The Moorish Idol Thread
- Thread starter zfunk007
- Start date
Life is tougher in the wild...
Life is tougher in the wild...
Pinnatus, that's great! How big is he (she)? I would dive (float, actually) at night with a dive light, and could see that all the reef fish would be tightly tucked into crevices in the coral. An occasional reef shark would work his way past, rooting into wherever he could reach. If it was your unlucky day and you had outgrown your spot, you got eaten. There were also what looked like jacks patrolling around. I'll speculate that as the small mass-spawning fish like Mis go through each mating cycle, the older and bigger (and slower) ones probably get taken first, and this maybe keeps the wild ones I saw on the smallish side.
The MIs I tracked might have been loosely territorial just so that they had some known hiding spots. During the day, the sharks would completely ignore the fish and just lazily swim along. I once noticed all of the reef fish suddenly disappear in daytime, which sure had me looking around; I then saw a 3 inch black dot heading past me which turned out to be the pupil of the eye of a 3 ft tuna. Their reflective silver color makes them invisible in the daytime water. Once he was gone, life went back to normal. Our fish should thank us for taking them away from all that danger! Or perversely, maybe the stress keeps them healthier. Next I'll describe some of the over-the-top 'aquariums' people had when you can bank your entire salary tax-free, have nothing else to spend it on, and live on a tropical reef. No filters needed! One was a many-MI tank (10+).
AdobeFish
Life is tougher in the wild...
Pinnatus, that's great! How big is he (she)? I would dive (float, actually) at night with a dive light, and could see that all the reef fish would be tightly tucked into crevices in the coral. An occasional reef shark would work his way past, rooting into wherever he could reach. If it was your unlucky day and you had outgrown your spot, you got eaten. There were also what looked like jacks patrolling around. I'll speculate that as the small mass-spawning fish like Mis go through each mating cycle, the older and bigger (and slower) ones probably get taken first, and this maybe keeps the wild ones I saw on the smallish side.
The MIs I tracked might have been loosely territorial just so that they had some known hiding spots. During the day, the sharks would completely ignore the fish and just lazily swim along. I once noticed all of the reef fish suddenly disappear in daytime, which sure had me looking around; I then saw a 3 inch black dot heading past me which turned out to be the pupil of the eye of a 3 ft tuna. Their reflective silver color makes them invisible in the daytime water. Once he was gone, life went back to normal. Our fish should thank us for taking them away from all that danger! Or perversely, maybe the stress keeps them healthier. Next I'll describe some of the over-the-top 'aquariums' people had when you can bank your entire salary tax-free, have nothing else to spend it on, and live on a tropical reef. No filters needed! One was a many-MI tank (10+).
AdobeFish
maxxII
Super Housemonkey!
I'm curious about what the minimum sized tank you guys feel would be sufficient for a single MI? Would a 120 (48x24x24) be large enough, or is that too small?
Just curious as more and more people seem to be having success with these beautiful fish and I'd love be among the successful...
Just curious as more and more people seem to be having success with these beautiful fish and I'd love be among the successful...
Sounds Fishy
New member
Once they start eating,regularly,they grow fast.Mine is in a 220gallon,and to me,that is barely big enough.
big mamma
New member
i agree, i got mine from liveaquaria and they said minimum of 125. but after having this fish for 7 months i would not get another one. i just feel they really need large homes. i also think any open water fish should be kept only in large systems. i told my wife if we move i would have to get ar least a thousand gallon system. she said we are never moving.
So I bought a new pair of Moorish idol to replace my current one since its not eating. One of the new one died during tank transfer and I thought it was stress. Then as I was about to take the dead body out, I saw an orange thing on it. I thought it was a piece of pellet but saw it move. Apparently its a parasite digging its way out. Looks like a worm.
Perhaps that's why there are mysteriously deaths. How should I treat the other one?
Maybe they are easy fish to keep if we can kill the parasite.
I'll try to take some photos.
Perhaps that's why there are mysteriously deaths. How should I treat the other one?
Maybe they are easy fish to keep if we can kill the parasite.
I'll try to take some photos.
So the second Moorish idol is on its way out. It is in the last tank of tank transfer. All those water changes and meticulous drying and sleepless mornings went un-awarded.
The original Moorish idol in the display finally starved to death. It is lying on the bottom and on its way out. Nothing would get it eating. LRF didn't work either.
Are Moorish idols unable to be tank transferred due to stress?
Back to looking for res sea bannerfish...
The original Moorish idol in the display finally starved to death. It is lying on the bottom and on its way out. Nothing would get it eating. LRF didn't work either.
Are Moorish idols unable to be tank transferred due to stress?
Back to looking for res sea bannerfish...
