Moorish Idol success stories

[Rp8]

Rethinking my stock. And contemplating a Moorish Idol. Hoping someone out there has a success story. Currently have a heniochus butterfly, but why have a Camry when I can have a Lexus, ya know?
Plus my powder blue and sailfin has become a terror. Terrorizing my copperband.
So just rethinking it, may just step away from the usual tangs, and angels etc

So any success stories with The Tank Idol? What’s your secret?

Regards,
Rob~

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Rethinking my stock. And contemplating a Moorish Idol. Hoping someone out there has a success story. Currently have a heniochus butterfly, but why have a Camry when I can have a Lexus, ya know?
Plus my powder blue and sailfin has become a terror. Terrorizing my copperband.
So just rethinking it, may just step away from the usual tangs, and angels etc

So any success stories with The Tank Idol? What’s your secret?

Regards,
Rob~

With idols, it mostly depends on their source, and then, what size tank you have. They are also really prone to ich, so they need to be fully quarantined, but they don't really handle small, bare quarantine tanks very well.

Avoid small idols from SE Asia. They often arrive thin and in very poor shape. When Hawaii was open to collection, that was a better source. I got a pair from Australia in 2015 that are still going strong in a huge tank (90,000 gallons).

 

[Team ASD]

Rethinking my stock. And contemplating a Moorish Idol. Hoping someone out there has a success story. Currently have a heniochus butterfly, but why have a Camry when I can have a Lexus, ya know?
Plus my powder blue and sailfin has become a terror. Terrorizing my copperband.
So just rethinking it, may just step away from the usual tangs, and angels etc

So any success stories with The Tank Idol? What’s your secret?

Regards,
Rob~

I would say go for it if you have the ability to see one in person at a lfs and have it put on hold for a week or two even if it means having to throw a little extra $$$ at it.
Always good to be able to see a fish you want eating and thriving for a week or two before taking it home.
Even better if it was already in someones established reef that they are outgrowing (as long as it wasnt being a nuisance and thats the reason they are getting rid of it)

 

[Terry Le]

I purchased one from Dr. Reef supposedly fully quarantined ( cost a bit). Didn’t eat. Didn’t last for a week

 

[Naekuh]

why have a Camry when I can have a Lexus,

well those cars are both reliable as hell, but to compare against those fishes its more like a Jaguar vs a Bentley, seeing how both butterflys and idols are not the most reputable thing when people ask for fish recommendations. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

I want an Idol, and ive had a bentley... and well, i will never buy another one, which goes the same for an idol.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I previously had one for almost 6 years before a tank crash. 0 problems, ate like a champ, and grew quickly. Tried again twice in the last 2 years, one was cyanide caught, the other had red nematode worms burrow out of its head and kill it after treating with levamisole.

Picked one up from a local reefer tearing down their tank today, they've had him a couple years. Apparently he was fighting with their 10" koran angel, hence the torn fins. Doing fantastic, eating everything, and nicely sized. Have him in with a Rhino bannerfish, who doesn't seem the biggest fan, but should be ok since the moorish is over twice the size. Worst case scenario, I'll split them into different tanks.

Pics of the moorish idol, and a pic of the tank with the Rhino banner attached.

 

[cilyjr]

I kept one for about 3 years and a 180. I noticed it was eating all of the sponge in my tank. When it was all gone, I started getting the food for angelfish that had sponge as an ingredient, I don't remember what it was. Was it was frozen. It seemed to like that for a while. I eventually traded the fish to someone with a 300 gallon tank as I was thinking it was getting pretty big for my 180.

Edit: The food was ocean nutrition Angel formula. In case anyone is interested.

 

[Rp8]

With idols, it mostly depends on their source, and then, what size tank you have. They are also really prone to ich, so they need to be fully quarantined, but they don't really handle small, bare quarantine tanks very well.

Avoid small idols from SE Asia. They often arrive thin and in very poor shape. When Hawaii was open to collection, that was a better source. I got a pair from Australia in 2015 that are still going strong in a huge tank (90,000 gallons).

Thanks!

I previously had one for almost 6 years before a tank crash. 0 problems, ate like a champ, and grew quickly. Tried again twice in the last 2 years, one was cyanide caught, the other had red nematode worms burrow out of its head and kill it after treating with levamisole.

Picked one up from a local reefer tearing down their tank today, they've had him a couple years. Apparently he was fighting with their 10" koran angel, hence the torn fins. Doing fantastic, eating everything, and nicely sized. Have him in with a Rhino bannerfish, who doesn't seem the biggest fan, but should be ok since the moorish is over twice the size. Worst case scenario, I'll split them into different tanks.

Pics of the moorish idol, and a pic of the tank with the Rhino banner attached.

What size tank? Love your Singapore Angel and pearl scale. I’m thinking that’s the way I wanna go again.

I kept one for about 3 years and a 180. I noticed it was eating all of the sponge in my tank. When it was all gone, I started getting the food for angelfish that had sponge as an ingredient, I don't remember what it was. Was it was frozen. It seemed to like that for a while. I eventually traded the fish to someone with a 300 gallon tank as I was thinking it was getting pretty big for my 180.

