I’m getting a Moorish Idol tomorrow

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

Terri Caton said:
Maybe it’s too long. I’ll shorten it.

Ok, it's attached with a YouTube link

JasonK84 · Nov 22, 2019

Terri Caton said:
Wanted to share a video. The neglected tank I just rescued from a Dr. office is not too pretty yet so ignore that part

The fish that were in it got out of QT today. Check out my amazing Moorish Idol. So excited to have one. Especially one that’s already lived in a tank for 2 years.

There’s a good reason so many people want one. They’re magnificent.

(Won't upload directly so here it is on YouTube)

Beautiful fish! Also like the powder brown and purple you have there.
Here’s a quick video of my main DT taken about 2 weeks ago or so.

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

JasonK84 said:
Beautiful fish! Also like the powder brown and purple you have there.
Here’s a quick video of my main DT taken about 2 weeks ago or so.

Beautiful tank! This one has a long way to go before it looks that good. It will get there, just takes time when starting from bad.

There were so many fish in this tank that I had to choose to let some go. A Longnose Black Tang went (actually I gave him to the guy who moved the tank to my house for me for payment), the Desjardins SailfinTang went, another Purple Tang went, 1 Cinnamon Clown and 2 Maroons went, the Dory Tang, I forget what else.

I was trying to decide between the Powder Blue and Powder Brown. I really thought I would take the blue but when I watched them in the actual tank I discovered the Powder Blue was a bully so I went with the Powder Brown. Right now the Powder Blue and the Desjardins Sailfin are in a 600 gallon tank and I'm told they are still fighting it out!

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

JasonK84 said:
Beautiful fish! Also like the powder brown and purple you have there.
Here’s a quick video of my main DT taken about 2 weeks ago or so.

Is that man made coral? Either that or you are the world's best coral keeper!
Looks so nice, the tank is so clean, and you really showcase the fish.
I might consider doing a tank like that. I love the coral but I love the fish more

JasonK84 · Nov 22, 2019

Terri Caton said:
Is that man made coral? Either that or you are the world's best coral keeper!
Looks so nice, the tank is so clean, and you really showcase the fish.
I might consider doing a tank like that. I love the coral but I love the fish more

It’s man made.
Instant Reef is the maker. Tank was 1 year old early October.

Instant Reef Artificial Coral Inserts, Fake Coral Reef Decorations.

Realistic Instant Reef Artificial Coral Inserts Decor, Fake Coral Reef Decorations for Colorful Freshwater Fish Aquariums, Marine and Saltwater Fish Tanks.

www.instantreef.com

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

JasonK84 said:
It’s man made.
Instant Reef is the maker. Tank was 1 year old early October.

Instant Reef Artificial Coral Inserts, Fake Coral Reef Decorations.

Realistic Instant Reef Artificial Coral Inserts Decor, Fake Coral Reef Decorations for Colorful Freshwater Fish Aquariums, Marine and Saltwater Fish Tanks.

www.instantreef.com

How do you keep the "coral" so clean like that? Don't they basically become live rock?

JasonK84 · Nov 22, 2019

Terri Caton said:
How do you keep the "coral" so clean like that? Don't they basically become live rock?

Each piece comes off the base “rock”. I’ve pulled them out twice in the year and bleached them. They stay mostly clean with the low light levels and weekly Vibrant dosing. The tangs also help keep it clean.
Yeah, bacteria colonized the surfaces as it does anything in the tank. I keep MarinePur in the sump to handle the bio load of the fish. No filter socks and no filter floss. Super low maint. No water changes. 0 nitrate but phosphate gets up there then brought back down with Phosphate Rx.

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

JasonK84 said:
Each piece comes off the base “rock”. I’ve pulled them out twice in the year and bleached them. They stay mostly clean with the low light levels and weekly Vibrant dosing. The tangs also help keep it clean.
Yeah, bacteria colonized the surfaces as it does anything in the tank. I keep MarinePur in the sump to handle the bio load of the fish. No filter socks and no filter floss. Super low maint. No water changes. 0 nitrate but phosphate gets up there then brought back down with Phosphate Rx.

Thanks for the link!

