shallowreef
Well-known member
Many of you feel and have experienced the fact that Moorish Idols are impossible to keep. Well i'm sorry you have bad luck so far but if i may, i would like to offer a few tips/secrets on how to successfully keep a Moorish Idol.
First i like to start by saying that just because i joined yesterday doesn't mean that i'm a green horn when it comes to keepin things alive. I also would like to state for the record that i'm not god either! i screw up too so before anyone feels the need to say i'm an idiot, please hear me out.
What i've found to be the most effective way to keep a Moorish idol is this:
I'm sure many of you have a fish store that you go to for all of your reef keeping needs. This is also where you probably see your majestic Moorish Idol. Now if your close enough with your fish guy like i am tell them your interested in that fish and ask them to holdthe fish for like a week or two for you. Make up an excuse like you don't have the money yet or some B.S. like that. Now if that fish stays alive for those two weeks and is feeding you have living proof that its not impossible to keep them, even in a little holding tank like the ones at most shops. Also ask what your fish store feeds their Moorish Idol. Your gonna want to feed them the same thing in your tank at first to keep them eating. Once you get your Moorish idol home i find its best to make your room as dark as possible. Float your fish for about fifteen minutes to let the two water tempatures match. After that open the bag to let fresh air in. Now i add about a cup of my water to the bag and look for a reaction If everything is cool wait ten minutes and a dd another cup. Do this for twenty minutes and then dump half of the bag and add another cup every ten minutes do this for another twenty minutes. If the fish wigs out wait like another fifteen minutes and then add a quarter of a cup every ten minutes. After about a half hour dump half the water out and continue for another hour. Now instead of just dumping your fish in the tank. Try and sink the bag or slowly turn the bag upside down so the fish can swim out when its ready. Another method i've that works fairly well if not better. After you open your bag to let fresh air in poke two hole in the bottom of the bag and two at the top. By doing this your slowly letting the bag water out and your water in. its a slow, slow process but it gets the job done.
Once you've gotten your fish in the tank and acclimated comes the hard part...Feeding.
Now remeber you want to feed them exactly what they were being fed in the shop because their use to it and they'll eat it.
I've found it to be most succesful to treat them like tangs. and stuff them with algae verses Brine shrimp. You see Moorish idols will eat brine shrimp rather easily but what happens is you give them a protein overload and their stomachs can't digest it all and it sits in their gut and starts to rot in their stomachs which then leads to a burial at sea (a flush down the toilet). Feed your Moorish Idol algae, lettuce, seaweed...etc. It would not be wise to put a Moorish Idol in a tank with little to no algae on the rocks. I would recomend these fish to older reef tanks with large amounts of micro and macro algae.
REMEBER I'M NOT GOD. Just beacuse this method works for me don't think its a sure thing. I love Moorish Idols i find it exciting to keep a "Unicorn" type fish. I also want to add that i didn't do this on my first try. I wasted about $800.00 on Moorish Idolsbefore i got it down perfect. I've tried 16 times and 3 out of the 16 have worked. I only own one because i only have a 90 with limited swimming room. I sold the other two off for a decent price and my customers say that their fish are doing just fine.I don't have a digital camera yet but i plan on picking one up in the near future and when i do i'll need someone to walk me through how i can post pictures on the forum for everyone to see my "Four Leaf Clover"
So Good Luck and Contact me for any questions at [email protected]
First i like to start by saying that just because i joined yesterday doesn't mean that i'm a green horn when it comes to keepin things alive. I also would like to state for the record that i'm not god either! i screw up too so before anyone feels the need to say i'm an idiot, please hear me out.
What i've found to be the most effective way to keep a Moorish idol is this:
I'm sure many of you have a fish store that you go to for all of your reef keeping needs. This is also where you probably see your majestic Moorish Idol. Now if your close enough with your fish guy like i am tell them your interested in that fish and ask them to holdthe fish for like a week or two for you. Make up an excuse like you don't have the money yet or some B.S. like that. Now if that fish stays alive for those two weeks and is feeding you have living proof that its not impossible to keep them, even in a little holding tank like the ones at most shops. Also ask what your fish store feeds their Moorish Idol. Your gonna want to feed them the same thing in your tank at first to keep them eating. Once you get your Moorish idol home i find its best to make your room as dark as possible. Float your fish for about fifteen minutes to let the two water tempatures match. After that open the bag to let fresh air in. Now i add about a cup of my water to the bag and look for a reaction If everything is cool wait ten minutes and a dd another cup. Do this for twenty minutes and then dump half of the bag and add another cup every ten minutes do this for another twenty minutes. If the fish wigs out wait like another fifteen minutes and then add a quarter of a cup every ten minutes. After about a half hour dump half the water out and continue for another hour. Now instead of just dumping your fish in the tank. Try and sink the bag or slowly turn the bag upside down so the fish can swim out when its ready. Another method i've that works fairly well if not better. After you open your bag to let fresh air in poke two hole in the bottom of the bag and two at the top. By doing this your slowly letting the bag water out and your water in. its a slow, slow process but it gets the job done.
Once you've gotten your fish in the tank and acclimated comes the hard part...Feeding.
Now remeber you want to feed them exactly what they were being fed in the shop because their use to it and they'll eat it.
I've found it to be most succesful to treat them like tangs. and stuff them with algae verses Brine shrimp. You see Moorish idols will eat brine shrimp rather easily but what happens is you give them a protein overload and their stomachs can't digest it all and it sits in their gut and starts to rot in their stomachs which then leads to a burial at sea (a flush down the toilet). Feed your Moorish Idol algae, lettuce, seaweed...etc. It would not be wise to put a Moorish Idol in a tank with little to no algae on the rocks. I would recomend these fish to older reef tanks with large amounts of micro and macro algae.
REMEBER I'M NOT GOD. Just beacuse this method works for me don't think its a sure thing. I love Moorish Idols i find it exciting to keep a "Unicorn" type fish. I also want to add that i didn't do this on my first try. I wasted about $800.00 on Moorish Idolsbefore i got it down perfect. I've tried 16 times and 3 out of the 16 have worked. I only own one because i only have a 90 with limited swimming room. I sold the other two off for a decent price and my customers say that their fish are doing just fine.I don't have a digital camera yet but i plan on picking one up in the near future and when i do i'll need someone to walk me through how i can post pictures on the forum for everyone to see my "Four Leaf Clover"
So Good Luck and Contact me for any questions at [email protected]
