Fattening up moorish idol tips?

[Diveks]

Hello, i am once again attempting to keep moorish idols and regal angels after ive lost my previous ones to my velvet outbreak almost 2 years ago, from lack of observation in qt of an orangeshoulder tang. I broke down the tank and restarted with new rock. i have finished quarantining my regal which is now in an acclamation box (nobody is paying attention to the angel but better be safe than sorry).

Well back to the moorish idols, i found a healthy pair yesterday near me (no ich, not thin, long streamers which sadly broke a bit on the way to my house). they are living with a tiny niger trigger in a 100g quarantine. Well today i fed them some DIY frozen food with angelixir since they dont sell any complete frozen foods here and to my surprise they ate although they are a bit slow on chasing the food and will miss some, im a bit worried that they will slowly starve. should i try out pellets? i have nls, ON formula 1 and 2. i want them to fatten up in qt so that they can compete for food in my dt. while they are not thin, the fishes in the DT are fat with some of them having slight fat rolls. any tips?

 

[blaxsun]

All my fish go nuts when I infuse anything frozen with garlic. I’ve also had good success with algae pellets (something all the fish seem to love).

 

[Largeangels]

Key is to feed often with foods small enough to fit in their mouths. I feed Hikari mysis, flakes, pellets, nori, etc.

 

[BriansBrain]

You may or may not have read this, but this write up is very detailed

Keeping The Mysterious Moorish Idol

Moorish Idols. Impossible to keep. Better left in the wild, right? Anyone that has been in this hobby for nearly any length of time has read things like this or can at least recognize this iconic fish. Many of us grew up seeing this majestic fish...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[adsf430]

Mine was super easy. I lost him unfortunately due to hurricane sandy, but up until then found them a breeze to keep. You just have to feed them Nori daily. Can also supplement with clams on the half shell. And feed frozen multiple times a day. I used to feed angelfish blends or rods food for herbivores. Amazing fish.

 

[Diveks]

All my fish go nuts when I infuse anything frozen with garlic. I’ve also had good success with algae pellets (something all the fish seem to love).

Key is to feed often with foods small enough to fit in their mouths. I feed Hikari mysis, flakes, pellets, nori, etc.

Without garlic they ate the frozen mix but this might be a good way to get them to eat pellets since my dt gets pellets 3 times a day + other feedings. thanks!

You may or may not have read this, but this write up is very detailed

Keeping The Mysterious Moorish Idol

Moorish Idols. Impossible to keep. Better left in the wild, right? Anyone that has been in this hobby for nearly any length of time has read things like this or can at least recognize this iconic fish. Many of us grew up seeing this majestic fish...

www.reef2reef.com

yes thank you, it helped out a lot when i got my first moorish, wanted to get some personal opinions on how everyone fatten up new arrivals. might actually re read it again!

Mine was super easy. I lost him unfortunately due to hurricane sandy, but up until then found them a breeze to keep. You just have to feed them Nori daily. Can also supplement with clams on the half shell. And feed frozen multiple times a day. I used to feed angelfish blends or rods food for herbivores. Amazing fish.

sorry for your loss, my loss was my fault for not quarantining enough but i see yours were not, they really are beautiful fishes, sad that its hard for some to keep alive. will be feeding them nori and clams then, the clams never worked on my old moorish but might now who knows. wish i could get the angelfish blends/rods food/ect here, would be easier and some might even be more complete.

 

[Diveks]

has anyone tried blackworms? does it fatten them up? i could pick up some from an lfs later today if that can help.

 

[jpas]

I have had great success with a Moorish. Unfortunately my purple tang decided he didn't like the Moorish anymore (2 years later!!!) and killed him.

I have a big tank and feed good quality frozen twice a day. It was one of the best looking fish I ever had.

 

[BJEDVM13]

I got a Moorish idol from TSM. It came in very gaunt. So much so that I was worried it would wither away and die. He eats frozen very readily. I drop cubes in and he eats it as it thaws. I feed a mixture, but include algae and sponge preparations. I dewormed him with general cure as well. He has gained weight and is a pig! He loves clams on the half shell as well. I would try that if you haven’t. He’s in the refugium portion of my sump right now because I am worried my tang gang will kill him and he has the longest streamer I’ve ever seen.

 

[Reef Racket]

has anyone tried blackworms? does it fatten them up? i could pick up some from an lfs later today if that can help.

I actually have tried black worms but with no success. My wrasse and goat fish LOVE them but the Moorish didn’t even look at them. He does love both types of pellets I give him.
Hikari Seaweed Extreme Pellets
&
New Life Spectrum Probiotix Pellets

Also have a lot of success with Spirulina Brine Shrimp and Mysis Shrimp.
Live brine will almost always work in my experience.

 

[Diveks]

I got a Moorish idol from TSM. It came in very gaunt. So much so that I was worried it would wither away and die. He eats frozen very readily. I drop cubes in and he eats it as it thaws. I feed a mixture, but include algae and sponge preparations. I dewormed him with general cure as well. He has gained weight and is a pig! He loves clams on the half shell as well. I would try that if you haven’t. He’s in the refugium portion of my sump right now because I am worried my tang gang will kill him and he has the longest streamer I’ve ever seen.

