Moorish Idol - nighttime colors
- Thread starter 110reef
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It was really cool to watch him swim around the tank. Thanks for doing that Ken.
btw...You have a great collection of fish.
btw...You have a great collection of fish.
OP
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110reef
Active Member
Looking good Ken! So what corals are being ignored by the Moorish?
Troy (withholding crappy cell phone camera jokes for now)
Other than the zoas which have been consumed long ago, the idol doesn't bother any corals. A few of your paly's are still holding on but between being pecked at by the Idol and being overwhelmed by byropsis, they are not very happy at all.
Thanks! Quality is very bad, I know, but you get the idea....
In my opinion the keys are:
1. Have a large tank. I also think that having a reef tank is better than having a fish-only, since the Idol can find other things to eat. Of course, those other things can be your prized corals - in my case it ate all my zoanthids.
2. Get a good specimen that is eating. This Idol was eating right from the start, even pellets.
3. Feed often, especially at first. Feed a lot of different things. Mine mostly eats flakes and pellets now, but when I first got it it would go on little hunger strikes unless I put in Rod's or some other food from time to time. It seems to need to eat very often, i don't think its stomach is very big, so it doesn't eat a lot at one time, so feed often.
4. Of course keeping your water in good shape is a given...
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Mr Beardsley
Community Member
I have a theory that people will keep seeing better success with species of fish that used to be thought of as Impossible, like the Moorish Idol, Clown Tangs, Regal Angels, and others. I think this is due to 2 reasons. First, collection practices have improved quite a bit leading to many people having a much better chance at a quality fish from the start. And second, our aquariums have gotten bigger, with much better nutrient export allowing people to feed their fish much more often. Looking at the Idol, there doesn't seem like much room for storing fat reserves, and from what I can tell, they seem to have a fairly inefficient digestive tract. I think they need to be fed often throughout the day to do well. In the past feeding a lot meant you were going to struggle with a lot of algae. Now however we have much better skimmers, carbon dosing, and other methods that allow us to feed a lot and maintain water quality.
Sorry for the tangent, your Idol looks great, I hope this is just the first year of many!
Sorry for the tangent, your Idol looks great, I hope this is just the first year of many!
OP
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110reef
Active Member
Just a quick update. The Idol is still doing well. I have also rid the tank of the dreaded byropsis, which unfortunately was a source of snack food for the Idol. So after the byropsis was gone, the Idol seemed to become less healthy. It's pennant became very short, and it had some black areas on its dorsal fin that weren't there before, and it became a little skinnier. I began feeding lots of Nori and Seaweed (I get it in the sushi section of the store) and the Idol seems to have improved. The pennant has grown back to a good length, and it overall looks a lot better. It is still a little skinnier than I would like, but I believe that is because I have a rabbitfish that has really grown, along with his appetite. The Idol has always been a somewhat timid fish, and the rabbitfish is very bold and quick when feeding, and I believe the rabbitfish gets so much food that the Idol gets left out to some extent. (I am trying to catch the rabbitfish to remove him, but have not been able to catch it). Anyway, just wanted to report on the Idol and how it is doing, as many people have been curious. It is still my favorite fish of all time, great looks and great personality.
