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Moorish idol

Started by Amy, May 30, 2012, 09:51:36 AM

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Amy

While I'm having a big issue with my 210g, I'm also having a wonderful time enjoying my beautiful moorish idol swim in my living room!

At least it's not 100% bad at home..
Here's the little guy feeding on Pellets.

[embed=425,349]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGNHqBm4VbE[/embed]

[embed=425,349]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAx9vRxh-B8&feature=relmfu[/embed]

He still is picky, he will look at his food for some time before eating, but when he does, he then goes berserk!
He's now feeding on brine, mysis, pellets, nori (he LOVES it), grazer discs in mini chunks (he won't pick at it) oysters/clam/octopus/cuttlefish/shrimp on the cheese grater, I even gave him some mini silverside chunks and he likes it. There's nothing he won't it basically, as long as it fits in his mouth, he's a taker!

He's still not nipping at the sponge, but he is nipping at some things on the live rock. There's this particular hole he likes to search into, I can't see what's in there but he wants it.

*Tank looks horrible because I took out some rocks and a lot of corals, I also flipped most of the rocks so he has access to the sponge*

Amy

For those of you who have one at home from ray's batch, are they still doing great?
Have you notice their little dorsal fin getting longer? his had some tissue missing at first, you could see the little spine sticking out, but it grew back in no time.

Dakotamay

Hi Amy,
This is awesome to see that your moorish idol is doing great and eating better for you now. Ours that we named Maury is also doing awesome. Eats anything as long as it fits in his mouth like yours. Wasn't as picky as yours has been to get eating though.  But as long as yours is eating well now that's great to hear.

Speaking of the long trailing streamer at the top of the fin. Ours has developed this too. I figure it must be a sign of good health.  It's really pretty to watch him swim around as that trails behind. It's gotten longer by the day with ours.  Wonder how long it will get?

Is your red sponge a chili sponge by chance?  Ours won't touch the chilis sponge. Loves any soft sponges though. I'd bet that rock he's wanting to get into has a sponge in the hole.

I'll try and update my thread with a new pic soon so you can see how the streamer has grown on ours.

Amy

his fin grows everyday also, I thought it was only my imagination, but it is getting pretty long. It's now at least 3 cm longer than when we got him.
I read that the tail shrinks the more they get older, but they're supposed to have a really long fin, like a couple of inches long! They're far from being adult so I guess their fin will grow another inch or two withing the next weeks for sure.

I have all kinds of sponge in my tank, the ones that are easily accessible are white sponges, yellow sponges, grey tube-like sponge and I have the red sponge also. I also have a sea squirt! but I feel bad flipping the rock to let him eat it lol... That sea squirt has been in 4 different tanks in my home, I'm starting to get attached haha.

I'll try splitting a sponge into chunks to see if he's going to go for it... maybe he likes them but he's afraid to nip at them, who knows. He's just like a kid, you pratically need to do the "airplane spoon" with him.. :P

Dakotamay

Hahaha that's too funny. We don't have to spoon feed our guy. He's a busy grazer. Quite happy to pig out when pellets or any other foods go into the tank.
I did catch him take a taste of my clam yesterday night. I guess it's time to up the meat in his diet. As if 2-3 feedings of meat a day weren't enough lol.
I'm hoping he doesn't actually go for the clam. If so, we'll have a decision to make. I am low on sponge too. Supposed to be coming in on the order tomorrow. Maybe once he's restocked with sponge he'll behave again lol. We'll watch him closely.

Amy

haha :p  I took out my clam before putting him in the 60, I don't know how he's going to react when they will be in the same tank.
I feed him meat everyday, just in case, he gets algae everyday too. One day it's pellets in the morning, brine/mysis in the afternoon with his seaweeds. The other day it's pellets in the morning again then oyster/clam/squid/cuttlefish/shrimp in pieces in the afternoon, plus chunks of algae grazer disks. I found that he nipped a lot at my rock when I didnt feed him meat in a day, especially if it was just the pellets with nori. He will still nip for sure even if i gave him the seafood medley, but less aggressively.

