I'm glad he's doing much better. I was a little worried about him.
The Moorish Idol Thread
- Thread starter zfunk007
- Start date
I'm glad he's doing much better. I was a little worried about him.
gofor100
New member
Great to hear your MI is doing well... my question was not directed to any one in particular though, just those that seem surprised that their MI came down with ick and ultimately dies (and this goes back to before this thread split) when they didn't take every step possible to give this fish a chance.
Don't want to sound like I'm getting on my soap box or anything... I'm just saying that many of the issues with this fish either start with ich or when the fish "mysteriously" stops eating, or both. If we can eliminate the variables we CAN control (i.e., quarantine before introducing into the DT so we reduce the chance of introducing disease/parasites), then at least we're giving this fish a better chance of survival in our tanks. Even if my MI dies today, at least I'll know that I did everything I could to give it the best opportunity to live in my tank. It deserves at least that much effort from us...
-Chad
Moorish Idol QT
Moorish Idol QT
I'm picking up a MI that has been held & conditioned for 3 weeks by a LFS. It is in a tank with 4 other MI (and a Naso Tang), and is eating a variety of packaged foods. I was thinking of utilizing tank transfer to prophylactically treat for Ich, and then do two rounds of Prazi for worms. Anyone have any experience doing TT on a MI? Anyone see a reason why not to? I guess I'm a little nervous doing TT on one, being they are considered "delicate".
Moorish Idol QT
I'm picking up a MI that has been held & conditioned for 3 weeks by a LFS. It is in a tank with 4 other MI (and a Naso Tang), and is eating a variety of packaged foods. I was thinking of utilizing tank transfer to prophylactically treat for Ich, and then do two rounds of Prazi for worms. Anyone have any experience doing TT on a MI? Anyone see a reason why not to? I guess I'm a little nervous doing TT on one, being they are considered "delicate".
I recently got rid of my French Angel. It was getting large and aggressive. My Moorish Idol, who is now almost 4 1/2 years in my tank, was losing weight because the French was eating food before the Idol could get his fill, and because it was chasing the Idol a good bit. I decided that the Idol's health was more important than having the French Angel, and got rid of it.
The big problem with the food is that the French would gobble all the food up and there was none left for the Idol to graze on. Idols don't eat a lot all at once, but eat all day long. I feed a lot of pellets, some get eaten right away by most the fish, including the Idol. But the rest sit on the bottom and get consumed throughout the day, until I feed again at night where the process repeats itself. The French ate everything quickly and left nothing to graze on. So the Idol was losing weight and it got where I began to see its ribs.
Also, I had not fed Nori for quite some time. I have found that the streamer does not grow unless the Idol has some greens to eat, be it algae or Nori. Result, it's streamer was short and didn't grow.
Here is the Idol when the French was with it, and I had not been feeding Nori. Ribs were visible, and streamer was short.
Here it is a few weeks later, no French and being fed Nori. Much fatter, can't see its ribs, and much longer streamer.
Color is a little paler in the second shot because it is late and he is somewhat changed into his night time colors.
In short, in my experience, I have found that the Moorish Idol needs to eat greens, and needs some amount of peace, and needs to feed all day to do well.
The big problem with the food is that the French would gobble all the food up and there was none left for the Idol to graze on. Idols don't eat a lot all at once, but eat all day long. I feed a lot of pellets, some get eaten right away by most the fish, including the Idol. But the rest sit on the bottom and get consumed throughout the day, until I feed again at night where the process repeats itself. The French ate everything quickly and left nothing to graze on. So the Idol was losing weight and it got where I began to see its ribs.
Also, I had not fed Nori for quite some time. I have found that the streamer does not grow unless the Idol has some greens to eat, be it algae or Nori. Result, it's streamer was short and didn't grow.
Here is the Idol when the French was with it, and I had not been feeding Nori. Ribs were visible, and streamer was short.
Here it is a few weeks later, no French and being fed Nori. Much fatter, can't see its ribs, and much longer streamer.
Color is a little paler in the second shot because it is late and he is somewhat changed into his night time colors.
In short, in my experience, I have found that the Moorish Idol needs to eat greens, and needs some amount of peace, and needs to feed all day to do well.
I just bought 4 MI's a week ago from Live Aquaria. 1 adult was practically dead in the bag, was seriously emaciated, and died a little later. The other 3 are small juveniles, in alot better condition, and they are eating nori and flakes.
The 3 MI's are the only fish in my 125 gal and the tank is almost a year old. I'm already starting to see some agression about 30 min before lights out.
I'll keep ya posted.
The 3 MI's are the only fish in my 125 gal and the tank is almost a year old. I'm already starting to see some agression about 30 min before lights out.
I'll keep ya posted.
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Is the 125 a DT or a QT?
Yeah the first few days they slept together and now I noticed the past couple days they are spread out...
Within 2 months they were down to one.
When I ordered them through a friend, my tank wasn't quite ready, so they stayed in my friend's sump (2 hours away) until my tank was ready. They came in January, and I took possesion in March. So, I didn't actually witness them but went by what my friend told me. I never saw the other two fish, just the picture I have above.
They were all healthy, and eating pellets. He said that two picked on one til it died, then one picked on the other til it died. I have had the remaining one for well over 4 years now.
When I ordered them through a friend, my tank wasn't quite ready, so they stayed in my friend's sump (2 hours away) until my tank was ready. They came in January, and I took possesion in March. So, I didn't actually witness them but went by what my friend told me. I never saw the other two fish, just the picture I have above.
They were all healthy, and eating pellets. He said that two picked on one til it died, then one picked on the other til it died. I have had the remaining one for well over 4 years now.
gofor100
New member
Not sure this was ever in dispute... it seems like more of the exception to the rule when you find a pair or trio kept in home aquaria successfully.
Hope the survivor does well for you.
-Chad
IME, they need something besides flakes and pellets. If there is a lot of algae in the tank, they will be fine, if not you will need to feed Nori. I gauge it by the pennant. If it is growing normally (They regrow very fast) then I don't supplement Nori. If it stops growing, I supplement Nori, and it starts growing again.
Here is mine yesterday:
