Moorish Idol

[EmilyB]

Ditto Sam....oh, same fish...lol...

[afreshoutlook]

Thanks to all who have/have had experiences with the MI.
It's awesome that the shared experiences on this site probably have helped many newbies like myself

Thanks
Dwight

[bulletsworld]

Yes, I must say MOO, is truly a beautiful Moorish Idol. What did you say Deb or Saw, Moo is about 5 years old now, right? WOwZers hey! Truly Beautiful! IMO... the TOTM picture doesn't show what a true beauty & size Moo really is. If ya ever decide to sell Moo, Deb, I would buy him in a second! I love that fish!

I was also lucky enough to get a Moorish Idol. I became its second owner. It came to me after it had eaten a bunch of the owner’s corals and mine. So I named her Chewie.

I agree with all above that they do require more aeration, oxygen and water quality then the others fish I have found and had. Thanks again for that tip a while back Deb! I run a skimmer at all times on mine as well. I also have found in my case my MI to be easy to care for. I have had mine for almost 6 months now and eats Green Nori like a piggy, loves Spirulina (thanks Deb for that tip) and I also feed everything from Marine One pellets, Frozen Mysis, Brine Shrimp, Krill and Cyclopeeze and every now and then I buy her some zoo's. She loves them. I feed three times a day and she's way fatter then when I got her. Missy piggy she is.

I do have mine with a Regal tang, a Naso tang and a Yellow tang. They all seem to school together. Only problems I have seen between the tangs is that the yellow tang (as always with this fish) tends to become territorial at times about her cave spot, other then that they all seem to school together most times. My Moorish Idol is the ruler of the tank. I think the long screamer fin the MI has makes the other tangs feel its larger then them, so its boss.

One thing to watch out not to do is....Don’t add trigger fish with this fish. I added a small otherwise docile Niger trigger and after time it would nip the Idol's long fin short. *PLUCK* went the Trigger from the tank. hehe Later I read an article that said Triggers and puffers like to chase the screamer fin on the Moorish Idol. Opps!

The only corals my MI has really eaten are…. ATE TONS of zoo's! Ate all mine plus last owners. Has recently picked on a candy cane corals & a torch coral to death but other then that never touched clams, mushrooms, sun coral, softies, or anemone as of yet. It also ate all my LR sponges and also helped eliminate my over whelming feather duster problem on my LR! Chewie ate them ALL in less than a few weeks. WooHOO! Won’t touch Aptisa though….bummer!

I find these fish don’t come for sale very often in the hobby. It is a beautiful fish though and with great care (water quality & oxygen), variety of food fed to, put with non aggressive tankmates and lots of room to swim it’s a great addition. But I have always read it doesn’t live that long in captivity. Moo (EmilyB fish) is a great inspiration and example of how the fish can be, I only hope my Moorish can grow to be as big and healthy as Moo.

Omg...a few days back and I'm writing up novels again! SORRY GUYS!

Lee

[bulletsworld]

Hey I found some old pictures of the tangs & Idol racing & schooling together. Both blury but its hard to get all the fish to all stay still.

The first picture their racing. The little Naso is hidden but beside the yellow tang. Looks like the Moorish is winning! WoOHOO!

Enjoy.

[EmilyB]

Awesome Lee - I was hoping you would chime in !

[wayner]

I don't think anyone mentioned Tank size , just in case people start putting them in there 50 Gallon tanks, I'm assuming 180 gallons minimum??????, great to hear success stories with the idol.

[RD]

I believe that if you look closely you can see 5 Moorish Idol in the aquarium below. Amazing what one can do when the tank is large enough.
http://forums.spectrumfishfood.com/viewtopic.php?t=66

[WWWD]

you sure do pimp that link around.

btw i think your confused between Moorish Idols and Heniochus Bannerfish.

[RD]

People were asking about Moorish Idol, size of tanks was mentioned, as was diet. I believe that link covers both issues rather well.

I'll also add this, in speaking with people who have kept this species in captivity long term (as in 3 yrs or more) they have found that when healthy, MI's can be quite aggressive, to the extent of killing other Idols.

PS - take a closer look at the pics in that link, especially the one where the fish are all swarmed together & feeding. I count 5 Moorish Idols.