Yesterday he was at the surface of the water nipping at my glass thermometer! I could see his little fin sticking out :)

I really hope his diet will be enough to keep him alive for at least a year. If he's still picky in 5 weeks, I'll add a second moorish idol, I'm sure he's gonna feel more relax with a buddy after that. I would have even add 3 if that's what it takes to make them feel at home. Such a nice beautiful fish, it must be quite something to watch when they're schooling in the ocean.

mmaisonneuve

That's it......Amy you got me decided......I got to get one. I'll be calling MarineScape today to try to get one ordered in. I've sold my Beautifull Cream Plated Angel last night to mare room in the tank for a Moorish.
90g Tank, 50g Sump. Super Reef Octopus 2000 skimmer , 1 Bio Beads reactor, 1 GFO Reactor, 1 Carbon Reactor, 2 Ecotech Radion XR30w, 3 Vortech MP10w ES,  Eheim 1260 Return Pump. AquaController Apex System. SPS Reef with Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Dejardini Tang, Mated pair Madanrin, Clown, Purple Fire Fish, Bengali Cardinals, Coral Beauty. Tons and tons of Snail and Hermits

Dakotamay

Quote from: mmaisonneuve on June 01, 2012, 08:22:06 AM
That's it......Amy you got me decided......I got to get one. I'll be calling MarineScape today to try to get one ordered in. I've sold my Beautifull Cream Plated Angel last night to mare room in the tank for a Moorish.

Didn't you say you had a 90g with a yellow and purple tang?  I'd caution you to add a moorish with those two fish. Especially the yellow tang. They're known to be aggressive and a moorish won't take the stress of being bullied. It will die and fast. They are extremely susceptible to ich like tangs are when stressed.  Just a word of caution.

I put a moorish in with ours as ours is a 180g tank. With plenty or rock work for everyone to have territory and hide out if being chased. My guys didn't bother the moorish at all though.  I guess if you still decide to go ahead you'll have to watch the moorish carefully for signs of stress and being bullied by the yellow or purple.

Good luck. I really think you should think this through again though.  I also think but can't recall for certain that the recommended min tank size for a moorish is a 180g.

veron

Just a question, how will you deal with the very large amount of nutrients that
feeding these type of fish creates??

veron

I agree with the above poster. I wouldn't put a MI in with those tangs in a 90g.
If I had a 90g I'd just do the MI with no compatition. Its hard enought to get them to eat and live long term [10+ years] and you'll have to feed 3 to 4 times daily
with high protien foods that can pollute a tank fast.
While MI's are awsome looking fish, there ALOT of work especially if you want a reef tank. Most people who try high maintenance fish forget that they'll be doing more
tank maintenance than your average reef keeper. And good luck with ever taking a vacation unless you know someone dedicated enough to want to keep your tank schedule going while your away.
I'm not trying to be a downer but these type of fish IMO are for people retired ,experienced and never wanting to leave the house. 8)

I love anthias but there a pain to feed/keep and I'd prefer better water conditions
for a reef tank than being chained to my aqaurium. ;)

mmaisonneuve

Yep well thanks for all the good advice....I'll do some more thinking.

At some point I had in there 3 Tang (1 Blue Hyppo, 1 Purple, 1 Yellow) 1 CBB and 1 Cream Plated Angel. 5 Big Fish and was feeding a lot.

Nori in the morning, pellets twice a day (Auto Feeder) and Frozen mix at night....to keep all this clean I have. 1 Skimmer, 1 GFO reactor, 1 Carbon Reactor, 1 BioPellets. I change filter socks every 2 days and I also have a refugium.

Now I've since sold the Angel and the Blue Tang and the CBB killed himself in a pump.

My yellow tang is a little weird.....he's always hidding....the purple guy is great.....not really a chaser.
90g Tank, 50g Sump. Super Reef Octopus 2000 skimmer , 1 Bio Beads reactor, 1 GFO Reactor, 1 Carbon Reactor, 2 Ecotech Radion XR30w, 3 Vortech MP10w ES,  Eheim 1260 Return Pump. AquaController Apex System. SPS Reef with Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Dejardini Tang, Mated pair Madanrin, Clown, Purple Fire Fish, Bengali Cardinals, Coral Beauty. Tons and tons of Snail and Hermits

Dakotamay

You can always try it. But remember you were advised that it probably isn't a good idea. If you do decide to try a MI keep us updated on how he does.

Oh and they are not reef safe with caution. Our guy until yesterday was tasting my clam and blasto's. I decided I needed to find a way to have a steady source of meat for him. We got a 16 inch shrimp skewer. We load this with shrimp, squid, octopus and oyster meat in the morning and he is picking at it throughout the day. This has kept him busy enough that he no longer is picking anything in the tank that he shouldn't be. Hopefully the novelty doesn't wear off and he stays interested in it lol.

Wanted to share that though as it is another factor to consider when putting into a reef tank. It may be that the MI you get is great never picks or is terrible and destroys corals. You just never know. Ours was lacking enough meat, despite being fed meat 3 times a day. He needed it readily available all day.

mmaisonneuve

Well I have to admit it's a risky business. I've gave my name to MS and they will call me...With pricing, availability and from where they are.....I'm a MS guy.....they've always been good and honest. Now can you give me more details on what is that deive you got to get him nibble onto all day ?