Edit: The food was ocean nutrition Angel formula. In case anyone is interested.

Out grow the 180? That’s what I currently have.

 

[Jasonak]

Got one from Dr Reef back in September it is a piggy. Was eating my LPS so moved him from my 300 to my 75 he has been in there since December and I just moved him back into my 300 again. He will eat anything I throw in the tank.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Thanks!

What size tank? Love your Singapore Angel and pearl scale. I’m thinking that’s the way I wanna go again.

Out grow the 180? That’s what I currently have.

This is a 5' 100 gallon, with an 8' 240 gallon we can move to if necessary down the road.

I don't have a Singapore angel, but I do have a a lemonpeel angel, Rhino bannerfish, pearlscale butterfly, and double saddle butterfly in there, along with lots of wrasses and tilefish.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

With idols, it mostly depends on their source, and then, what size tank you have. They are also really prone to ich, so they need to be fully quarantined, but they don't really handle small, bare quarantine tanks very well.

Avoid small idols from SE Asia. They often arrive thin and in very poor shape. When Hawaii was open to collection, that was a better source. I got a pair from Australia in 2015 that are still going strong in a huge tank (90,000 gallons).

you have a 90,000 gallon tank??!

 

[Viking_Reefing]

With idols, it mostly depends on their source, and then, what size tank you have. They are also really prone to ich, so they need to be fully quarantined, but they don't really handle small, bare quarantine tanks very well.

Avoid small idols from SE Asia. They often arrive thin and in very poor shape. When Hawaii was open to collection, that was a better source. I got a pair from Australia in 2015 that are still going strong in a huge tank (90,000 gallons).

I wouldn’t say that they are particularly sensitive to ich in my experience, I’ve kept several over the last two decades and never had an issue even though ich were present in the tanks. It’s like Achilles tangs, they are very sensitive to improper husbandry as it leads to issues with disease down the line.

However, I’d definitely say that they are very sensitive to bad QT practices I.e putting them in a sterile tank and nuking their system with copper and other toxins.

The main issue with these guys (apart from what Jay just said, getting your hands in good specimens) is feeding. In my experience these are easy fish but they do need a stupid amount of food to stay healthy and thriving. You will need to make sure to feed them 5+ times a day with a diet rich in sponge and high in fiber.

I’ve kept em for 5+ years in the past. One o sold, one died in an accident after about 4,5 years.
My failures was that I once both one as a 13 year old kid over two decades ago and had no idea what I was doing, I sure as hell killed that fish.

My last attempt was kind of strange. I believe the idol was blind in one eye as it was horrible at actually hitting the food when it went after it. After about 6 months in my big tank it had lost a lot of weight as it couldn’t compete with an Achilles tang, gold flake, majestic angel, regal angel and a bunch of other pigs. I transferred it over to a smaller tank to fatten up. Well, that tank didn’t have a lid and the darn thing jumped the very first night. Never had idols jump on me before but that could perhaps have been a byproduct of it being half blind.

Here’s my old guy fat frank that I sadly lost in some sort of an accident. I believe something spooked it and it crashed in to the rocks as its beak was badly deformed when I found him.

 

[Paul B]

I have spent quite a bit of hours underwater with Idols in French Polynesia and Hawaii. In hawaii they are probably the most common fish there and you will find them where no other fish live.
In Hawaii, even the very outer Islands the reefs are in bad shape and most of the coral is dead. The Idols eat that dead and dying algae that only them and urchins will eat. I think I took these off of Lanai or Kauai





In Bora Bora in Tahiti the reefs are much better and the only thing I saw them eat here is a lime green sponge that I have not seen anywhere else.

This is Bora Bora.



Here one of them swims maybe 100 yard circles around the reef looking for that green sponge, they the other one comes by (female?) and she eats and the first one leaves to find more sponge.

I kept my last one just over 5 years feeding her sponge that grows here in New York in the summer at the surface of floating wooden docks. The Idol would practically jump out of the water for the disgusting stuff. I couldn't get it in the winter so I would collect a bunch of it and freeze it. As a matter of fact, the Idol only atre it if I froze it.

They also eat frozen bananas but not fresh ones. Maybe it looks or tastes like sponge, I have no idea.

I also fed it pellets that I infused with fish oil that I dispensed 3 or 4 times a day in a feeder I developed. That fish wouk spend much of her time waiting by the feeder to see if some pellets would come down.



This was probably 30 years ago when I was a lot stupider than I am now. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
But I don't have my boat any longer and I can't collect that sponge so I will probably not get another one any time soon. Unless I find a place locally to get that sponge as they won't just eat any sponge.



I personally would not quarantine that fish as they are quirky and delicate enough but I won't quarantine any fish. But thats just me and you should do whatever you feel is best.

5 years with that fish is a failure because I think, but I am guessing that fish should live maybe 12 or 15 years but that is a wild guess and I am pretty sure no one has kept one "In a Home Tank" more than 8 or 10 years.

They are similar to butterflies but in their own classification. I think it's Zanclide or something like that. (I am to lazy to look it up) :cool:

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

you have a 90,000 gallon tank??!

