The Moorish Idol Thread

[jannima]

Tracey2: Achillies might go after moorish idol; my 8" Achillies was very mean and almost killed a new 4" regal angel. You could print out idol's picture and paste on glass wall to see if any aggression toward it.

 

[Tracey2]

jannima, really, does that work? My achilles didn't care at all when I added my regals but I do think he has gotten more aggressive lately toward the other tangs. I love idols but am concerned my tank may already have too many big fish, it dosent look overcrowded yet but they all still have some growing to do.

 

[Will C]

Hello all - I've read thru sections of the thread and still I am considering a MI for my tank. I would like some advice, I have a 90g mixed reef w/ a yellow tang, coral beauty, 2 clowns, yellow tail damsel and an algae blenny. I had a Sweetlips for ab 7 yrs but it died (bad day for dottie and bad day for my family) so I believe the MI will fit. I feed my fish Rod's Food and supplement nori from time to time. All advice is welcome. Thanks to ZFunk007 for starting this and Paul B for contributions.

 

[djkms]

IMO a 90 gallon is way too small. These fish get big and need plenty of swimming room. See my post a few up. The only thing I can attribute this behavior to is cramped quarters and I have a 125. My Idol was doing just fine for a while but now that it is bigger (was 2" when I got it and is now over 4" almost a year later) it seems to stress easier.

 

[djkms]

Hello all. I have had my MI since Feb this year. Things have been great up until recently. He is starting to act funny. He has rapid breathing fits and darts around the tank once in a while. I have not noticed any spots on him, no rubbing or anything like that. He still eats like a champ. He also seems to be getting a bit more aggressive. I have had the same fish in the system and not much has changed in a while except I started vodka dosing. Could he be having a reaction to the vodka? I am dosing 2.5ml per day at the moment. Maybe he is starting to feel cramped in my 125?

Thoughts?

He eats NLS pellets through the auto feeder 2 times a day, Rods at night and a half sheet of Nori.

Ok to quote myself....I have a answer. His behavior was in fact due to the vodka dosing. I still dose vodka however I have it on a peristaltic pump now so it doses slowly throughout the day instead of one big shot. The Idols behavior is back to normal now. Encase this helps anyone in the future.

 

[Allmost]

Ok to quote myself....I have a answer. His behavior was in fact due to the vodka dosing. I still dose vodka however I have it on a peristaltic pump now so it doses slowly throughout the day instead of one big shot. The Idols behavior is back to normal now. Encase this helps anyone in the future.

so he got drunk ?

he's a mean drunk ? lol

I do not see how carbon dosing, which promotes growth of bacteria, could make a fish more aggressive ...

maybe vodka dosign lowered nutritions, less algae growth, less food for Idol, and then he got aggressive ?

 

[djkms]

Its my understanding that carbon dosing vodka stips oxygen out of the aquarium.

Facts are the Idol was fine until I started vodka dosing. Then it started to act erratic after dosing to the system. Now that I spread it out via a pump the behavior has stopped. Coincidental, sure but it is the only thing I have changed since this started.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

How long do Moorish Idol banners get? I have one in quarantine and the banner has grown 2-3" in 4 weeks. Overall, the banner is 7-8" from where it becomes a thin pennant (i.e., not including the thick portion coming up from the fish's body). The fish eats well and is an active swimmer. I am feeding mainly PE mysis plus a homemade seafood mix (salmon, scallops and shrimp) sometimes soaked in Angelelixer and some spirulina-enhanced frozen brine.

 

[Paul B]

How long do Moorish Idol banners get?

I took this in Tahiti. They get very long and I think they keep growing. They grow very fast as fish keep biting it off.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

Wow, that is a long streamer. I wondered whether it grows more when the fish is happy or getting lots of nutrition. I imagine there is no reason to prune it with scissors if the other fish in the tank aren't biting the streamer off. :lol2:

 

[Paul B]

Mine would stay very short because they would bite it but it grew very fast, you could almost see it grow.

 

[pinnatus]

I found with mine that if it doesn't get enough greens, the banner will stop growing. Feed it Nori and it grows nicely. Mine recently lost his which was very long, but it is growng back again. When I had an Asfur Angel in with it, the pennant was always getting bitten off by the Asfur.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

Maybe it tastes good, or perhaps it is just the challenge of going after something waving in the current. My fish like meaty foods, so I guess the Idol is in for a haircut when it goes into the DT.

 

[blennielove]

Greetings everyone,
I was at the LFS today and saw an MI, I fed him about thirty NS pellets which it gobbled up on after another off the bottom of the tank.
Question: Do you guys/gals think I have a chance in my tank? It's a 72x24x30 reef tank with LifeReef sump and refugium. Current inhabitants are 6" Emperor Angel, 5" Powder Blue Tang, 3" Tomini Tang, 3" Sleeper Banded Goby, 2" Cleaner Wrasse and an Ocellaris clown.
It is also a mixed reef with a Maxima clam.
Thanks!

 

[jt_milstead]

I would be concerned adding him with the PBT.I have added fish after a PBT, and had issues, as well as MI's eating clams. I had an MI that got stuck in a clam because it was picking at it....

 

[pinnatus]

Greetings everyone,
I was at the LFS today and saw an MI, I fed him about thirty NS pellets which it gobbled up on after another off the bottom of the tank.
Question: Do you guys/gals think I have a chance in my tank? It's a 72x24x30 reef tank with LifeReef sump and refugium. Current inhabitants are 6" Emperor Angel, 5" Powder Blue Tang, 3" Tomini Tang, 3" Sleeper Banded Goby, 2" Cleaner Wrasse and an Ocellaris clown.
It is also a mixed reef with a Maxima clam.
Thanks!

When new, MI's are a little shy, so aggressive fish may out-compete it for food. Once acclimated, they will hold their own with any other fishes. You have some large aggressive fish, but I would think that if you introduce it properly, the MI will be OK.

But, the MI will eat corals, and possibly clams.

Here are mine's tankmates:

 

[blennielove]

Double post...sorry

 

[blennielove]

Thanks to you both, JT Milstead and Pinnatus!
I was a little worried about it and since I've got your support, I will let another person have him. That was what I recently did with an NS pellet gobbling Achilles Tang...Well, I'm one of those who ask for advise and listen. I am tired of learning from my own mistakes in this hobby!

Wish you all a safe and Happy New Year!
:bounce2::bounce2::bounce2::bounce2::bounce2::bounce2::bounce2::bdaysmile::bounce2:

 

[SDguy]

I've had my MI since October 2011. The LFS had him for 2 months. He was tiny, and ate pellets at the store. I brought him home, and he proceeded to become a difficult fish....stopped eating completely. He became wafer thin, and the butterflies in the tank ate all his fins off, literally...he had no fins left. Then one day, while floating around the tank like a dead leaf, he decided to eat a couple pellets. Fast forward to now... he's twice the size of when I bought him, and eats pellets, but only pellets, like crazy!

 

[ROBONE20]

I'm worried about my MI when it's ready to get out of QT. The angels I have in there seem to be ok with other additions. But I think my Purple Tang will go after him. They will be about the same size, with the Purple Tang being more fatter. I plan on acclimating the MI and separating him in the DT with egg crate for a few weeks before I let him completely out. That picture that Pinnatus has up there with his Purple Tang is very promising though...