The Moorish Idol Thread

[zfunk007]

All is well. The mess is cleaned up. The power is back on. Nothing died thankfully.

[Creetin]

Thats good news! Glad all is ok.

[Rook]

Nice thread and I wish you guys luck on these cool fish. Since it appears that something specific is needed for their diet, possibly sponge, it may be beneficial to have urchins in the tank to eat the corraline algae. Since corraline algae prevent the growth of sponges and other bacteria films and growths it may give your MI's more to eat. I considered this as a possibility for feeding linkia stars as well.

PaulB. Great pictures. My wife and I went diving in Bora Bora and Tahaa and snorkling in Moorea. I saw some MI's on Bora Bora but I did not get pictures of them.

[Paul B]

Rook, we took in those Islands too. I am now spoiled and don't want to go to the Caribbean anymore. There is no comparism.
Paul

[zfunk007]

Hey Rook, I read in a few places that MI's eat coraline alage also. But I'd imagine that sponge is a much more important part of their diet.

Paul, don't knock on the Caribbean, its my home . I've been diving in Bali and the Caymans, its all nature, its all beautiful. Plus we have (arguably) the most beautiful fish in the ocean here. The Queen Angel. All in good fun Paul

[Paul B]

Zfunk, I really like the Caribbean, I have been diving there almost every year since the seventees but since diving in Tahiti, Uh uh.
As soon as you get in the water you are surrounded by at least thirty sharks which get out of the way for the 12' mantas which are almost as common as guppies. But the best thing by far about the South Pacific is that there is no one there. You go out on a zodiak with maybe four people in a bay where they filmed
"Mutiny on The Bounty" where there are no boats or people. I mean, not even one in a lagoon two miles across. You are surrounded by volcanoes and sheer cliffs 6000 miles from any mainland. Thats paradise. I do like the Caymans and most of the thirty or so Caribbeans Islands I went to, and I will go back, but go to Bora Bora and see what you think. I also dive a lot in NY right near the City with 12" visability which I also enjoy but for obviousely different reasons. It's hard to find Moorish Idols here. We may have them but you would never know.
Have a great day.
and no offense to the Caribbean.
Paul

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Hey guys, gald to hear of teh progress. I keep up with you guys each day. Keep it going. I'm working a deal on a 360 right now that if it comes thru, will be the future home of a MI.

Paul,
Have you been to Pago Pago? I pulled in there once while in the Navy. Didn't go out diving but spent all day snorkling in the inlet. Beautiful coral reef there and in only 2 feet of water. Lots of small fish and lots of color. I'd love to go Island hopping out there and dive everywhere. Maybe one day.

Beautiful people and countryside as well. Had a really nice talk with an older gentleman sitting on a bench on the side of the road. He wasn't going anywhere, just taking a rest so we started talking and he told me some of the history of the island. Was a great time.

Talk to you guys later.

[zfunk007]

Don't worry Paul, I was just messing with you. I respect your opinion quite a bit. In reality your right, the Caribbean doesn't compare to the South Pacific in terms of sheer beauty. Although the Caribbean is still very nice and a worthy second choice.

It was my dads dream to goto Bora Bora. I hope I can take him there someday and swim with the Moorish Idols. Would be nice.

Hey blown63, long time no see! Keep us updated on that tank. If you get it, you better get a Moorish Idol . I think he'd be very happy in a tank that size.

Don't know if you all noticed but I got into quite a debate over there in the Tang thread. Aren't Moorish Idols related to Surgeon Fish in some way?

Mine is still doing well. I have to go out of town for 4 days though and I have to explain to my mom how to feed him. I'm worried, but I think he'll be ok.

[Crusty Old Shellback]

zfunk,
Don't worry, I'm always lurking around.

Didn't see the thread you mentioned but MI's are not related to tangs but are generally grouped with them because they have no other place to put them and the body shape is similiar. Or at least that's what I've read in several books. Just don't ask me which ones as I'm old.

[zfunk007]

Check this out! Remember how a couple weeks ago I emailed that guy who lives in Southern Australia? He's the one who has kept Moorish Idols for over 9 years. Well he finally got back to me. Here is what he had to say:

"Hi zack,sorry for the late reply.i have not had a computer for some time and still only check my email periodically.I am happy to assist with any information about moorish idols.I think that is quite an honour although i am not one for records.my "secret" or reson for success i believe lies in the time of capture to display and the diet and size of my tank.although this is obvious it seems that if you fail on any of parameters then your idol is doomed.The diet i feed my moorish idol is rather specific and geared
towards successful idol husbandry.I make up a mince using Nori,ulva,various sponges,mussels,prawn and mashed cat food (seafood variety) i mince the ingredients up and freeze them in ice cube tray.i feed twice per day and also have a variety of caulerpa grwing.i present the food in a mussell shell
or mash into a goniopora skeleton,much to the delight of my chaetodons."

Very interesting huh? Cat food??? Very interesting... I'm hoping I can get him to come on here and post some more information. I'll see what I can do. Let me know what you all think of this.

[Paul B]

Chevy, I have not yet been to Pago Pago but it is not too far from Tahiti. I was in Sydney Australia (on R&R from Nam) and I did my first real SCUBA there. That was in 71, I got certified as soon as I came home. I didn't see and moorish Idols then but I don't think I would have known what they looked like at the time.
Zfunk, I would like to get a place in the Caymans when I retire in two years, just for the winter. My closest friend has a place there. I like it because it's not that depressed like many of the Caribbean Islands. I will be living on the water at the east end of Long Island in any case.
That is interesting about the cat food. Mine gets every day, small fish that I get in an Asian food store, pellets soaked in Selcon, sponge that I collected and sometimes fresh seaweed, if not then veggie flakes. Of course if I eat clams or some other fish, he gets some too. And all I eat is fish.
Have a great day.
Paul

[Paul B]

I wish I knew what kind of sponge I have here. This fish is still jumping out of the water for it. I hope the stuff is at least good for him. I use this thing that is not really a turkey baster. It is a rubber bulb about as large as a baseball with a 12" 3/8th in diameter acrylic tube slightly bent on the end (which I made) The Idol tries to tear the thing out of my hand when I feed sponge. He will eat anything but the sponge drives him crazy. I wish I could ship the stuff just so someone else could try it but it's 90 degrees here and it rots very fast.
Paul

[zfunk007]

Hey Paul, if you want we can exchange some sponge. I'll ship you some of the stuff I can get around here and you can ship me some of yours. All you need is a plastic bag, some water, and a little styrofoam container to keep it cool.

I found a kind of food my Idol LOVES. Its called Angel Formula with sponge. Its made by Ocean Nutrition. The same company that makes Formula One and Two. I ordered some at my store and it came in yesterday. I gave my Idol some last night and he went nuts for it. You all might want to give it a try, cause it does contain sponge.

[addicted_2_reef]

I just started reading the posts on this site. I'm not new to the hobby just out of it for awhile. One of the things that got me into the hobby was seeing a MI at the LFS along with a nautilis(which I've never seen again anywhere). I never tried to keep one because of all the negitvity I head about them being hard to keep. I have a question and I only ask it to see the numbers. How many people here have kept Mi's for longer the a few months? I mean you are making a big deal out of 1 person that has kept a MI for 9 years. 1 person. I'm not raining on the picnic, I just was wondering. I understand that if no one ever tries to keep them then how can we learn how to keep them. I kept a long nose butterfly for 3 years before a leaking 90g forced me to give him up and that was a big deal back then. I guess I'm asking to see the numbers so I can gather as much info as I can before I go and buy one.

-Brian

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Brian, check out some of the links I posted earlier as well as doing a search on here for MI's when the search function works. I know that question has been brought up before and it seems that there are several people who have kept them for more than a year. One guy had his for several years before passing him on to a fellow reef who states that the MI is still thriving and doing good.

[jkta99]

So has anyone had one that niped at any of their corals? I was just wondering b/c they are listed as reef compatable with caution.

