morrish idol

[sinister52]

wow i didnt think that thread i made would turn into that. i just wanted to know about the clams in the tank. what i have been doing is leaving it for the night and changing it the next day.
also with what one guy said to try i am putting in some food like shrimp and sclaps and some algea in a clam shell to see if it will eat that also. so far it worked with the sclaps sea ones not the bay ones.
we will see what happens with it. also i did know what i was getting into i just wanted to see if i could get one and have it live.
anyone else who has gotten them to eat and live and can give me some other pointers please let me know.
thanks for the info guys

 

[emmitt]

Unless absolutely necessary, i wouldnt leave them in overnight. Unless they havent eaten any, i'd say to take them out right before you go to bed. That way, you shouldnt have to worry about any potential problems.
Good luck and keep us posted, i'm definitely rooting for you.

 

[sinister52]

thanks for the info and you other guys like batman1820 and sharkbait9 for the info also.
i was thinking about taking them out over night but then i would have to put them in again in the morning for the fish to have food during the day when i was at work.
i guess i could do it that way also

 

[sinister52]

also all i see for spirulina is small looking pieces. do the have bigger ones like over an inch or so?

 

[firedog]

I agree with not leaving the food in overnight.
I have read that even when you get them to eat they suffer from malnutrition in aquariums. So I would try to feed as wide a variety of foods that it will eat.
I know most spirulina pellets are small. HBH makes a small to medium size spirulina pellet. Maybe that is a decent size for you. Maybe you could try bundling some nori (seaweed sheets) into a roll and see if he will peck at that. Perhaps a rubber band around it?
Coach stated in the other thread that moorish idols also eat sponge. I don't know if you have any in your tank. Perhaps that might be a worthwhile purchase. Also you could try the Large Angel Formula, frozen cubes made by Ocean Nutrition (I think). I know it is the same company that makes Formula One and Formula Two. Perhaps it is worth looking into also.
Also you never stated what size tank and tankmates you keep with the idol, also how long you have had it, and did you get it online or at the lfs. Would you mind sharing? I would love to know how this all turns out too. So I hope you keep us updated, if not in a thread perhaps an email.
Hopefully this thread won't attract a lot of flamers and we can all learn something.
Again, good luck.

 

[sharkbait9]

I was think about the whole Moorish idol thing last night while I was trying to sleep, then it dawned on me. Go to your LFS and ask them if they would put aside any sponge that came in on the live rock before it gets recurred again. A lot of sponge comes in on live rock and it gets scraped/taken off before going into the vats to get cured again. A lot of people get sponge on the live rock when they get it, consider it a hitch hiker and take it off. Even if its dead or dieing it's got to be worth a try, since it is a staple for the fish. Freeze it and break parts off and defrost it in tank water and then let it float/sink like any other food and remove any uneaten bits. Yeah yeah yeah I know, it will lose some of its nutritional value if he freezes it. Something is better then nothing. I really would like to see people figure out the idol so it can become a normal everyday tank fish, all fish had to start off as guinea pigs. I know where I go diving here in jersey 5 miles off the coast, its loaded with tree sponge, encrusting sponge round sponge, the fish that eat sponge always are gathered right around the reefs just munching away. If you lived close enough the next time I go diving I’d grab you a catch bag full and let you just zip lock bag it and freeze it. It grows like wild fire, but starts to die off/ slow down in the colder months. Like right now last Saturday I couldn’t swing a dead lobster with out hitting sponge. Oh and before any one hits with the well it could hold containments, what about all the stuff you get from lfs? Those critters are magically made and put into tanks for use to buy? Not everything LFS get are CB most are wild caught. Just throwing ideas out for any possible chance for the moorish

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, to get the moorish idol some sponge in its diet, he could also get some Ocean Nutrition frozen Angel Formula because that stuff is very high in sponge.

 

[sharkbait9]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
Well, to get the moorish idol some sponge in its diet, he could also get some Ocean Nutrition frozen Angel Formula because that stuff is very high in sponge.
Oh yeah, damn it i forgot about that stuff. Good looking lion.

 

[v-lioness]

Try Different foods in the shell to see what it will eat, Ocean Nutrition frozen Angel Formula is a good suggestion, Greens such as Nori, fresh frozen Peas thawed can also be placed in a shell.
These fish are non stop swimmers (day and night), try to feed 3 times per day, at night try the nori, peas or sponge, this way it has something to pick at. You can ask your LFS for some sponges or look for sponges that have been exposed to the air and are dying, they may just give you those free.
They will eat Ghost Shrimp or crabs, if you feed ghost shrimp make sure to feed the ghost shrimp something nutritional first before putting them in your tank.
Some suggestions for meaty foods would be Scallops, Clams, Raw shrimp, Octo, Squid, Raw Crab, Mahi Mahi & Mysis.....
What ever you do feed this fish and feed as much as possible & offer a variety, this is very important!
Kaye

 

[moby]

WOW!
Now this is how you solve problems, with good advice!