Thanks
90g Tank, 50g Sump. Super Reef Octopus 2000 skimmer , 1 Bio Beads reactor, 1 GFO Reactor, 1 Carbon Reactor, 2 Ecotech Radion XR30w, 3 Vortech MP10w ES,  Eheim 1260 Return Pump. AquaController Apex System. SPS Reef with Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Dejardini Tang, Mated pair Madanrin, Clown, Purple Fire Fish, Bengali Cardinals, Coral Beauty. Tons and tons of Snail and Hermits

Dakotamay

It's just a 16 inch long stainless steel skewer. Most people use them to make up shish ka bobs for the bbq. This allows the meat to stay in the tank all day without it breaking down and getting into the rock work where I can't remove what is uneaten. Helping to preserve my water quality.

Sorry Amy. Didn't mean to hijack your thread at all. How is your moorish idol doing?

mmaisonneuve

Thanks for the info. I guess I could also use my Vegyclip with the Rogers Reef food mesh and place it in there ?
90g Tank, 50g Sump. Super Reef Octopus 2000 skimmer , 1 Bio Beads reactor, 1 GFO Reactor, 1 Carbon Reactor, 2 Ecotech Radion XR30w, 3 Vortech MP10w ES,  Eheim 1260 Return Pump. AquaController Apex System. SPS Reef with Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Dejardini Tang, Mated pair Madanrin, Clown, Purple Fire Fish, Bengali Cardinals, Coral Beauty. Tons and tons of Snail and Hermits

Dakotamay

You'll have to just experiment and see what works best for you and your fish. Earlier you mentioned getting yours from Marine Scape. I wouldn't pay anymore than $50 taxes in. We paid $42 for ours.

mmaisonneuve

I guess I'll have to try it like you said. Has for pricing.....I'll let the guys at MS make their price....for sure their price structure is different....but they have to deal with rent, overhead and the usual stuff you need to deal with when running a business from a mall.

Thanks
90g Tank, 50g Sump. Super Reef Octopus 2000 skimmer , 1 Bio Beads reactor, 1 GFO Reactor, 1 Carbon Reactor, 2 Ecotech Radion XR30w, 3 Vortech MP10w ES,  Eheim 1260 Return Pump. AquaController Apex System. SPS Reef with Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Dejardini Tang, Mated pair Madanrin, Clown, Purple Fire Fish, Bengali Cardinals, Coral Beauty. Tons and tons of Snail and Hermits

Dakotamay

Amy, did your moorish loose it's long trailing streamer?  Ours has. I'm not certain why. I think maybe because he was without sponge for a few days.

Amy

Mine still has it... Maybe he got hurt somewhere? Is the "spine" sticking out or it's just less long? It's probably gonna grow back soon enough, just give him some time. My moorish idol is not eating sponges at all!  Like none! He's started eating zoas though... He loves nipping at them. He's still feeding really good on pellets and Nori, he stopped eating brine shrimp though... I see him spitting it back all the time.. He's starting to have clear preference for some food, which is okay, he knows what he wants to it. He's feeding more agressively so I'm not worried about him much...

Keep us updated with Maury, I'm sure it's nothing bad!

Dakotamay

Maury is doing great.  I have no idea where the streamer went. I kinda wondered after seeing him go beneath the powerhead if it got chopped off by that. His actual spine isn't showing. No damage or illness. He's healthy as a horse lol.
This morning actually he surprised me. he actually went after the mysis shrimp with the big boys lol. He grabbed his share. There was no inspecting for size first lol. He just gobbled.

Maury eats a lot of sponge. Though it's not his main diet. He knows it's there and grazes when he wants it. He spends most of his time grazing the New Era mini grazers and the algae sheets. Of course meat when I feed it.   He is noticeably fattening up lol. Just what I wanted. 

I did notice that when I wasn't keeping a constant food of interest in there for him to graze as he wanted he would get into trouble lol. I caught him once nipping the clam and then my blasto's. Since I started keeping meat, grazer and nori in there during daylight hours. He hasn't bothered again. The blasto's open up again and the clam is well happy as a clam lol. Oh and he took a taste of the devils hand when we added it. But left it alone now too.  I read they are constant grazers so that's what prompted my decision to make sure there is food in there all the time for him.  My water quality has taken a hit for it too. Starting to see a bit of cyano cropping up. Trying now to come up with more clever ways to keep food available and still not tank my water.

I'll get a couple new pics of Maury and post them in my thread for comparison since we got him.