The Moorish Idol Thread

[zemuron114]

they are so easy to catch here in Hawaii, but i dont bother with them. They rarely eat. I talked to a local diver who has been diving for 30+ years and he said the best way to get them to eat is put 10+ in a tank together. When you feed them, and one eats, they all start to eat because they are competing against eachother. I thought that was interesting. He wont even collect them anymore. he use to catch 200+ a month for wholesalers, but got sick of seeing them waste away. I vote leave them be until we find out more about there requirements.. for those of you who own them good luck!!! they are such beautiful fish, and hope for the best

 

[Paul B]

I have mine about a year and a half and this particular one does not touch corals. My reef is just about all LPS corals and he shows no interest in them. As for Idols being hardy, that is a tough question. I have had many of them and some of them will not eat or if they do eat, they stop after a while. After observing them in Tahiti I notice that they are always in mated pairs and one seems to be dominant. It is hit and miss to keep them. The one I have now will eat anything, literally. And as much as I give him. I am not home enough to really care for him like I should but he seems very healthy and vibrantly colored. They are a wierd fish and the individuals are all different. They are not like clown fish where you can be fairly sure of their temperment and their diet.
Paul

 

[Bri's Nanny]

I purchased a MI on Saturday. I purchased all the sponge I could get, and I still can not get mine to eat. He is not bothering any of my corals. I have tried flakes, frozen mysis, brine, angle formula, seaweed selects, all soaked in garlic. Does anybody have any ideas????

This morning I found my naso tang dying, and I don't know if this from adding the MI or not. I would hate to lose both. The naso had been in the tank for about a month.

 

[Paul B]

This may not help but mine only ate sinking pellets for the first month or so. I fed him "Soft and Moist" pellets. It is still his favorite.
Paul

 

[ReefGeekster]

I purchased a MI on Saturday. I purchased all the sponge I could get, and I still can not get mine to eat. He is not bothering any of my corals. I have tried flakes, frozen mysis, brine, angle formula, seaweed selects, all soaked in garlic. Does anybody have any ideas????

This morning I found my naso tang dying, and I don't know if this from adding the MI or not. I would hate to lose both. The naso had been in the tank for about a month.

I started my MI on live steamer clams. Bought them at the seafood section in the grocery store and split it open with a knife and the MI went for it right away.

 

[zfunk007]

I have never used the clams, but I have heard alot of success stories about using it. You might want to give it a try Bri's Nanny.

 

[zfunk007]

Well, I figured it's been a while. So it's time for an update on the status of my Idol.

Not much to report really. He still continues to do well. And he has grown at least 2" since I've had him. He looks great and at the moment, all I am feeding him is the New Life Spectrum Pellets.

Here are some new pictures I took today:

Like I have said many times before, he is out growing this 110 gallon tank rather quickly. Luckily, now that I have started my own business, I should have the money soon to get him a bigger home. And you can all be assured, I will post all the building pictures as I am doing it. Hope everyones Idols are doing well.

Let's see some updates!!!

 

[zfunk007]

Common! I wanna see some updates people!

 

[Paul B]

Mine is much too large for my 100 long that he is in. I also have too much rock for him. He still has some occasional problems with slight pop eye so the next time I catch him I will inject some antibiotics. I am almost out of sponge but since he eats anything, there is no problems yet.
Take care.
paul

 

[AgentSPS]

My apologies if I am asking a question that has already been asked but this thread has grown HUGE since I last checked in.

I just purchased a LARGE pair of Hawaiian idols. I would not have purchased them had they not been hogging down on krill! They are in quarantine now and eating well.

Anyhow one of them has developed one cream colored spot on its fin. I would say it is about 2mm in size and it is raised about 1mm. If it does not go away on its own (doubtful) I would like to treat the fish.

What might this be and what would be the preferred treatment? Is copper still used these days??

The other decision is whether I should treat them as a pair even if one is not showing signs of infection?

 

[AgentSPS]

Okay update... now they both have this on their fins. Can't tell if it is eating away the fin or not (yet). I think it might be one of the two below described infections:

Q: The fish's fins appear to be slowly eaten away and edged in white.
A: This is a classic case of Fin and Tail Rot. It is caused by a Pseudomonas Bacteria (A condition called: Pseudomoniasis).

Treatment: There are quite a few things you can use to treat this condition. TMP-Sulfa -or- Sulfa 4 TMP -or- Neomycin Sulfate -or- Tetracycline -or- Nitrofurazone.

