My first (and only) attempt at a moorish idol

U

usingthejohn

New member
Yesterday my wife bought this for me as a bday gift. I was at reef raft staring at it for an hour, watching it eat. It ate pellets in their tanks, but not frozen. They also informed me they've had it for about 3 weeks now. So I figured why not try. Give it a shot. I know the odds aren't in my favor, based off what I've read off various links and searches. But one common thing I read is that if the specimen in question is from hawaii, and eating in the store, odds are improved a bit.

Took it home, wasn't eating the new era marine pellets I have, nor any frozen.

Today I tried some Capelin roes from the asian supermarket. While most of the other fish gave some interest towards it, the idol didnt....Or at least not that I can gather. However I did see it picking at the rocks over the last 15 minutes I watched the tank.

Tomorrow I'll go look for some new life pellets and see if I have better luck.
 
uploadfromtaptalk1408923723263.jpguploadfromtaptalk1408923732353.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
With my experience with the moorish idols ( I currently own a school of 5 for two years now) I've been through over several over the years and the ones that are super thin and tiny don't usually don't make it. That is how yours is
 
Marine fish man said:
With my experience with the moorish idols ( I currently own a school of 5 for two years now) I've been through over several over the years and the ones that are super thin and tiny don't usually don't make it. That is how yours is
Click to expand...
Yeah I realize it is thin. The lfs had 3 in stock and this was the best specimen they had: Color, feeding and fin-appearance. Any tips you could provide?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
How long is he

You can dose garlic extreme into the tank and I get all my idols eating on my good friend Julian sprungs seaweed but it has to be his mixed seaweed flakes, they are sold on doctersfosterandsmith.com you can also use his seaweed sheets but u have to use the purple seaweed because that is the one that fish like better
and also how big is the tank and what fish are with him and have you noticed if any of the other fish are picking at him
 
Marine fish man said:
How long is he

You can dose garlic extreme into the tank and I get all my idols eating on my good friend Julian sprungs seaweed but it has to be his mixed seaweed flakes, they are sold on doctersfosterandsmith.com you can also use his seaweed sheets but u have to use the purple seaweed because that is the one that fish like better
and also how big is the tank and what fish are with him and have you noticed if any of the other fish are picking at him
Click to expand...

Marine fish man said:
What r you water quality
Click to expand...

Marine fish man said:
And what brand food r u feed him right now
Click to expand...

Currently, my tank is 60 x 30 x 18.

Fish: 1 blue tang, about 14 different wrasses, long nose hawk, 2 clowns and 2 chromis. I had a one spot fox face, which I recently gave away to improve the chances of the Idol.

Water quality: Nitrates 10; Phosphates, Nitrites, Ammonia all 0. Skimmer is a Aquamaxx coneS 3, running two TLF 150 phosban reactors with Carbon/GFO.

Feeding: New Era Marine Pellets; frozen mysis, a food blend that consists of chopped clams/seaweed/mysis/squid/garlic that was sold by a board member off another forum. I also use some New Era algae grazer discs about 3x/week. I added some roes today to try and entice idol feeding.

Coming in tomorrow or Tuesday is an order of New Life Spectramax Finicky Fish Formula pellets which was being fed to the Idol at the LFS.
 
I have had my moorish idol for 5 months, and it took almost a week of trying every food around. Finally I tried live clams, and it worked perfectly. Go to your local grocery store and pick some up from the meat dept. They are a little tricky to open. Once open pull it apart and throw both pieces in. It took about 3 months of him only eating clams, then it went to frozen, now it eats everything. It eats out of my hand and anytime I stick my hands in the tank he nibbles on my fingers. I have a video on youtube during the first week.
http://youtu.be/5dwOeI66B4Y
 
ace_92101 said:
+1 on the clams on the half shell. Most people who have "success" with idols have larger tanks. It's long, but lots of good information in the following thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=607477&highlight=moorish+idol
Click to expand...

dotcommer said:
I have had my moorish idol for 5 months, and it took almost a week of trying every food around. Finally I tried live clams, and it worked perfectly. Go to your local grocery store and pick some up from the meat dept. They are a little tricky to open. Once open pull it apart and throw both pieces in. It took about 3 months of him only eating clams, then it went to frozen, now it eats everything. It eats out of my hand and anytime I stick my hands in the tank he nibbles on my fingers. I have a video on youtube during the first week.
http://youtu.be/5dwOeI66B4Y
Click to expand...


thank you both as well for your responses.

Last night I noticed the MI picking at the rocks, as well as the sandbed (and some corals...I can live with it if it'll survive). After dropping more pellets in, I realized that what it was picking off the sandbed was some of the pellets that hit the bottom. I also noticed it wasn't spitting them out. I'll take it as a bit of good luck. However, I will continue to vary feedings and obtain some of the NLS Finicky Fish Formula to try and give it all the success and health I can.

It was through RC that I see many who have luck have much larger tanks than I. However, I'm hoping that my 60 x 30, along with the way the aquascape was designed, will provide it some room to swim (I incorporated a lot of tunnels/caves/arches for fish to swim *through*, as well as provided enough room along the sides and back for fish to do laps.

and to answer another question in a previous post, all the fish have left the MI alone. I haven't seen anyone picking at, thrashing and/or chasing the MI.

as for clams on the half shell, I have two clams in my tank, and unless it's absolutely necessary, I would rather try and avoid clams and feed closer to its natural diet. Plus, I have a CBB in my tank which I want to avoid feeding clams too as well. Especially now that the CBB I have is eating frozen and beginning to take an interest in pellets
 
Rod's food has always gotten my Idol eating. Clams, not so much. It also likes and needs Nori.

I have had it for 5 1/2 years so far.

Good luck with yours!
 
pinnatus said:
Rod's food has always gotten my Idol eating. Clams, not so much. It also likes and needs Nori.

I have had it for 5 1/2 years so far.

Good luck with yours!
Click to expand...
Is there any particular nori brand you'd recommend? I want to give it all the chances at success I can.

Currently I ordered some Hikari angel pellets as well as NLS Finicky fish pellets. It's eating some new era pellets off the sandbed. I also keep some algae grazer discs and some seaweed for the tang
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I had an MI from divers den. He was very healthy, and eat everything. Then one day, three months later, he was belly up. No sign of disease. I was using sponge supplements, but either they don't work, or there's still some secret to MI care that's not well known. So good luck with your MI and I hope you have better success than I did
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

phenom5
Anthias and pellets?
Replies
15
Views
2K
shred5
shred5
R
Cyano and nutrients
2 3 4
Replies
77
Views
11K
Elmareefer
E
NancyT3
Feeding regimen/ feedback
Replies
8
Views
1K
NancyT3
NancyT3
vlangel
75g Lurking danger and Leafy Seadragons
9 10 11
Replies
200
Views
9K
griss
griss
T
Back at it after a 13 year hiatus.
Replies
8
Views
1K
Cjs305510
C
Back
Top