I remember in the late eighties, pulsing xenia was considered very difficult to keep (experts only!) now the stuff grows like weeds in most well kept tanks.
Hopefully with this kind of helpful advice these too will become not only commonly kept but eventually thrive in the aquarium enviroment.
Keep us posted. I think anyone who has admired these beautiful animals is crossing their fingers.

Moby

 

[coachklm]

From the successful side ...just for you...
this is an excerpt from another board...
I have been feeding bananas to my reef for a while now and all of my fish including the moorish Idol love it. I think it is their favorite food. Of course this is just one meal, I also feed regular marine items too.
For the bananas I use three parts of banana and one part crushed garlic. I also mix in Selcon, vitamin A and some powered seaweed.
I have a mixed reef with about 25 fish and they all eat it except the copperband butterfly, he keeps trying it but has not yet accepted it. The two and a half year old moorish Idol practically jumps out of the water for it.
It is a little mushy so I take a little on the point of a knife and dip it in the water. It stays together until they eat it.
I wouldn't just feed this but it is a good way to get Selcon or some other vitamins into your fish. I would imagine bananas have benefits on their own but I doubt you will find any research on it.
Have a great day.
more to come...
I believe this is why he is successful...
I don't know if I am the only one doing this but I have been collecting local New York encrusting sponges to feed to moorish Idols. Most of my fish do not eat it except the moorish Idol loves it as do the clown gobies. Lately my bangai gobi also eats it. While diving in the South Pacific, sponges was all I ever saw Moorish Idols eat so I decided to collect it here. I am sure New York sponge does not resemble their natural sopnge diet but since he loves it so much and it is easy to collect and freeze I use it. It looks disguesting and grows on pilings and docks all over the north east including on my boat. I just take it and freeze it as it comes out of the water with no preparation. It has seaweed, starfish, crabs and small shrimp all over it and they get frozen with the sponge. I just scrape a little off to feed. The Idol will eat as much as I give him.
Have a great day.
hope this helps...

 

[swlover]

Wow, now you have a whole host of diff. foods to try..I would try as many as I could, you could always take out the food if he don't like it and check it off your list. I think with alot of animals a varied diet is aways best. Becareful with anything you get wild caught though, inspect it carefully before putting it in your tank..you don't want harmful critters in there! But good luck I'm routing for you also! It's nice to see/hear people going beyond the norm, challenging yes, but well worth it...thats what this hobby is all about. If no one tried new and difficult species, we all be disscussing goldfish right now!

 

[coachklm]

ohh and just a heads up the person who has been successful in this has been reduced to about 50 lbs of live rock in a 6' tank due to the MI streamer getting ripped off
so in this fishs case less is more..

 

[ophiura]

I do want to just add this.
In many cases, idols will eat FINE and will eat EVERYTHING and will still die in about a year. Best chance of any success will still be in a very large system with a whole lotta LR - think 300g range with several hundred pounds, IMO.
But above all, just remember this is a fish that may seem to be doing great and eating everything but until you (or anyone else) has kept one well over a year, I wouldn't be too confident
The one at our LFS ate EVERYTHING (including being given fresh LR). It beat the snot out of any fish put in with it. It survived system crashes that killed triggers and groupers. And then, one day about a year later, it was dead....like most of them. It was treated like a baby, given whatever we could find, fat and "happy"...but died.
So try anything you can, watch how things work, share what you learn - but PLEASE always be very cautious in ever suggesting anyone else try and keep this fish, should you ever be asked. Your experience will benefit others, and hopefully be more productive than those who have nothing productive to say on either side of these difficult issues. What works for one, may not work for another...and I don't believe this will ever be a fish that will be able to be kept by most aquarists.
Best of luck.

 

[v-lioness]

Bananas are good except they are messy, I feed them to my fish for treats.
ophiura- I will agree with you on this, they do seem to eat and just die, no matter how healthy they seem to be.
Kaye

 

[dragonzim]

Since it keeps coming up that they seem to die after a year, does anyone know how long idols actually live for? Could it be that is their natural lifespan?

 

[v-lioness]

It's not they have been kept longer than a year, this one was 3 1/2 years before I sold it, it died about 6 months after selling it due to jumping, of all things..... I sold this one because they can be aggressive fish and it was going to either end up killing my pinktail, a lion or it was going to be stung by a lion. I did not trust the situation.

The ones that do not die from starvation or shipping seem to start eating and one day either stop eating or just die for no apparant reason. But there are those few that do keep going, they need food and lots of it.........
Kaye

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by V-Lioness
I sold this one because they can be aggressive fish and it was going to either end up killing my pinktail, a lion or it was going to be stung by a lion. I did not trust the situation.
Kaye
Ya got that right. When the one at the LFS (which they got in a wrong order, but refused to sell) seemed like it would live, we were figuring out what would make a nice display. And that moorish idol beat the snot out of an emperor angel and a hi-fin snapper within hours. Deceptive!!

 

[sinister52]

thanks for the info guys i do have a red sponge in my tank which he has been picking at. also he has been eating at my sea veges the green one.

 

[sinister52]

ill have to try also that banana idea