Moorish Idol?????

[pilot_bell777]

I would personally like to hear from all the people that are

key word here: "SUCCESSFULLY" keeping a moorish idol


What are you doing different?

What are you doing that is making it stay healthy and successful?

Any insight would be great!

[::pete::]

If interested keep in mind they eat corals!

[pilot_bell777]

I heard that anyone Successfully keeping them just buy a new one every year or so and say it is the same one; but want to hear from those who have bought one! LOL

More interested in the science behind them verses buying one.

[Reef69]

There is no science IMO. I have one, have had him for 2 weeks and 1/2. I think the secret is to keep food in the tank constantly, not feeding all the time, but feed them regularly, 3 times a day or as often as you can. Mine LOVES nori, and he's picking at the rocks all the time. He loves the sponge that grows behind the rock work. I also feed 3 times a day a mix of different foods, but he goes more for the brine shrimp. I make sure everything is soaked in garlic and vitamins, he gets chubbier by the day..

[pilot_bell777]

I've heard that most people can get them to live for a little under a year, anyone have one for over a year?

[Fin-Addict]

Our MI has been with us for about 14 months now. He has a 200 gal tank pretty much to himself except for a couple of chromis. That is Felipe's favorite fish! He really is a pig.

[Reef69]

What do yall feed him??

[pilot_bell777]

anything special in his diet that you are feeding him? good question Reef69.......

[Fin-Addict]

Oh, geez, Ill be here all night! j/k :lol
Spirulina Brine, Mega Marine Angel Formula, Formula 2, Brine, Mysis, all kinds of nori. Then Felipe spoils him with mussels and clams. :roll

[Fin-Addict]

I think the nori is most important, he ate a whole sheet last night!!!

[abe77901]

I kept mine for about 6 months before giving it to Jaded because I switched from reef to fowlr, he never messed with my corals (i have softies, zoos, and sps). Keep him weel fed with a variety of food, from nori, to romain lettuce, to seaweed select, to flake food, mysis shrimp, brine, just really anything he really enjoyed something different each day. Also they are a schooling fish, and I had him with 3 or 4 other fish his size that he got along really well, that i've heard has alot to do with it also. You might ask jaded, last i heard he was doing wonderful and eating like a pig.

Most important is keep water quality VERY high. They can not stand nitrate spikes.

[Reef69]

Yep, Nori is basic in their survival. there is LAWAYS nori in the tank for him..

[jaded]

Abe's MI was doing wonderful the last I heard. I had to get rid of him becuase he was getting badly harrassed by my Purple Tang which was always my biggest concern... In hind sight I should have gotten rid of the Purple first becuase all he did was move onto the yellow tang and now I don't have either :(

He was doing very well on a variety of foods as well as a constant source of food. I always kept Nori in the tank and he picked over the sponges growing on the rocks. I fed Mysis, Brine, Blood worms, Krill (blended), seaweed that I got from a korean market, shrimp and mussles

The main thing as I see it is the variety of foods but its also important to feed often. I feed with a syringe so I can feed many times during the day without over feeding. I get home from work and thaw out food in the 60cc syringe and then feed small shots all evening long until my lights go out after midnight (taking time out for short rests of course). As I said I tried to always have nori in the tank for him.

[Reef69]

Who was the lucky person who took it?

[blueboy]

Jenn's had one for quite a while, maybe she'll chime in.

[jaded]

Thats a good question Diego... I think I might have blocked it out. It's just to painful to think about. I know the purple tang went to Austin but I cant remember who has the MI

[alteredego]

I got the MI from JADED, that thing will eat you out of house and home. i decided to put him in with another MI after I read they like to be with a companion. then the purple tang started beating them both up pretty bad. i came home and found one hiding and the other swimming nose up. I thought he was a gonner, so i moved them to my other house where i have a 150gal with a few corals. they both recovered.. now i cant keep enough live clams around. i need to open an extention of HEB's seafood market up in my kitchen. I find the trick is to feed them when all the other fish are distracted on the other side of the tank, they will get used to this habit. My son has a banded cat shark that we hatched in the same tank, and he is use to me grabing him up every evening and feeding him in a bucket then puting him back in the tank when he's done.

[Reef69]

Well, some good news. i was feeding my tanks and then i started to wonder who in the 125 would eat flakes. So i threw some flakes in the tanks and everybody kinda smelled them but the moorish idol went nuts! he ate every single flake, so im guessing i will feed flakes twice a day and my other food once a day, it will keep everybody happy.

[alteredego]

make sure you also feed something with sponge in it as well, to keep them healthy