Moorish idol

[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..

[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.

[Dakotamay]

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.

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.

[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

[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 ?

[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

[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.

[mmaisonneuve]

Nice job ! I'm preping for mine !!! thr QT tank will get 2 more water change with the DT water before receiving the MI. Now I see that you talk about Sponge to feed them....can I get detail of what is it ?

[Amy]

That's great! I stopped feeding 5 times a day, we are now down to 2 or 3 feedings a day. That's why he's nipping at the zoas... but he eats more food eveMy water parameters havent changed much also, but I have some green algae in some places.. Doesn't bother me much since its not the main tank.
The moorish idols remind me a lot of the copperband butterflies... they're always searching for food and nipping everywhere, they have the same routine. Mine is always up very early, he starts nipping at the live rock 5 hours before the light comes on, and he goes to sleep very very late, I always see him roaming around before going to bed. I saw mine took some weight also, you can see they get rounder in shape, a good sign for sure.
I stopped feeding him clam pieces and oysters cause i'm afraid I wont be able to keep clams with him lol! I dont want to sell mine and I have a feeling he will nip at it later, my CBB did, and so does the flame angel if I dont feed him..  She needs a break!

I think the powerhead might be responsable for the streamer being chopped off..The tissue looks really fragile. When my MI is near a powerhead, it looks like it's almost gonna leave in the current. I'm actually thinking about removing some of the powerful powerheads... Not that he has a hard time swimming, but maybe he would eat better if the food didnt fly so fast in front of his face. He will 'run' after pellets real quick, but nothing else. He's really a Pellet-a-holic! I don't think it's too good for a moorish idol if he only eats that everyday.. I'll try to buy some ornamental sponges and break it into pieces, maybe if it's floating near him, he will taste it and finally eat them.

[Dakotamay]

Nice job ! I'm preping for mine !!! thr QT tank will get 2 more water change with the DT water before receiving the MI. Now I see that you talk about Sponge to feed them....can I get detail of what is it ?

In the wild from what I read MI mainly eat soft sponge. When we first got Maury he gobbled down the sponges that had been growing naturally in the sump on my 80lbs of live rock I keep down there. Once he finished that up. I had to go into Ottawa and pick up some pink and yellow sponges from Az at Aqua Valley.  $100 bucks later and he now has 3 nice pieces of sponge to nibble in the tank. I haven't seen him go for the yellow sponge yet. Just the large pink one.  Strangely the sponge doesn't seem to be bothered by being picked at either. It still appears quite healthy and happy. I also think it likes light! It gets smaller and paler in color during lights out and larger and more intense pink when lights are on. 

Watch for my pics this afternoon. I'm going to get some new ones to show of Maury and put them in the thread I started.

[Dakotamay]

That's great! I stopped feeding 5 times a day, we are now down to 2 or 3 feedings a day. That's why he's nipping at the zoas... but he eats more food eveMy water parameters havent changed much also, but I have some green algae in some places.. Doesn't bother me much since its not the main tank.
The moorish idols remind me a lot of the copperband butterflies... they're always searching for food and nipping everywhere, they have the same routine. Mine is always up very early, he starts nipping at the live rock 5 hours before the light comes on, and he goes to sleep very very late, I always see him roaming around before going to bed. I saw mine took some weight also, you can see they get rounder in shape, a good sign for sure.
I stopped feeding him clam pieces and oysters cause i'm afraid I wont be able to keep clams with him lol! I dont want to sell mine and I have a feeling he will nip at it later, my CBB did, and so does the flame angel if I dont feed him..  She needs a break!

I think the powerhead might be responsable for the streamer being chopped off..The tissue looks really fragile. When my MI is near a powerhead, it looks like it's almost gonna leave in the current. I'm actually thinking about removing some of the powerful powerheads... Not that he has a hard time swimming, but maybe he would eat better if the food didnt fly so fast in front of his face. He will 'run' after pellets real quick, but nothing else. He's really a Pellet-a-holic! I don't think it's too good for a moorish idol if he only eats that everyday.. I'll try to buy some ornamental sponges and break it into pieces, maybe if it's floating near him, he will taste it and finally eat them.

Ours does the same thing. Up before the birds lol and is the last to go to bed at night. He darts around the tank late at night all the time.  They are constant grazers. Maury is always on the look out for a morsel lol.  I would think that is why he is after your zoas. See if you can figure a way to keep some meat in the tank during waking hours for him. It's worked for us.

I would try just turning off your powerheads during feeding time. I tried that with Maury but he was less interested in the food the slower it went. Strange. We'll see this morning if he goes after the mysis the way he did yesterday morning.

I'm noticing this morning that the long streamer is starting to re grow. Hopefully it was dietary and he'll keep it this time. He did run out of sponge for a couple of days before he lost the streamer. He's now had sponge back since Sunday.  Maybe sponge in the diet plays a part. But, you mentioned your's isn't eating sponge. Maybe he is getting some off of your rocks? It's great to be able to compare fish and their habits and the results.

[mmaisonneuve]

I've read that the streamer will grow and fall and then regrow and fall again. Some people had MI for years and kept seeing this lost and regrowth thing. I would suspect that if it grows back he's getting the proper food.

[Dakotamay]

I've read that the streamer will grow and fall and then regrow and fall again. Some people had MI for years and kept seeing this lost and regrowth thing. I would suspect that if it grows back he's getting the proper food.

Thanks for that info. I hadn't read that anywhere. His is short and growing again. I just posted updated pics in the thread I started.

[Amy]

Here's a little update of my moorish idol:

He finally settled down completely! He has become quite aggressive towards the bristletooth tang, to the point where the tang will let him eat first (he used to be the most dominant fish in there, always charging from one side to the other, showing some attitude to everyone and always tried to steal the food too!) Luckily, the fish I have are all tough and don't get nervous, they back down but not in fear. The moorish idol will bolt to the front of the tank to be the first to get the food, he will even ram the other fish, and he eats pellets like crazy! He has a huge belly, you can see the bump. He's still not a fan of mysis and brine, he will eat some but clearly doesnt like the taste of it (spits most of it)

He's not camera shy at all too, everytime I take pictures, he constantly swims by.
He's really mellow, I had to redo all the live rock since I really didnt like how it was placed and when I had my hands in there and moved everything, he still swam around like normal.
He ate a couple of minutes after I redid his rock palace!

He still has his streamer at the same length and doesn't seem bothered at all by the size of the tank, which is great since I want to keep him in that tank for another 2 months at least!

Here's a picture I took last night of him.

[Cheebs]

What an amazing fish, I'm happy it's working out, good job

[Pablo]

Here's an update of the Moorish idol..
He's now feeding really agressively on a mix of mysis, brine, pellets. He loves his algae disks and seaweed on a clip!
He's in the 210g since 2 weeks now.. had some trouble with the purple tang, but now they dont bother each other anymore.
Still completely reef safe so far, has no interest in corals or the clam, just grazes on algae.
Really not shy at all, always the first to eat basically, he's always in the front, loves to swim but always stays in the corner where I put food  He's a begger.
And his streamer is getting ridiculously long lol!









Hes still not eating sponges.... he loves the pellets too much!

[Dakotamay]

Hey Amy,
It's been a while. How is your MI doing?

[FocusFin]

Any updates.

[NjOyRiD]

Mi is doing good, its in my tank now..eating all the time, non stop.