The Moorish Idol Thread
- Thread starter zfunk007
- Start date
Kdodds Try the red tree sponge give it a shot MY MI was interested in it so you never know ! it might get his appetite going a little bit and may accept the other foods that your other MI is eating
Also my MI loves julians sprungs RED seaweed its like a dry seaweed in a ziplock bag tie it to a rock my koran angel loves it too
Also my MI loves julians sprungs RED seaweed its like a dry seaweed in a ziplock bag tie it to a rock my koran angel loves it too
Paul B
Premium Member
Kieron, actually it is hard to tell while you are trying to keep up with them but there is supposed to be a bigger bump near the eyes of a male. I really don't know if this is true. I also think the males are slightly larger when fully grown. If I remember the leading fish was always a little larger. Of course this is pure speculation about the male but I do know they were mated pairs and I believe if you get the lead individual of the pair you may have a better chance of the fish thriving. It seemed to me that of all the pairs that I followed, the following fish (female?) never went off on "her" own to look for food. They always followed in the same order. As I said, I only dove with them for a week so it is in no way a scientific observation but it's all I have.
I went to Tahiti specifically to dive with these fish, and of course to enjoy paradise.
This bay in Bora Bora is loaded with moorish Idols. It is also where they filmed "Mutiny on the Bounty"
That is our ship in the middle.
Have a great day.
Paul
I went to Tahiti specifically to dive with these fish, and of course to enjoy paradise.
This bay in Bora Bora is loaded with moorish Idols. It is also where they filmed "Mutiny on the Bounty"
That is our ship in the middle.
Have a great day.
Paul
KDodds
New member
Cool. Just wondering if you had some other sexing information above what is (or rather is not) available. Being closely related to Acanthurids, I dunno if that makes it more or less likely that males or females are larger (i.e. Acanthurus females are usually larger, but not necessarily so for all species, or all Tangs).
Behaviour and reproduction
Often glimpsed alone, Moorish Idols will also form pairs or occasionally small schools. They are diurnal fish, sticking to the bottom of the reef at night and adopting a drab coloration. Like the butterflyfish, Moorish Idols mate for life; as juveniles, they are more apt to school. Adult males tend to be aggressive toward one another.
Moorish Idols are pelagic spawners; that is, eggs and sperm are released in midwater and the fertilized egg is left to drift away with the currents. The impressive range of these fish may be explained by the unusually long larval stage; the fish reach a length of 7.5 centimetres before becoming free-swimming juveniles. Before this time, the developing larvae will have drifted considerable distances.
( this waa from a web page i came across)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_Idol
Often glimpsed alone, Moorish Idols will also form pairs or occasionally small schools. They are diurnal fish, sticking to the bottom of the reef at night and adopting a drab coloration. Like the butterflyfish, Moorish Idols mate for life; as juveniles, they are more apt to school. Adult males tend to be aggressive toward one another.
Moorish Idols are pelagic spawners; that is, eggs and sperm are released in midwater and the fertilized egg is left to drift away with the currents. The impressive range of these fish may be explained by the unusually long larval stage; the fish reach a length of 7.5 centimetres before becoming free-swimming juveniles. Before this time, the developing larvae will have drifted considerable distances.
( this waa from a web page i came across)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_Idol
Paul B
Premium Member
I read that post you inserted and the little information in it I agree with except that it says they are often seen alone. They may be but I have never seen one alone. They seem to be alone because one of the pair may be fifty yards away but will catch up. Of course I only saw maybe two dozen in a week but I kind of followed the ones I saw so I didn't go looking for more. Of the ones I saw, all of them were in a pair except once I saw three of them.
I spent an enitire hour following these two guys (or a guy and a girl)
Paul
I spent an enitire hour following these two guys (or a guy and a girl)
Paul
PAul. From what I hear and read At least 80% of these fishes diet is sponge. I did not believe this entirely until you telling me you actually saw them with your own eyes eat mostly sponge.. SO my worry is my MI eats absolutly NO sponge .. Although not eating any sponge he seems to get getting healthier and healthier .. SO what i think is that from the variety of foods i feed ... witch is about 8 dif kinds from each one he is gettin somethin he needs in his diet ... DOES this make sense to you? because when you break it down Protien.. SUgar .. fat.. VItamins and minerals are all the same it doesnt matter the source you get them from ... Tell me if you agree with this? Also you say u feed your moorish idols some sponges from ny? i thought i read you type that a few posts earlyier I if you can send me a picture of one maybe you can send me some at a reasonable price
Paul B
Premium Member
Antonio, although they do eat sponge quite a few people kept them alive with out any. This is the first one I fed sponge to and he is the oldest yet. This is the sponge I collect.
I know it's disquesting. It is found at the surface of the water clinging to docks. I just grab it and pull it off.
I know it's disquesting. It is found at the surface of the water clinging to docks. I just grab it and pull it off.
Paul B
Premium Member
I have no pictures of the natural sponge but it was lime green. By the time I caught up with the Idols they would already have finished the sponge leaving just a little green stuff. I feed my Idol sponge almost every other day along with his other food. I can't feed it fresh because it rots quickly. It wont live in a tank. I collect it and freeze it.
Paul
Paul
zfunk007
Premium Member
I didn't realize there was so much activity in this thread the last few weeks. Just got done reading it and it makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy that other people are having success but sad because I no longer have my Idol. Makes me want to get another one and start over.
All my business tanks are complete and when I get around to it in the next few months I will probably get my display system back up and running but I won't have a new Idol until then. It will be a while.
Also, I figured I would do you all a service. natep206 PMed me and asked if I could ship him some sponge and he offered to pay for it. I offered to ship him the sponge for free, all he'd have to do is pay for shipping. My offer extends to anyone on Reef Central who has a Moorish Idol and doesn't have access to sponge for them to eat. I can get all sorts of sponge here in Florida and my Idol used to eat just about every type I put in the tank for him.
So if anyone wants sponge let me know and I will arrange to ship you some through my business. Hope everyones Idols are doing well. I really think mine would have lived a long time if I had not killed him. He was probably the healthiest fish I ever had. Not to mention he out lived my other fish by about 12 hours even when his water was poisoined (as I mentioned before), a testament to the durability of these fish if they are given the right conditions and foods.
All my business tanks are complete and when I get around to it in the next few months I will probably get my display system back up and running but I won't have a new Idol until then. It will be a while.
Also, I figured I would do you all a service. natep206 PMed me and asked if I could ship him some sponge and he offered to pay for it. I offered to ship him the sponge for free, all he'd have to do is pay for shipping. My offer extends to anyone on Reef Central who has a Moorish Idol and doesn't have access to sponge for them to eat. I can get all sorts of sponge here in Florida and my Idol used to eat just about every type I put in the tank for him.
So if anyone wants sponge let me know and I will arrange to ship you some through my business. Hope everyones Idols are doing well. I really think mine would have lived a long time if I had not killed him. He was probably the healthiest fish I ever had. Not to mention he out lived my other fish by about 12 hours even when his water was poisoined (as I mentioned before), a testament to the durability of these fish if they are given the right conditions and foods.
Similar threads
