Moorish Idol

Mrhaglund · Jan 14, 2014

Sorry about some typos in my post. new to this form and have not figured out how to edit yet. It's close enough to get the drift.

vetteguy53081 · Jan 14, 2014

Despite changes in industry and new technology, Feeding/diet is still the key challenge. They die not from tank husbandry but rather from diet.

DeepSeaIllusions · Jan 14, 2014

Ok, so I have decided to give a negative advice to my client on adding the Idol. Yet I think that we can still keep on discussing about them.

So if feeding is that essential and them feeding on sponges even more so.... Does that mean that these fish more or less should be added to an established reef aquarium with different sponges growing in it? Is this the way to secure a better chance of success?

Eienna · Jan 14, 2014

This is just conjecture, but I would expect them to run out of sponge pretty quickly in a confined system.

tyler1503 · Jan 14, 2014

Assuming it is sponges they need so badly in order to survive long term, then I would think a mature aquarium is a must.
Although, the public aquarium I live near that has had theirs for 2 years give or take, has VERY minimal live rock in the tank, plus it's locally collected rock so it doesn't have the sponges naturally found on the reefs.
Where I live the waters are too cold for tropical species to survive in. They come down on the EAC that finding nemo made famous and get trapped here and die off in a matter of weeks or months. They come down around this time of year and die off around Easter. So they don't have a "natural" diet (in terms of what is found on the reefs) in the waters down here, so I'm unsure as to whether sponges play as large of a part of their diet as people seem to think. We obviously do have sponges down here, but they're temperate sponges, not tropical, so they're clearly different species. I don't know how much of a difference that makes, just something to consider.

Railcar79 · Jan 14, 2014

Ok here is my viewpoint, the hobby has advanced by leaps and bounds. Keeping the moorish is much easier than it used to be, but still a challenge. THe fact that so many people know now that they eat zoa speaks volumes. Back when I was looking at one, no one knew for sure what they ate, but they did well in dirty tanks, so they were thought to be a dirty water fish. turns out they just liked the sponges.

landshark777 · Jan 15, 2014

I think some fish were never meant to be contained in an aquarium...I reckob

DeepSeaIllusions · Jan 15, 2014

At the end of the day no fish is meant to be kept in an aquarium/or tight space. But people wanted to have them and that's how things started. Thank God they did otherwise we wouldn't have a hobby. Let's just hope we can do the best we can to give them a comfortable life.

vetteguy53081 · Jan 15, 2014

I strongly suggest the Heniocus (AKA) Banner butterfly, not as sunning but similar in appearance and very hardy as well as good community fish.

JMSKI333 · Jan 15, 2014

Eienna said:
I have to disagree, to an extent. Liveaquaria does okay, but they still deal with a large volume of orders and animals. Problems can easily be overlooked. Also, I do believe they list Moorish Idols as expert-only, which means they will not honor the usual guarantee. Nicewrasse takes good care of his customers, from what I hear (I have not yet ordered from him, personally.)

Eienna,

I respect your opinion but I would like you to take a look at some information I found from the live aquaria site. It appears that they have some procedures in place that drastically improve the survival rate of their fish that I find impressive. I think we can agree that a Morish Idol falls under the delicate species category. There is more information on their site if you are interested.

"Quarantine and Observation Period
The quarantine period for each fish ranges from a minimum of two weeks to several months for more delicate species. Throughout the quarantine period, all of the fish are monitored closely, with particular attention to breathing rate, swimming behavior, and overall appearance and demeanor. Once the fish have passed a thorough inspection, they are ready to be acclimated and moved into our main fish system."

I do not expect any vender to guarantee a Morish Idol.

Eienna · Jan 15, 2014

JMSKI333 said:
Eienna,

I respect your opinion but I would like you to take a look at some information I found from the live aquaria site. It appears that they have some procedures in place that drastically improve the survival rate of their fish that I find impressive. I think we can agree that a Morish Idol falls under the delicate species category. There is more information on their site if you are interested.

"Quarantine and Observation Period
The quarantine period for each fish ranges from a minimum of two weeks to several months for more delicate species. Throughout the quarantine period, all of the fish are monitored closely, with particular attention to breathing rate, swimming behavior, and overall appearance and demeanor. Once the fish have passed a thorough inspection, they are ready to be acclimated and moved into our main fish system."

I do not expect any vender to guarantee a Morish Idol.

I don't suppose anyone SHOULD guarantee one, I'll give you that.

I guess I've just seen more posts on DOAs and fish showing up with things like ich from Liveaquaria. Then again, that may just be because they sell so many fish - the rate could be perfectly good. I don't know.

Saltgator · Sep 29, 2014

Bumping this thread. A lfs near by has great success getting his morish idols eating. Just seen a video of them eating flakes then frozen Mysis.

Orchidcrazy1 · Sep 29, 2014

I can tell you how to keep them alive I have had mine for four years I feed them baby food varieties of vegetables but it's all I can sayP.m. me if you want the recipe to keep yours alive

SDguy · Oct 2, 2014

I've had one for a few years. IME they get less aggressive as they get older, when it comes to eating food. But that doesn't change the food intake they require. Hence, they need a large, trouble free tank, to thrive, IMO. A large tank, where they are the main centerpiece fish (rightfully so) is perfect.

babyjess210 · Oct 2, 2014

Lets see some pics or video

ReeferRookie · Oct 2, 2014

I dont have ne info to add. But i would. Like to say i admire your care for your client rather then saying sure thatll work and stiffing them with a bigger bill for that +100