Holy crap... just ordered a pair of moorish idols!!

leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
I love seeing them at the zoo by me. They have a huge display tank with a ton of them in there. I would love to try them someday. lol
They are beautiful!!!! They look very healthy.
 
ironeagle2006

ironeagle2006

Active Member
No what I do is have pair of buckets set up one if freshwater dip one is a mix of saltwater with Copper and de wormer in it. I net the new fish first put it in the copper mix bucket for 3-5 mins then move it to the fresh water dip for another 3-5 mins then back to the DT. Needless to say have been doing that for 3 years with every thing BUT inverts and never have had an issue with ICH.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by SpiderWoman
http:///forum/post/2787378
Sweet Mother!!!! Those are just tooooo cute!
PS I tried scraping the sponge off the rock and reacted to my touch by shrinking up and made it impossible to get anything off. :( sorry
Oh that's ok... I appreciate the effort. I went out last night and picked up some rock with some different sponges on them. Some black, some yellow, some orange. I already have some sponge growing on the rock I've had and I also got some Angel Formula with sponge. Between all these sources, there should be enough sponge to satisfy these guys.
They both seem very comfortable and one of them is picking at the rocks a lot. I think that at least one, if not both of these guys may eat tonight.
Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I'll keep posting pics and updates for these two.
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
Just saw the thread. Glad you decided to give them a go Crimzy, they look great, as I'm the one that recommended the wholesaler, I REALLY hope they work out.

To anyone flaming him, I think a bit ridiculous, no offense, but particularly you Tim. That Dragon Eel you brought in from Hawaii is 100X's more rare than a Moorish Idol. I saw Idols all over the water in my 2 trips to Hawaii, i.e. they are not very rare, barely any more so than the Tuna I ate last night. If an advanced hobbyist (like Crimzy) wants to try it, I see no issue with it.
 
cedarreef

cedarreef

Member
I agree... I've only seen these magnificent fish in Hawaii's waters. I wish you the best of luck with these fish, and I'm definitely going to keep an eye on this thread!
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2787607
It's after 4, where's the pics with the lights on??


I'm slightly lazy right now. My lack of energy could be due to not eating or drinking ANYTHING since dinner yesterday. I'm just sitting here watching these guys cruise the tank and graze constantly. They have already found the sponge rocks that I got yesterday and the aggression in the tank is pretty much gone. I put some pellet food in and the idols definitely seem interested though I could not tell if they actually took a few bites. I am optimistic that they will taste the romaine this evening. I will post pics later... maybe take a quick video.
 
cedarreef

cedarreef

Member
You are officially the envy of everyone on SWF.com lol... 450 tank with moorish idols... i wish i could afford that some day
 
myerst22

myerst22

Member
Trig my words were not hostile as crimzy would probably back up. I know idols are not rare, but their survival track record is the problem. Yes I have a dragon Moray. No they are not rare as you say but rare in the trade. They are very reclusive and where they reside is the reason they are "rare". They are "rare" because they are found in areas that divers don't collect, deep water in some cases, and very very reclusive. The difference being is that keeping a dragon Moray is is rather easy and a hobbiest with some experience can keep one for many years. Whereas the Idol has be kept by aquarists with degrees and still have failed. People have this conception that when retailers list a fish as "rare", they think that there are limited numbers of the fish. This could be the furthest from the truth. Case in point the super rare Clarion Angel. This angel is super abundant and is in no threat of over collection. They just happen to live in a very difficult place, to get permits, or restricted collecting area, and a very cost prohibitive place to ship them. Just as the case with clown file fish. Yes they are extremely beautiful, have a heavy population, and very reasonable priced, but 99 out of a 100 will die within a month or two. This is the same with the Idols. So ktrig if the fish in question have a strong population on the reefs, which in reality none do then it is justified to keep then knowing fully well they will die very prematurely. I know most captive fish die in captivity pre-maturely, but not because we don't have the knowledge to keep them, but lack of husbandry skills and other outside cause, i.e power loss, etc. In fact we know how to keep a a clown filefish alive very easily. Provide an abundance of live SPS for them to feed one. Problem is no one will allow this to happen except for extreme cases. As for the Idols, the most experienced ichthyologists do not know how to keep them alive for long periods of time. Those Idols that have lived for over a year seem to lucky fish and no reason why they have lived why all others have died. The majority of Idols that have had success have lived in displays of 1000 gallons with extremely aged rock, which in the case of crimzy seems to have as a great start. Just want to make people here aware that these fish are beautiful but have a one of the poorest track records of all the fish commonly available. We should praise the fish for its beauty but should be a bit alarmed that is kept with such a high frequency knowing that it will likely die in a couple of months. Also know your facts before attacking someone for keeping a "rare" fish. Personally I think keeping a "rare" fish that I know I have the skills to keep for many years is a far better choice than a "common" one that I know will most like;y die regardless of my skills and research. Again crimzy I hope you have great success with your Idols. Regards, Tim
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
Amazing how well that tank cleaned up. I remember the first pictures in your garage and it was ... filthy to say it nicely. You did a great job with it!
How much LR do you currently have in there?
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
I am certainly not picking on you for having the Dragon Tim, I hope to have one someday, and I will take your word that they are not as rare as they are uncommon in the trade....I certainly don't support some beginner with a 75 gallon tank going out and buying 3 Idols because they're pretty, I hope I didn't come off saying that, because that is just a waste. But this is a very different case. This is an advanced hobbyist with a large stable tank. I also know Steve aka SrFisher kept an Idol for 10+ years and has another one now, in the right setting it can be done.
I think word is out enough on the difficulty of this fish, they are not in high demand at all. I know what Crimzy paid for them, if they were in demand, the price would be a lot higher. His 2 M.I.'s combined cost about half what my Sohal Tang did from the same wholesaler.
Oh, great pics Crimzy.
 
crimzy

crimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by SpiderWoman
http:///forum/post/2787779
Amazing how well that tank cleaned up. I remember the first pictures in your garage and it was ... filthy to say it nicely. You did a great job with it!
How much LR do you currently have in there?
Thanks. There is over 300 lbs of lr in there, though I know it doesn't look like it.
 
rebelprettyboy

rebelprettyboy

Active Member
Dang that doesnt look anywhere near 300 lbs of LR lol...
I love ur tank though. Hate seeing tanks like ur cuz it makes hate my tank cuz I cant get any kool fish like u! It looks great and the Idols seem to be doing well for now! Hope they work out for you
 
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