat. IMO & IME, Idols will thrive , if you get them eating. My "keeper" finally ate a fresh clam and would eat anything from then on. I did feed one of the sponge-based angel formulas; I don't know if that helped or not. These fish are omnivores, not herbivores and I think lots of folks try to force greens on them as a first food. Again, IME & IMO, most fish, even finicky herbivores, will eat meaty stuff first. Like most large angels; I think small ones have a better chance because they haven't had a chance to develop a diet that is impossible to match at home. I've had one now for about 9 months, but won't consider it a success for a while. he is doing very well and also eats anything.
Another opinion--I don't think these fish demand "pristine" water; just ordinary good husbandry.
I know there is a lot of controversy with this fish. My opinion is that they are very common in the wild and an experienced hobbyist shouldn't be condemned for trying to keep one. There are many fish that are kept successfully now that were considered impossible a few years ago- orange spotted filefish come to mind.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I'm gonna have to disagree. In the wild they do not eat protein based stuff, their main diet is sponges and that should be their main diet in the aquarium for long term survival.

Sponges are animals, so I would think they are loaded with protein. If we had to duplicate the natural diet of all the fish we keep, the choices of fish for our tanks would be very, very limited. Large Angels eat lots of sponge; but can be acclimated to a sponge-free diet. I do like the frozen foods that contain sponge; but I'm not convinced they are a miracle food. Large Angels were kept very successfully before these products existed. The key, IMO & IME, is acclimating JUVI Angels to the captive diet. Tangs were easy to keep long before algae sheets, or even LR; a diet of human veggies, along with meaty stuff, worked just fine. Many fish that eat other fish on the reef are easy to wean onto a diet of invertebrate meats. Triggers also eat a lot of sponge on the reef. Mysis and spirulina, probably the most common animal & vegetable foods we feed don't exist on the reef. In fact; the best mysis and most spirulina are fresh water products. I agree that Idols would almost certainly do better if we could offer them the sponge they eat; but, like so many other fish we keep, I also think they can be acclimated to an adequate diet. I've just always thought we were missing some aspect of keeping this fish (other than sponge) and perhaps someone will discover what it is. I sure am not advocating the mass purchase of Moorish Idols, they are very tough to keep; I just think its fine if a qualified hobbyist wants to try one.

 

[BlueFaceAngel]

Feeding them un natural foods will affect them in the long run since they dont seem to digest it well imo...i only fed mine PE mysis and clams and kept them for 2+ years before i ran into aggression problems with a newly introduced Vanguard butterfly. to BLINDLY say high protein diet work is asinine i personally never fed them any veggie foods.

Personally moorish that eat well and die the next were affected by a flux in the water chemistry, i've noticed they are very finicky about stable salt and ph...

Please dont come out and blindy give your options about a fish if you haven't really kept them for more than a few months, its your fault the fish die not the fish

 

[jarrod13]

Not trying to hijack but are sponges from the wild (I live in jacksonville fl) ok to feed them. I guess what I'm really askng is one sponge the same as another or are there some that are dangerous to fish? I live at the beach and if possible I could just get live sponge from the shrimp boats around here.

 

[rekn]

sponges arent animals in that sense. their chemical make up can be googled online.

Sponges are animals, so I would think they are loaded with protein. If we had to duplicate the natural diet of all the fish we keep, the choices of fish for our tanks would be very, very limited. Large Angels eat lots of sponge; but can be acclimated to a sponge-free diet. I do like the frozen foods that contain sponge; but I'm not convinced they are a miracle food. Large Angels were kept very successfully before these products existed. The key, IMO & IME, is acclimating JUVI Angels to the captive diet. Tangs were easy to keep long before algae sheets, or even LR; a diet of human veggies, along with meaty stuff, worked just fine. Many fish that eat other fish on the reef are easy to wean onto a diet of invertebrate meats. Triggers also eat a lot of sponge on the reef. Mysis and spirulina, probably the most common animal & vegetable foods we feed don't exist on the reef. In fact; the best mysis and most spirulina are fresh water products. I agree that Idols would almost certainly do better if we could offer them the sponge they eat; but, like so many other fish we keep, I also think they can be acclimated to an adequate diet. I've just always thought we were missing some aspect of keeping this fish (other than sponge) and perhaps someone will discover what it is. I sure am not advocating the mass purchase of Moorish Idols, they are very tough to keep; I just think its fine if a qualified hobbyist wants to try one.

 

[RealReef7]

Not trying to hijack but are sponges from the wild (I live in jacksonville fl) ok to feed them. I guess what I'm really askng is one sponge the same as another or are there some that are dangerous to fish? I live at the beach and if possible I could just get live sponge from the shrimp boats around here.

Sponges are filter feeders. I personally wouldn't because of the current oil spill..

 

[MrTuskfish]

sponges arent animals in that sense. their chemical make up can be googled online.

I'll take your word for it. We always learned that sponges were in the animal kingdom and Fenner includes them with invertebrates.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Feeding them un natural foods will affect them in the long run since they dont seem to digest it well imo...i only fed mine PE mysis and clams and kept them for 2+ years before i ran into aggression problems with a newly introduced Vanguard butterfly. to BLINDLY say high protein diet work is asinine i personally never fed them any veggie foods.

Personally moorish that eat well and die the next were affected by a flux in the water chemistry, i've noticed they are very finicky about stable salt and ph...

Please dont come out and blindy give your options about a fish if you haven't really kept them for more than a few months, its your fault the fish die not the fish

Mysis & clam sure sounds high protein to me. The MI I had for so long (about 10 yrs) loved clams & mysis too,; but I think any fish needs more variety (gut loaded brine, chopped fresh shrimp, Formula I&II, etc.---vitamins, like Selcon are good too.

 

[ProSaltWater]

I went to my Local Fish store and bought three Moorish idols because there were only three at the store so if I bought two them one would be lonely. I took them home and acclimated them. Once they were acclimated the smallest of the three started beating on the others. The smallest Moorish idol killed one and severely hurt the other. The local fish store offered to take the injured fish and help it back to health. When they put it into their tank, it killed all the fish in their tank. So I'm down to one Moorish idol. I have had him for 4-5 months. When I got him, he was eating all food including pellets and flakes and Mysis shrimp. I have a broad range of sponges, and he hasn't touched them. His fin on the top is doubled in length so he is growing and thriving. His colors are vibrant, and he has become wonderful friends with a sailfin tang that I have. My advice is to make sure the fish are eating at the store. Because if they are eating at the store, then chances are that they will eat when put them if you tank. Hope this helped anyone who has one or is thinking if getting one!