wingman200
New member
great video!...i love Idols!!
The Moorish Idol Thread
- Thread starter zfunk007
- Start date
Finsky
New member
Moorish Idol school?
Moorish Idol school?
My reef tank with fish includes the following corals: four Aussie Lobed Brain corals, Palythoa Polyps, one green and one red goniopora, one pink alveopora, on long tentacles anemone with pair of Clarkii clowns, one Red Rose Bubble Tip anemone with pair of Tomato clowns, on Montiopora encrusting SPS coral. Fish include six tangs, a Regal Angelfish, A Blue-Girdled Angelfish, and a one spot rabbitfish with assorted damsels.
My Blue Girdled is three and one half inches and has been in the tank for six months and leaves everything alone except for the mushrooms which it ate. The Regal Angelfish has been in the tank for one year and is also about three and one half inches.
Would a trio of 4 to 6 inch Morish Idols eat my corals and would they get along with my fish?
Moorish Idol school?
My reef tank with fish includes the following corals: four Aussie Lobed Brain corals, Palythoa Polyps, one green and one red goniopora, one pink alveopora, on long tentacles anemone with pair of Clarkii clowns, one Red Rose Bubble Tip anemone with pair of Tomato clowns, on Montiopora encrusting SPS coral. Fish include six tangs, a Regal Angelfish, A Blue-Girdled Angelfish, and a one spot rabbitfish with assorted damsels.
My Blue Girdled is three and one half inches and has been in the tank for six months and leaves everything alone except for the mushrooms which it ate. The Regal Angelfish has been in the tank for one year and is also about three and one half inches.
Would a trio of 4 to 6 inch Morish Idols eat my corals and would they get along with my fish?
Finsky
New member
Moorish Idol school?
Moorish Idol school?
My Blue Girdled is three and one half inches and has been in the tank for six months and leaves everything alone except for the mushrooms which it ate. The Regal Angelfish has been in the tank for one year and is also about three and one half inches.
Moorish Idol school?
My Blue Girdled is three and one half inches and has been in the tank for six months and leaves everything alone except for the mushrooms which it ate. The Regal Angelfish has been in the tank for one year and is also about three and one half inches.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Re: Moorish Idol school?
Re: Moorish Idol school?
4-6 Moorish Idols in your 120 gallon tank?? IMO, that's a bit much for a 120 gallon... Plus it says you already have 7 tangs.
Re: Moorish Idol school?
4-6 Moorish Idols in your 120 gallon tank?? IMO, that's a bit much for a 120 gallon... Plus it says you already have 7 tangs.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
I'd say 1 or 2 MAX, your already over stocked with tangs IMO. Its 50/50 with Moorish Idols I believe.
Outerbank
New member
Finsky, I don't like to tell people it won't work, but I feel prettty obligated to tell you it just won't work. Not only will the MI not survive, but you could easily have a disease outbreak. I will list why it won't work so my answer is not just a nay or yeah answer.
1. MI need room and they do best being king of the tank. Too many tangs and angels to allow this. My MI is in a 240 and the only other fish with any size is a 5 inch yellow tang. My tank is really set up to accomodate the many needs I feel a MI requires. Lower stocking rates and larger tanks being high on the list (this works with almost all fish).
2. Too many tangs which will likely harass the MI, never allowing it to settle in the tank.
3. The starving MI may eat all your brain corals. This can happen very quickly unless he is harassed too much.
4. MI, IMO, need highly oxygenated water. I am not sure your setup will supply enough O2. They breath harder than any fish I have kept.
Congratulations on your current stocking list. To me, it seems pretty impossible for long term, but I wish you continued success. I would be happy and challenged to keep what you already have.
1. MI need room and they do best being king of the tank. Too many tangs and angels to allow this. My MI is in a 240 and the only other fish with any size is a 5 inch yellow tang. My tank is really set up to accomodate the many needs I feel a MI requires. Lower stocking rates and larger tanks being high on the list (this works with almost all fish).
2. Too many tangs which will likely harass the MI, never allowing it to settle in the tank.
3. The starving MI may eat all your brain corals. This can happen very quickly unless he is harassed too much.
4. MI, IMO, need highly oxygenated water. I am not sure your setup will supply enough O2. They breath harder than any fish I have kept.