I actually have tried black worms but with no success. My wrasse and goat fish LOVE them but the Moorish didn’t even look at them. He does love both types of pellets I give him.
Hikari Seaweed Extreme Pellets
&
New Life Spectrum Probiotix Pellets

Also have a lot of success with Spirulina Brine Shrimp and Mysis Shrimp.
Live brine will almost always work in my experience.

will be buying some clams on the shell then! the moorish is eating frozen well and even swam straight to the algae clip which even my new tangs won't do.

havent tried the pellets but i do have both of those pellets you mentioned so ill be trying them out today. spirulina is one of the ingridients in my frozen mix actually so hoping that helps out with the completion in their diet. i do have sponges in my display but im not sure if i can feed sponges right now in qt.

 

[radiata]

I've had an Idol in my system for about a year and a half. It is the first one I've ever owned. I attribute my success to nori. Between them, the Idol and and my Purple Tang manage to consume two sheets of nori a day (unless an urchin beats the to it). Unfortunately I now believe this is to the detriment of the overall algae consumption in my reef that they, as herbivores, should be handling...

 

[LaloJ]

will be buying some clams on the shell then! the moorish is eating frozen well and even swam straight to the algae clip which even my new tangs won't do.

havent tried the pellets but i do have both of those pellets you mentioned so ill be trying them out today. spirulina is one of the ingridients in my frozen mix actually so hoping that helps out with the completion in their diet. i do have sponges in my display but im not sure if i can feed sponges right now in qt.

Good news, fish do feed, so try to feed them as many times as possible, 8-10 times a day should be fine. What is your homemade food mix? Can you get food from LRS?

 

[ReefHog]

I feed mine LRS, live black worms (not blood worms) PE Mysis, Angel a formula, pellets and nori sheets. I feed four times a day. He’s about 19 months in my reef and doing great.

 

[Diveks]

I've had an Idol in my system for about a year and a half. It is the first one I've ever owned. I attribute my success to nori. Between them, the Idol and and my Purple Tang manage to consume two sheets of nori a day (unless an urchin beats the to it). Unfortunately I now believe this is to the detriment of the overall algae consumption in my reef that they, as herbivores, should be handling...

the tangs in my aquarium already go through a lot of nori a day hoping the idol can still get their turn. they might not be able to graze for a lot of algae in my tank though exept for sponges since my rock is slowly getting covered in coraline and is pretty much clean. will be feeding more once they go in my dt

Good news, fish do feed, so try to feed them as many times as possible, 8-10 times a day should be fine. What is your homemade food mix? Can you get food from LRS?

it has talapia, shrimp, clams, scallops, squid, mysis, 2 types of nori sheets, spirulina, fish V, angelelixir, brine, daphina (not too much for variety), blood worms (for variety and to get new fish to start eating). i might be missing something but can't think of something else i put in there right now.

Other foods i feed in DT:
pellets 3x a day (mix of hikari seaweed extreme, NLS marine fish, formula one ON, ON prime reef flakes)
algae clip every 2 days (they are fat enough right now but could add frequency)
live brine shrimp as a treat
live blackworms as a treat

sadly nobody imports LRS here and nobody makes similar fish foods. the only premade frozen/gel we have are for discus, goldfish, and cichlid which are mostly beef hearts sometimes. i do feed my cichlids and goldfish this gel good in their diet which i think would not be good for marine fishes?

I feed mine LRS, live black worms (not blood worms) PE Mysis, Angel a formula, pellets and nori sheets. I feed four times a day. He’s about 19 months in my reef and doing great.

beautiful moorish you have there! mine hasn't taken a liking to pellets just yet but seems interested, anything i could do to get it to try it out? Will eat everything i put in the aquarium though. this will probably be one of my last batch of fish that go in my DT and im waiting for it to start eating a lot before starting copper.

 

[ReefHog]

Mine went on a few hunger strikes during QT. Once he got in the main tank he would eat anything I put in the tank. Including pellets. As long as they’re eating I’d just stick with that for now. Maybe throw in a few pellets now and again to see if he’s interested but don’t stop feeding what he’s already eating. One thing about moorish idols is they are very docile. Make sure you keep an eye out for any territorial issues. I had to remove a sailfin tang due to him chasing my MI. Luckily I have a second tank with a puffer and trigger he fit right in with.

 

[Diveks]

Mine went on a few hunger strikes during QT. Once he got in the main tank he would eat anything I put in the tank. Including pellets. As long as they’re eating I’d just stick with that for now. Maybe throw in a few pellets now and again to see if he’s interested but don’t stop feeding what he’s already eating. One thing about moorish idols is they are very docile. Make sure you keep an eye out for any territorial issues. I had to remove a sailfin tang due to him chasing my MI. Luckily I have a second tank with a puffer and trigger he fit right in with.

alright then will continue on feeding frozen and nori for now, they do get pellets since the other fishes are loving it, maybe they might try it out one day. if mine go on a hunger strike should i go through with copper or stop it?

i do have a giant sailfin as the most dominant fish in which worries me a bit but thankfully when i added my majestic and regal (regal is really docile and shy) the sailfin didn't attack it at all but did keep flashing its fins towards it, a day later and they basically swim together. i am still nervous though if anything happens i will have to trap them.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I’ve keeps a couple over the last 20 years and contrary to popular opinion they aren’t terribly difficult fish.
The thing is that they burn through food insanely fast and needs to be feed at least 3-4 times a day.

Here’s my guy Fat Frank:

 

[Staghorn]

I would try to fatten the whole fish, not just the tips

 

[4FordFamily]

The trick for high metabolism omnivores such as idols is to supplement with Nori. They should be able to graze on nori for at least 1/2 the day, IME. Frozen foods are good, a couple of times per day. They really benefit from sponge (angel formula frozen is a good source of this). if you can get them eating flakes or pellets this can add calories, though normally not "quality" calories.