Q: My fish have an off-white looking substance growing on the fins.
A: This is a gram-negative bacterial infection called Columnaris Disease. Some people often mistake this disease as a fungus.

 

[zfunk007]

Well I'm no expert on fish disease. But it could be a number of things. Possibly an ich spot. If you have them in quarantine you should probably be keeping the quarantine tank in hyposalinity. I would gradually lower the salinity over the next week or two until you get it down really low. To about 1.009. Thats what I keep my quarantine at. And it works for ich very well.

Just out of curiosity, what size tank are you putting this pair into when you get them out of quarantine? Thats really great that you were able to get a pair!

Anyone else have any input on this?

 

[AgentSPS]

Hi Zfunk. I can try hyposalinity but I am positive this is not ich. Is hypo affective for bacterial infections? I am also thinking about picking up a UV sterilizer as well just for good measure.

These will be going into a 225 sps tank. I still think they are a bit big for the tank but I am hoping the combination of simulated natural environment and keeping them as a pair will workout well.

 

[ReefGeekster]

With My Moorish Idol I used Melfix and massive water changes to keep the water as fresh as possible and I also did get a 36w UV and she/he pulled through. What ever was on the fin went away by wether anything I did or on it's own I don't know. As long as it is eating more than likely it will pull through. I also used Selcon vitamin supplement on it's food.

 

[Paul B]

AgentSPS, you are correct, that is not ich and UV sterilizers and hypo will do nothing for it. Your best bet is neomyacin.
Paul

 

[Dave3872]

Yeah sorry, I posted before I read your second response. You can try Mardel Maraycn. That stuff works very well on bacterial infections.

 

[AgentSPS]

Guys... I purchased and dosed Triple Sulfa today before I got your responses. I will see how this works on their fins. I want to get them healthy as quickly as possible so I can transfer them to the main tank. I am worried that the quarantine is too small for these two. I don't want to cause undue stress.

 

[Mike de Leon]

Hey guys! I just wanted to share with you what my LFS has taught me about teaching an MI how to eat. He suggested putting them in with a Tang.
I was lucky to have a yellow Tang already. The MI followed him everywhere! Including trying to eat Nori and everything else I feed them. I can also say that my MI says "oink". I have had him now for two months and going strong.
I have them in a 70 gallon. I am now forced to upgrade to a 6' long tank, darn! Just perfect for Christmas!

 

[zfunk007]

Ok, the post from Dave3872 is me. I was at my girlfriends house and accidentally posted with her brothers account. Silly me

Anyway, thats an interesting idea Mike. That is also why they say that if you introduce them in a small group or pair into a fish tank that they might have a better chance at survival.

Now, I have some very interesting news. As alot of you probably know, I started my own business selling fish online. Because of this, I have been put into contact with some pretty interesting wholesalers. I have been talking to one in Hawaii that catches all his own stuff. He gets Moorish Idols all the time.

I am going to try and convince him to ship me some Moorish Idols the same day he gets them out of the ocean. If I can do this, I could end up with some very healthy specimens.

I am currently upgrading my facilities here so that I can house ALOT more fish. I plan on having alot of room for Moorish Idols. I may even make them one of the main focuses of my business. I really want to understand how these fish live and how they breed. Because of course that is my ultimate goal.

I also don't know why I never mentioned this. But my girlfriend is half Hawaiian. So I may get to go there this summer. If I do, you can be assured I will be spending alot of time diving with the Idols and taking lots of pictures. And they will all be shared here. Also once I get my new business fish system up and running (500+ gallons) and get some Idols in it I will definetly post some pictures.

Hope everyones Idols are doing well, I am really excited about this. I can see the day where I will be breeding Moorish Idols in a 10,000 gallon cement pond in a warehouse. Imagine that, being able to tell people that you have healthy captive bred Moorish Idols for sale. The day will come!

 

[Paul B]

Zfunk. I wish you luck with your new business. My old girlfriend (In the early seventees) lived here in New York and went to Hawaii for a visit. She is still there, never came back. She runs Hertz or Avis rent a car on Maui. I went there and realized why. It is the second most beautiful place I have ever seen, especially if you go to the outer less populated Islands. I did dive there but did not see any Idols. I know there are a lot of them there just not where I dove. I know there all over Tahiti though.
My Idol is coming up on two years now and is much too large for my 100 gallon. I removed a lot of rock but I can see that he is frustrated by the glass. I followed these in the sea and they like to swim like 50 yards at a time before they stop for food. Speaking about Hawaii,
now I have to start my snow blower, it is supposed to snow 7" here tonight.
Take care.
Paul