I’m getting a Moorish Idol tomorrow

[tehmadreefer]

Yes, they may be easy (er) once they eat but why are people not having long term success with these? The longest lived I’ve heard of is an idol that @Paul B talks about and I believe he says his was 5 and calls it a failure. How long do they live in their natural habitat? Paul, sorry I brought you into the thread of a chemo treated idol but you’ve got the record as far as I know at 5 years.

Because most that try are noobs, plain and simple.

 

[Terri Caton]

@Terri Caton

What corals has your idol eaten? I meat need to ask for some donor coral to provide this guy with a complete balanced diet!

Not soft corals or NPS. But all LPS and SPS are fair game. But, again, only if they are struggling. He never touches anything that is doing well. All of my livestock is strange :-/

 

[Terri Caton]

Yes, they may be easy (er) once they eat but why are people not having long term success with these? The longest lived I’ve heard of is an idol that @Paul B talks about and I believe he says his was 5 and calls it a failure. How long do they live in their natural habitat? Paul, sorry I brought you into the thread of a chemo treated idol but you’ve got the record as far as I know at 5 years.

In my defense I inherited this one when I bought the tank.

 

[JasonK84]

Why not take it out of qt and put it with other fish so it will eat. I mean you’ve had this fish since November and still having issues... cmon man! QT is a bunch of crap anyway.

I don’t believe I’m having issues. Obviously you have your ideals on QT and I have mine. I’m just trying to get this guy eating well enough that it can compete so I don’t have to net it out later when it isn’t getting enough. All treatments are complete and It is doing very well in QT. BTW, this thread was created to document my experience with my first Moorish Idol. I think it will be a good resource for anyone searching info on them. Learn from my success as well as any failures along the way.

 

[tehmadreefer]

I don’t believe I’m having issues. Obviously you have your ideals on QT and I have mine. I’m just trying to get this guy eating well enough that it can compete so I don’t have to net it out later when it isn’t getting enough. All treatments are complete and It is doing very well in QT. BTW, this thread was created to document my experience with my first Moorish Idol. I think it will be a good resource for anyone searching info on them. Learn from my success as well as any failures along the way.

Obviously you do have issues since it’s still not eating like it should. Stick it on the dt with other fish and I guarantee it will do much better. You know, it can actually be a fish and see how other lil fishies eat and swim and such.

 

[Terri Caton]

It won’t eat on my corals! Unless it develops a taste for artificial coral from Instant Reef. Lol

Lucky you. I wouldn't have thought I'd like artificial corals but I like your tank!
I do think that they can learn from watching other fish. Personally I'd put him in your DT and let him watch the other fish eat.

 

[JasonK84]

Because most that try are noobs, plain and simple.

So where are the non noobs with their 10-20 year old idols? Surely someone is having success beyond the 3-5 year mark unless that is their life expectancy? When you google Moorish Idol life expectancy you get the result of 2-4 years. Is that correct? It’s that length of time the mark of success with these guys?

 

[JasonK84]

Obviously you do have issues since it’s still not eating like it should. Stick it on the dt with other fish and I guarantee it will do much better. You know, it can actually be a fish and see how other lil fishies eat and swim and such.

Will do but not until I finish with my QT protocol of observing minimum 2 weeks after meds to ensure I’ve got all the nasties! Until then it stays quarantined from my known to be pathogen free tank.

 

[JasonK84]

Lucky you. I wouldn't have thought I'd like artificial corals but I like your tank!
I do think that they can learn from watching other fish. Personally I'd put him in your DT and let him watch the other fish eat.

Hey thanks, I know we’ve talked about my fake inserts before and you have contemplated going in that direction.

I’ll give him a shot in the DT soon. I am almost certain it is free from any known fish diseases (other than Lymphocystis) and will transfer over before long. I just got on my thread today to let everyone know that I’ve found another food that it likes.

 

[JasonK84]

In my defense I inherited this one when I bought the tank.

Yes, I remember how lucky you were to get a 2 year old idol and a heck of a deal on an entire system. $600 if I remember it right? You even gave a black tang and something else to a friend that helped tear down and move the tank.

 

[tehmadreefer]

So where are the non noobs with their 10-20 year old idols? Surely someone is having success beyond the 3-5 year mark unless that is their life expectancy? When you google Moorish Idol life expectancy you get the result of 2-4 years. Is that correct? It’s that length of time the mark of success with these guys?

very few ppl actually have tanks setup that long and those that do don’t post on r2r much. Average hobbyist lasts maybe 2 years.

 

[S2G]

Because most that try are noobs, plain and simple.

Couple questions. Have you kept an idol & how long?

 

[JasonK84]

very few ppl actually have tanks setup that long and those that do don’t post on r2r much. Average hobbyist lasts maybe 2 years.