I’m a retired public aquarium curator, so I managed the tank but didn’t have to pay for it (grin).

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I wouldn’t say that they are particularly sensitive to ich in my experience, I’ve kept several over the last two decades and never had an issue even though ich were present in the tanks. It’s like Achilles tangs, they are very sensitive to improper husbandry as it leads to issues with disease down the line.

However, I’d definitely say that they are very sensitive to bad QT practices I.e putting them in a sterile tank and nuking their system with copper and other toxins.

The main issue with these guys (apart from what Jay just said, getting your hands in good specimens) is feeding. In my experience these are easy fish but they do need a stupid amount of food to stay healthy and thriving. You will need to make sure to feed them 5+ times a day with a diet rich in sponge and high in fiber.

I’ve kept em for 5+ years in the past. One o sold, one died in an accident after about 4,5 years.
My failures was that I once both one as a 13 year old kid over two decades ago and had no idea what I was doing, I sure as hell killed that fish.

My last attempt was kind of strange. I believe the idol was blind in one eye as it was horrible at actually hitting the food when it went after it. After about 6 months in my big tank it had lost a lot of weight as it couldn’t compete with an Achilles tang, gold flake, majestic angel, regal angel and a bunch of other pigs. I transferred it over to a smaller tank to fatten up. Well, that tank didn’t have a lid and the darn thing jumped the very first night. Never had idols jump on me before but that could perhaps have been a byproduct of it being half blind.

Here’s my old guy fat frank that I sadly lost in some sort of an accident. I believe something spooked it and it crashed in to the rocks as its beak was badly deformed when I found him.

Well, I haven’t personally had one get ich in about 25 years, not since I started quarantining properly with amine chelated copper.

Before that, in the wholesale and general pet trade, we’d always lose them to ich or to general unthriftyness due to poor quality supply.

 

[Rp8]

I have spent quite a bit of hours underwater with Idols in French Polynesia and Hawaii. In hawaii they are probably the most common fish there and you will find them where no other fish live.
In Hawaii, even the very outer Islands the reefs are in bad shape and most of the coral is dead. The Idols eat that dead and dying algae that only them and urchins will eat. I think I took these off of Lanai or Kauai





In Bora Bora in Tahiti the reefs are much better and the only thing I saw them eat here is a lime green sponge that I have not seen anywhere else.

This is Bora Bora.



Here one of them swims maybe 100 yard circles around the reef looking for that green sponge, they the other one comes by (female?) and she eats and the first one leaves to find more sponge.

I kept my last one just over 5 years feeding her sponge that grows here in New York in the summer at the surface of floating wooden docks. The Idol would practically jump out of the water for the disgusting stuff. I couldn't get it in the winter so I would collect a bunch of it and freeze it. As a matter of fact, the Idol only atre it if I froze it.

They also eat frozen bananas but not fresh ones. Maybe it looks or tastes like sponge, I have no idea.

I also fed it pellets that I infused with fish oil that I dispensed 3 or 4 times a day in a feeder I developed. That fish wouk spend much of her time waiting by the feeder to see if some pellets would come down.



This was probably 30 years ago when I was a lot stupider than I am now. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
But I don't have my boat any longer and I can't collect that sponge so I will probably not get another one any time soon. Unless I find a place locally to get that sponge as they won't just eat any sponge.



I personally would not quarantine that fish as they are quirky and delicate enough but I won't quarantine any fish. But thats just me and you should do whatever you feel is best.

5 years with that fish is a failure because I think, but I am guessing that fish should live maybe 12 or 15 years but that is a wild guess and I am pretty sure no one has kept one "In a Home Tank" more than 8 or 10 years.

They are similar to butterflies but in their own classification. I think it's Zanclide or something like that. (I am to lazy to look it up) :cool:

How did you prevent clumping with the pellets?

 

[Paul B]

How did you prevent clumping with the pellets?

The pellets never "clumped. I had them in a dry food feeder over a funnel just over the surface of my tank. I think I also had a small trickle of water going into that funnel to help push the pellets down.

The idol would swim back and forth and every time he got to the left side of the tank, he would check out the feeder dish to see if the pellets were there.

But the sponge he went nuts for. I also fed him and all my fish live blackworms. Now I use live white worms.

With idols I am not sure if it is something missing in their diet or water that keeps them from living more than about 5 or 6 years in a home tank. But something is wrong because I have never heard of an old one in a "home" tank.

 

[inetjnky]

Purchased a healthy one from
Dr reef and had him eating hikari angel diet with the sponge in it. Ate like a pig. But also nipped at the polyps of my acro and lps so I rejoined him to a fowlr tank.

 

[radiata]

Getting Idols to start feeding can be tricky. I originally used Masstick, but am currently using Masstick mashed together with Nutramar Shots. I also embed small soft pellets in the mixture. I'm currently using two Massticks and two Shots a day. The small Idol and the Regal in my observation tank both go after it when it is pressed onto a rock.

 

[teethdoctor23]

I purchased one from Dr. Reef supposedly fully quarantined ( cost a bit). Didn’t eat. Didn’t last for a week

Interesting, I got mine from him and he’s been with me for about a year. The guy is a model citizen and eats like a pig