Aswswild · Nov 22, 2019

Wow u guys are so lucky to have idols that’s my dream fish

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

Aswswild said:
Wow u guys are so lucky to have idols that’s my dream fish

I really got lucky and it was already in the tank. @JasonK84 did it the hard way.

I do feel a little like I won the fish lottery though.

Terri Caton · Nov 22, 2019

JasonK84 said:
Each piece comes off the base “rock”. I’ve pulled them out twice in the year and bleached them. They stay mostly clean with the low light levels and weekly Vibrant dosing. The tangs also help keep it clean.
Yeah, bacteria colonized the surfaces as it does anything in the tank. I keep MarinePur in the sump to handle the bio load of the fish. No filter socks and no filter floss. Super low maint. No water changes. 0 nitrate but phosphate gets up there then brought back down with Phosphate Rx.

Most people dream of no water changes.
Personally, I cheat. I have a professional who comes to my house to do them. Worth every penny!

JasonK84 · Nov 22, 2019

Aswswild said:
Wow u guys are so lucky to have idols that’s my dream fish

Achilles tang is my dream fish. And a Horn shark. Been looking for an idol and decided to give it a shot. Been good so far but still a ways to go getting through QT and DT introduction.

JasonK84 · Nov 22, 2019

Terri Caton said:
Most people dream of no water changes.
Personally, I cheat. I have a professional who comes to my house to do them. Worth every penny!

No such service where I live. City about 45 minutes away has a couple LFS that do but not servicing my town.
I’ve been working since early summer on a fish room build in my backyard. As you could see my DT is pretty full and there are still plenty of fish I still want. Finished flooring last week and started getting stuff moved in. I plan on getting an old 30 gallon cube going tomorrow afternoon or at least all cleaned up and scaped while waiting on sand to come in. I’m thinking it’ll be a rock nem tank with my pair of clowns and a few other small fish. Would be awesome to have a candy basslet (another dream fish of mine).

You can check out that fish room build by clicking on my build thread badge.

Terri Caton · Nov 26, 2019

JasonK84 said:
No such service where I live. City about 45 minutes away has a couple LFS that do but not servicing my town.
I’ve been working since early summer on a fish room build in my backyard. As you could see my DT is pretty full and there are still plenty of fish I still want. Finished flooring last week and started getting stuff moved in. I plan on getting an old 30 gallon cube going tomorrow afternoon or at least all cleaned up and scaped while waiting on sand to come in. I’m thinking it’ll be a rock nem tank with my pair of clowns and a few other small fish. Would be awesome to have a candy basslet (another dream fish of mine).

You can check out that fish room build by clicking on my build thread badge.

Awesome! I'm lucky that there are a couple of guys here who do tanks. Only one is really good though. Frustrating that I have to buy most everything online though. The closest larger cities are Denver and Salt Lake which are 4 hours away.

I have a lot of dream fish

Candy Bassletts are so cool! I had a Swissguard Baslett who was super shy so not sure if I'd spend the money on a fish I might hardly see.

Seriously considering converting this disaster of a tank I just rescued to what you have. Would save me a lot of time, frustration and $$

JasonK84 · Nov 26, 2019

Terri Caton said:
Awesome! I'm lucky that there are a couple of guys here who do tanks. Only one is really good though. Frustrating that I have to buy most everything online though. The closest larger cities are Denver and Salt Lake which are 4 hours away.

I have a lot of dream fish Candy Bassletts are so cool! I had a Swissguard Baslett who was super shy so not sure if I'd spend the money on a fish I might hardly see.

Seriously considering converting this disaster of a tank I just rescued to what you have. Would save me a lot of time, frustration and $$

My 120 really turned out to be an ultra low maintenance tank even though it wasn’t what I was aiming for. Glad it turned out that way in the end. I really think Vibrant helps a lot in keeping things looking good. Everything except phosphate stays under control without any help.

JasonK84 · Nov 26, 2019

Back to the Moorish Idol for an update:

It is still eating very well. Since feeding medicated food I’ve been sticking to feeding only Mysis since it responds to it best. Once we finish the 14 days of GC I’ll start trying to widen his feeding menu. The filament streamer has gotten really long. About 6” and growing longer each day.