[Paul B]

Brian, you are not raining on the picnic. We know they are hard to keep. I have had a bunch of them and I have a hard time keeping them for 18 months. This one I have about a year but a fish like this should live ten years or more. I would say more than 99% of them live under a year in captivity. I have only heard of a very few of them that lived five years. I see a lot of them for sale and I have seen a lot of them in the sea and I know they are not that rare but we rarely hear of the thousands that die in a few weeks.
Zfunk, this sponge I collect here only lives a few hours in my reef. I freeze it as soon as I collect it. I think you would get a smelly mess if I tried to mail you some. I could overnight it but that is about $25.00 for 5 cents worth of sponge.
I have never tried Angel Formula with Sponge but I have heard of it. If I run out of sponge I will get some. This stuff I collect is very common here on docks and pilings.
Paul

[zfunk007]

Originally posted by addicted_2_reef
I just started reading the posts on this site. I'm not new to the hobby just out of it for awhile. One of the things that got me into the hobby was seeing a MI at the LFS along with a nautilis(which I've never seen again anywhere). I never tried to keep one because of all the negitvity I head about them being hard to keep. I have a question and I only ask it to see the numbers. How many people here have kept Mi's for longer the a few months? I mean you are making a big deal out of 1 person that has kept a MI for 9 years. 1 person. I'm not raining on the picnic, I just was wondering. I understand that if no one ever tries to keep them then how can we learn how to keep them. I kept a long nose butterfly for 3 years before a leaking 90g forced me to give him up and that was a big deal back then. I guess I'm asking to see the numbers so I can gather as much info as I can before I go and buy one.

-Brian

Thanks for the post addicted_2_reef. I originally started this thread to hopefully help answer questions like yours. I personally have kept 2 Moorish Idol's for over a year in captivity at the old LFS I used to work at. The only reason they didn't make it was because of the hurricanes that came last year and the power outages that we incurred.

I am making a big deal out of this guy who has kept Moorish Idol's for 9 years because it is a step in the right direction and because he shows that it can be done.

The whole point of this thread is to gather as much information as we can about Moorish Idol's and how to keep them in captivity. It's my hope that we can keep this thread going for years (if they live that long) so that we can track the progress we have all made with our Moorish Idols and hopefully solve some of the mysteries of keeping them in captivity.

I personally think that diet, water parameters and tank size are the three biggest issues involving success. I think that most people who try to keep Moorish Idols don't feed them a big enough variety of food. Time will tell though.

[Paul B]

I just came back from a collecting trip. My moorish Idol is very happy. I collected a few thousand juicy amphipods and let them loose in my reef. The fish think they died and went to heaven. I hope they leave some to breed. This is the first time this year that I collected amphipods.
I was really out for blue claw crabs but it was slim pickins so I decided to get the amphipods and it was the best collecting of my career. It must be a good year for the little suckers.
Its just another meal for the Idol.
Paul

[WILDTHING]

Paul, how do you catch them (amphipods)

colleen

[jkta99]

So are they totaly reef safe or will they nip at corals?

[Paul B]

Colleen, where I do my boating there are tide pools at low tide where the sea gets to about 6" deep. There are a lot of clumps of mussels whth big clumps of mud and grass all over them. These are teeming with 3/8"amphipods. I just bang them on the inside of a pail and they jump off. At home I strain them in a fish net and replace the muddy water with clean water. I leave them in the net with a lot of debris that I don't want in my tank and I gently put the net in my reef. Eventually the amphipods leave the net and I remove the net with the garbage in it.
jkta99, I have been doing this since 1972 and they have always been in my tank, I have never gotten paracites or had any other problems with them. They even breed in the tank.
Paul

[jkta99]

Ok thaks I just wanted to make sure.

[WILDTHING]

Thanks for the info Paul

[zfunk007]

I may have to try that amphipods idea. I'm sure I can get them around here. I'm going diving the next 3 days so I'll have plenty of time to try. Also I'll be collecting some other kinds of sponge for my Idol. He is doing well.