Congratulations on your current stocking list. To me, it seems pretty impossible for long term, but I wish you continued success. I would be happy and challenged to keep what you already have.
Finsky
New member
Yes, I agreed with the enough fish and ordered a fifth Aussie Lobed Brain, a third goniopora pink to go with red and green and a pink alveopora, and a Purple Branching Montiopora for tomorrow. Yes, in the future I may have to wrangle out a fish or two or three or four, etc. to keep things manageable.
I just finished calibrating a new refractometer and a Pinpoint PH monitor which is wonderful with it being the least expensive of the nice although pricey Pinpoint monitors. The ph cost me $90 and the next is a salinity for $150 and then the calcium, nitrates shooting up to $250ish. I think I can live with a refractometer, one Red Sea Pro Calcium kit, one Red Sea Alkilinity test kit, a regular Red Sea nitrate and phosphate test kits.
No more is that an 8.2 color or an 8.4 color? I thought I had 8.2 with a Red Sea liquid PH kit and the Pinpoint after a lengthy calibration read 8.02. I had my alkilinity at around 9-10 so I decided to do a Seachem Marine Buffer one day dose of six teaspoons which raised the ph to 8.27-8.28. My alkilinity will probably be around 12ish from previous experience.
I just finished calibrating a new refractometer and a Pinpoint PH monitor which is wonderful with it being the least expensive of the nice although pricey Pinpoint monitors. The ph cost me $90 and the next is a salinity for $150 and then the calcium, nitrates shooting up to $250ish. I think I can live with a refractometer, one Red Sea Pro Calcium kit, one Red Sea Alkilinity test kit, a regular Red Sea nitrate and phosphate test kits.
No more is that an 8.2 color or an 8.4 color? I thought I had 8.2 with a Red Sea liquid PH kit and the Pinpoint after a lengthy calibration read 8.02. I had my alkilinity at around 9-10 so I decided to do a Seachem Marine Buffer one day dose of six teaspoons which raised the ph to 8.27-8.28. My alkilinity will probably be around 12ish from previous experience.
blface
New member
Outerbank- I don't agree w/ you 100% on your comment. My MI is housed w/ 5 different angels & a huge male bluethroat trigger, 8". The only tang I have is a kole tang. The MI is not the king of the tank but it doesn't get harassed by any of the other fish either. It is actually a very peaceful fish. I do agree that it would eventually eat all of the LPS in the tank. My MI is always hungry & constantly picking at the rocks or algae on the glass. My DT is a 220 & I have a very open landscape to allow for plenty of swimming room. Finsky's tank is way to small for a MI especially with all of the tangs.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Why can't you keep 2 Moorish Idols in the same tank? What if you get both of them when they are very small?
Outerbank
New member
blface, I agree that MIs can be kept with many aggressive fish. As I am sure you know, they can hold their own and swim better than most fish. So I understand my statement is debatable. However, I recommend what I think is the best scenario. Perhaps I error too much towards safety, but I believe a nice safety factor goes a long way in this hobby. I know my recommendations are somewhat old fashioned and stubborn, but they have never let me down.
My first MI, which I lost during a long move, was kept for 4 years with a very large female powder blue tang (PBT). They all settled in, and had the daily flashing and little chase around the tank. However, I like my MI tank the way it is now, with no one really giving the MI any aggression. With the PBT, I had to place 3 seperate algae clips in my old tank so the MI and yellow tang could eat some nori. I gave that PBT away when I moved. I miss that fish as it was a real beauty and I admired its ego. However, I have decided not to add another PBT to my current tank. My old tank was 240 gallons and the other big fish in the tank were a large lamark angel, pbt, yellow tang, and copperband. A beautiful group of fish.
For those interested, my PBT showed significant aggression to the MI when I added it to that tank.
Last edited:
Outerbank
New member
Good current, plenty of swim space, and I suspect very low nitrates. I never have measurable nitrates, so I really don't know how much they can handle. There are many ways to accomplish this. I am old fashion and use natural filtration with a 75 gallon live DSB sump/refugium and that is about it. I have a protein skimmer on my current tank with phosphate binder and carbon, but I did not run any chemical or mechanical filtration for years on my old tank (DSB display, DSB refugium, DSB sump). Please read about tank setups discussed in other threads.
Last edited:
Charlie Davidson
New member
Great reading! :thumbsup:
Similar threads