So what’s your story? How long have you been with this hobby? What do you find to be the most rewarding? Why do you feel QT is crap?

I originally started back in 2010 with a 14g biocube. It’s the tank I’m using now as my fish QT. I had my first child in 2014 and didn’t have time to keep things maintained along with just moving and getting settled. After my second and final child was born and a couple years old I decided to give it a go again. My earlier tank inhabitants weren’t QT’d and this time around I was looking for a better survival rate than my first go. Restarted in Feb 2018 and quickly upgraded to a brand new 120RR from a marineland 29 gallon I had from my past.

Now, just a few months ago my wife and I bought and finished a fully dried in temp controlled Building in which to expand our hobbies (she does hydroponic indoor gardening).

 

[S2G]

I'm just along for the ride & interested in how it turns out. Honestly I've always wanted an idol & a copperband. I've always steer clear due to their reps.

I'm not sure how long the owner of nls has had his idols but I think it's been over 5. I cant confirm right now due to being limited to the use of my non dominant arm

 

[JasonK84]

I'm just along for the ride & interested in how it turns out. Honestly I've always wanted an idol & a copperband. I've always steer clear due to their reps.

I'm not sure how long the owner of nls has had his idols but I think it's been over 5. I cant confirm right now due to being limited to the use of my non dominant arm

I did see a post of a video from him a little while back. He has like 25 of them and they all eat NLS pellets like savages! Says that’s all he’s ever fed them from the start. I don’t recall if it was mentioned how old they were though. Get your dominant arm back in service and report back pronto! LOL

 

[tehmadreefer]

Couple questions. Have you kept an idol & how long?

I have for several years amongst other difficult level fish

 

[tehmadreefer]

So what’s your story? How long have you been with this hobby? What do you find to be the most rewarding? Why do you feel QT is crap?

I originally started back in 2010 with a 14g biocube. It’s the tank I’m using now as my fish QT. I had my first child in 2014 and didn’t have time to keep things maintained along with just moving and getting settled. After my second and final child was born and a couple years old I decided to give it a go again. My earlier tank inhabitants weren’t QT’d and this time around I was looking for a better survival rate than my first go. Restarted in Feb 2018 and quickly upgraded to a brand new 120RR from a marineland 29 gallon I had from my past.

Now, just a few months ago my wife and I bought and finished a fully dried in temp controlled Building in which to expand our hobbies (she does hydroponic indoor gardening).

Been keeping fish for about 12 years now. At is much more stressful on fish and also, fish will always have ich. A healthy fish won’t die from disease or parasites and a sterile fish will die at the slightest of illness since it’s immune system is gone.

 

[Terri Caton]

Been keeping fish for about 12 years now. At is much more stressful on fish and also, fish will always have ich. A healthy fish won’t die from disease or parasites.

I'd rather not have Ich in my tank but I do. I knew it was there when I bought the tank. Everyone including the tangs and Moorish Idol got over it fine with the exception of my Powder Brown Tang. He's perfectly fine except for the darn Ich spots. Doesn't seem to mind it but does love the cleaner goby.

I did have a super bizarre thing happen to one of my Anthias today but no one can explain what it was. RIP little friend.

I'm a Paul B. fan of no QT but it's not for everyone. Most people freak out about no QT.

Jason, you're doing a great job with your Moorish Idol! Sounds like just make sure he is getting enough sponge and you'll probably have him for a long time. Who cares if he only eats frozen food and not pellets? I feed my fish mostly frozen anyway.

 

[theMeat]

As have mentioned believe sponge is important for long life, once you get over the big hurdle of getting them to eat at all, which nls worked best for me a few times.
Also think they’re very smart, easily bored, so wouldn’t be surprised if living in groups a big plus to long life

 

[JasonK84]

Been keeping fish for about 12 years now. At is much more stressful on fish and also, fish will always have ich. A healthy fish won’t die from disease or parasites and a sterile fish will die at the slightest of illness since it’s immune system is gone.

Fish will not always have ich! It’s been proven By the many that QT (and do it right). I recently had a Harlequin Tusk pass (2 weeks ago yesterday) and I took it in for a necropsy just to confirm there were no parasites or something I missed.
Here is the thread on that but I’ll also include the final report from the Vet who did the necropsy in case you’re not interested in going through that thread. It’s a doozy if you ask me and several others that have stumbled across it!

Any mail in necropsy services for hobbyists?

I had a Harlequin Tusk pass about an hour ago while in my hand. It quit eating with vigor about 2 to 3 weeks ago and about a week ago completely quit eating. Tried many different foods. Came home today he wasn’t acting normal. Very weak and I easily net him from where it was resting on the...

www.reef2reef.com