At this point I'm going to try to give up on Moorish idol.
If I can't find the Red Sea bannerfish, I'm going to give them one last try.
I'm going to pay a deposit and have the owner feed them spectrum pellets before I pick them up.
I don't think they die "mysteriously" as I saw internal parasite on one of them and my original one won't eat. There is always a reason. I think the pair both had parasites. They are Kenyan FYI.
If I can't find the Red Sea bannerfish, I'm going to give them one last try.
I'm going to pay a deposit and have the owner feed them spectrum pellets before I pick them up.
I don't think they die "mysteriously" as I saw internal parasite on one of them and my original one won't eat. There is always a reason. I think the pair both had parasites. They are Kenyan FYI.
I agree with Dmorty. I wont do TTM with idols and regals (or more "difficult" fish in general). I had two idols and two regals on separate occasions perish during TTM. All four fish were eating everything then just stopped eating during TTM.
I wont abandon TTM altogether as it works very well with hardier fish.
I wont abandon TTM altogether as it works very well with hardier fish.
Sounds Fishy
New member
One thing I learned is MI's do not respond well to ANY disturbances.About that...I did not quaranteen my Mi last September,when I bought it.I assumed that unless it was quaranteened in a rather large aquarium(100 gallon) with a generous landscape of LR and a variety of foods to eat,efficient filtration,it would probably perish.I am afraid that would be impossible for me,at that time.It was risky,but it went from the LFS directly into the DT.Maybe luck,however it wasn't a problem.The LFS already had it 6 weeks and it appeared healthy,and eating already.Did the same with my CB too,for the same reason.Both are very healthy 10 months later,and much bigger.No ich,or other diseases.All my stock is healthy.
I am moving in 6 days and rehoming my entire stock to the LFS,because I figure the move will be too stressful for them and I do not have the ability to set up my 220g ,right away,in my new place that is an hour away.It is their best shot at survival.I will miss them,too.I hope to get reestablished right away after the move,with the 220,however I do not think I will buy another MI.I was thrilled mine did well,but I really feel bad so many die in captivity.
I have used TTM when I set up my DT last year,and that was before the purchase of some of my more delicate fish.It does work but it is time consuming and takes up space when you are using it for a large aquarium.I had three ( 20gal)aquariums,I used for the TTM method when I upgraded from a 125g to a 220.Plus 3 Rubbermaid containers for my LR.During TTM I lost a few fish,however I suspected they were ailing and yet not appearing to be unhealthy or ill. There had been ich issues prior to TTM,however after the process and everything was successfully moved to the 220,the method worked and proved itself to be worth the effort.I never had any issues once everything was established in the 220...
Now I have to tear it down,because I have to move...Good luck with your new MI , Naraku
I am moving in 6 days and rehoming my entire stock to the LFS,because I figure the move will be too stressful for them and I do not have the ability to set up my 220g ,right away,in my new place that is an hour away.It is their best shot at survival.I will miss them,too.I hope to get reestablished right away after the move,with the 220,however I do not think I will buy another MI.I was thrilled mine did well,but I really feel bad so many die in captivity.
I have used TTM when I set up my DT last year,and that was before the purchase of some of my more delicate fish.It does work but it is time consuming and takes up space when you are using it for a large aquarium.I had three ( 20gal)aquariums,I used for the TTM method when I upgraded from a 125g to a 220.Plus 3 Rubbermaid containers for my LR.During TTM I lost a few fish,however I suspected they were ailing and yet not appearing to be unhealthy or ill. There had been ich issues prior to TTM,however after the process and everything was successfully moved to the 220,the method worked and proved itself to be worth the effort.I never had any issues once everything was established in the 220...
Now I have to tear it down,because I have to move...Good luck with your new MI , Naraku
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Thanks for the kind words. I think I'm going to try to wait for red sea bannerfish since they have similar looks to the Moorish idol and are less difficult. Unless, I find ones eating spectrum pellets.
saltydog07
New member
I have had my MI for a few years now. I started feeding him live cherry stone clams at first to keep him healthy. Now he will eat any food I put in the tank even flake food. Live food is the best way to get these guys eating IMO. Hope this helps!
They lose parts of their streamers all the time. Are you sure it was from the powerhead? When they are growing the streamer back from nothing (which is the way they usually arrive after shipping, with a short streamer), there is a small filament in the streamer that helps support it. The flappy fin-part of the streamer grows very quickly, but the filament part grows more slowly. So as the streamer grows back, the flappy fin part often breaks off. This continues to happen until the filament has grown back. Then the streamer is more stable and stays intact longer. But they always get shorter and longer, powerhead or not.
Feeding Nori helps the streamer grow faster IME.
Feeding Nori helps the streamer grow faster IME.
