morish idol ???

[TKByrnes]

a friend of mine has a morish idol and he says it looks like the flesh is pealing back from its mouth. i havent seen it so im not sure. I told him to get some selcon and maybe it will clear up. anyone know what this could be?

 

[skeeter-doc]

sounds like HLLE. maybe next time tell him to do some research and only buy fish that will survive in captivity

 

[TKByrnes]

do they have a low survival rate? he bought it 2 days ago and it is in a 200 gal. what is hlle?

 

[thor32766]

yes, these are probably the hardest fish of all to keep alive in captivity.

 

[TKByrnes]

well he has one hopefully he can keep it alive.its body is about 5-6 inches and has a 6-7 inch streamer. it is a beautiful fish.

 

[KDodds]

Sounds like abrasions from rubbing on the edges of a too small tank to me, fairly common with MIs. And yes, they are probably one of the most, if not the most, difficult species to keep.

 

[TKByrnes]

well the lfs had him in a 10 gal!!! so maybe thats what it is. other than the wounds on his mouth he looks very healthy. he keeps his mouth open and you can see all of his teeth.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Most importantly, does he eat yet?

 

[TKByrnes]

not sure i sent him an email asking that. still waiting for him to get back to me. ill let you know as soon as i do.

 

[grips]

I had a Foxface that had the same thing happen. I'm not sure how or why, but it healed within two weeks.

As far as the Moorish Idol goes, from what I've read, they are extremely difficult to keep, but, not impossible. I personally would never attempt to keep one.

From what I understand, it's mostly because they refuse to eat and starve. As long as he can get the MI to eat, he should be OK.

Good luck.

 

[KDodds]

Actually, many of them do eat but exhibit symptoms of starvation regardless of the fact. My oldest is about 5 months in captivity right now, which is fairly good. That should tell you something about how difficult they are.

 

[TKByrnes]

ok I found out that he is eating. I also found out the he is flashing. I think thats what it is called. twitching to the side and rubbing on the reef! Thats not good. well i told my buddy what everyone has been saying and he isnt happy. the lfs told him they were completely reef safe and that they are great fish. they didnt tell him how hard they are to keep.

 

[McCrary]

Sounds like he needs to get a new LFS.

 

[Slickdonkey]

Wow. Unbelievable that an LFS would sell off a Moorish Idol to an unsuspecting buyer and claim it's a "great fish". I've lost my faith in humanity.

 

[matty0h_52]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8058771#post8058771 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TKByrnes
ok I found out that he is eating. I also found out the he is flashing. I think thats what it is called. twitching to the side and rubbing on the reef! Thats not good. well i told my buddy what everyone has been saying and he isnt happy. the lfs told him they were completely reef safe and that they are great fish. they didnt tell him how hard they are to keep.

typical LFS.....that sucks.

Thats why i do 90% of my research...so no one trys to pull the wool over my eyes.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Well, I would also like to enquire on the indentification. Are you sure that it was a Moorish Idol and not a Heniochus Butterfly?

Moorish Idol

Heniochus Butterfly

 

[TKByrnes]

no its an idol i was looking at him but dont have the room and also didnt want to atempt it.

 

[dcombs44]

moorish idol facts

 

[africangrey]

wow what a beautiful photo with a magnificent fish.

 

[KDodds]

Well, that information isn't entirely accurate. They're about as peaceful as some of the more docile Tangs, like Yellows, but not completely non-aggressive, especially not larger specimens. 125 is still probably too small, something more like a 6x3 or better 8 or more x 2 or more tank is more of a reasonable minimum. They do not naturally eat corals or polyps, but some individuals may pick, especially while foraging. better than 90% of the gut content of wild Idols is sponge, the rest algae. The problem isn't really feeding, I don't think. Idols that are eating will eat just about anything. Rather, I think it's more shipping and holding in bare tanks that freaks them out. They do not respond well to being transported/acclimated to new tanks at all, and once an Idol goes off food, which many do during shipping/transfer, it tends to stay off its food.