View Single Post
  #17  
Old 10-23-2010, 11:06 PM
RD RD is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Red Deer AB
Posts: 80
RD is on a distinguished road
Default

Kieron Dodds, from Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine wrote an article on the Moorish Idol in 2008, titled; "Still Impossible After All These Years - Keeping Moorish Idol". He clearly admits that the main intent of his article was to discourage anyone from acquiring this species, as he feels this species has almost no chance in being kept alive in captivity beyond a very short duration.

At one point in the article he states "Pablo Tepoot is perhaps the single individual who has had the most success with this species" - unfortunately Pablo (the creator of New Life Spectrum) lost his last group of Moorish Idol to an electrical failure during a hurricane, at that point he had kept them thriving in captivity for 5+ years.
Something that most people would have considered impossible 15 or 20 yrs ago.

Can they be kept healthy & thriving long term, absolutely.
Are there any guarantees with this species, absolutely not.
Of course the same could be said about many things in this hobby, but that's a far cry from classifying Moorish Idol as being doomed to die in captivity.

Feeding foods such as mysis & nori will definitely not meet this species nutrient demands,
these types of foods have been tried many times over the years, and always end up a failure. I'm not posting this in defense of keeping Moorish Idol in captivity, but for those that try, take a hint from Pablo Tepoot as to what to feed, because getting this species healthy diet wise, is the single most important part of the equation.

So to answer the OP's question, diet wise, for long term success there is nothing required beyond feeding a high quality pellet that will meet & exceed all of your fishes nutrient requirements. Choose that pellet food wisely, and you will have already made it past your largest hurdle in keeping this species thriving in captivity.

Best of luck with your new MI.
Reply With Quote