The Moorish Idol Thread - Page 30

ReefGeekster · #**726** 05/08/2006, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by john37
the lfs got them from the wholesaler and i just picked them up while they were still in the bag. i asked them to call me once they got them and i didnt want the LFS to put them in their tanks and then have me change them again....so basically from the wholesaler to me.
i'll try that clam later tonight.

How did the Clam(s) work?

john37 · #**727** 05/08/2006, 11:42 PM

i went to vons and trader joes today near my house. neither had clams so tomorrow i'm going to have to try another supermarket or an asian grocery store.

john37 · #**728** 05/09/2006, 03:44 PM

ok so i've added a clam and tried squid as well. They arent eating it. One has been picking at a rock w/some sponge growth.

ReefGeekster · #**729** 05/10/2006, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by john37
ok so i've added a clam and tried squid as well. They arent eating it. One has been picking at a rock w/some sponge growth.

Did you take a knife and split open the clam and pull it apart?

john37 · #**730** 05/10/2006, 12:25 AM

yup....getting kinda sad

ReefGeekster · #**731** 05/10/2006, 02:38 AM

Was the clam Manila Steamer Clam? Here's a couple of quick pics I took 05/09/06 one is of my MI eatting flakes the other him swimming with his tankmates.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showp...p?photo=169016

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showp...t=1&thecat=500

I feed my fish 3-4 times a day, they all are fat and the MI is the Alpha Male keeping all the other fish in line, you can see in the pic were the other fish follows him.

KDodds · #**732** 05/10/2006, 09:28 AM

Mine's going on a month now. Still eating most of what was listed above, although he does have an extreme preference for NLS. This, he'll eat every day. Currently, he more or less picks at everything else and does get his fill at feeding time, but shows no particular prejudicial preference for any one food other than the NLS pellets (1mm). He does DISLIKE some foods, tho, mainly Brine Srimp and Bloodworms, which is sadly probably what most people try first with finicky fish. He's not really "into" crustaceans as much as other fish, including herbivores like Rabbits and Tangs, can be. IOW, he seems to prefer to take other foods over Mysids and the like. Particle size continues to remain important, he doesn't touch anything that's much larger than a Â¼ grain of rice. He's taken some new foods as well, mainly SFBB Mussels. See my list of all foods used in prior pages.

HTH.

ReefGeekster · #**733** 05/10/2006, 11:35 AM

I also feed mine PE Mysis shrimp which all the fish relish.

john37 · #**734** 05/10/2006, 11:41 AM

What is a Manila Steamer Clam?
what do they look like?
i just got the live clams at a asian supermarket and broke it open and put it next to the MI's.

BTW : the one that wasn't picking at the rocks died this morning but the other one seems to be good and swimming around a lot.

KDodds · #**735** 05/14/2006, 07:44 PM

Well, it's been a month to the day and mine is still going strong, streamer intact, and eating well. More importantly, he's exhibiting the side effects of eating well, he's grwoing out and colored up fully.

john37 · #**736** 05/14/2006, 08:31 PM

it's been a week and i still haven't seen it try anything.
but it doesnt look very skinny either. kinda weird.
i've tried 3 different spectrum pellets, prime reef flakes, clam on a half shell, and chopped squid.
Running out of ideas.

KDodds · #**737** 05/15/2006, 01:13 AM

Mine seems to like Prime Reef and SFBB Mussels (both frozen), and the Formula Foods, although curiously not the Angel Formula. Have you tried mashing the foods into a rock?

zfunk007 · #**738** 05/18/2006, 06:46 PM

john37, try soaking his food in garlic extract from kent and also soaking his food in selcon. This is how I got my Idol to eat. Also if you can get a hold of the finicky fish formula from Spectrum, (it has a Moorish Idol on the label) try that also. You can try soaking live brine in selcon also (which will enrich their nutritional value).

Just try as many foods as possible. I tried 10-20 different kinds of foods when I first got my Idol. Here are some examples:

Formula One, Formula Two, Sponge Formula, Frozen Squid, Frozen Brine, seaweed strips, live caulerpa, various flakes, various pellets. It's going to cost you some money if you want this Idol to live. But you can do it. Just keep trying.

As for my situation, my new system is pretty much done (with the plumbing anyway). But I am going to leave it at that for now before I add the water, sand and rock. I have too much other work to do with my business. So it will be a month or 2 before I have my new system up and running.

Glad most of your Idols are doing well. Keep it up everyone.

fangblenny · #**739** 05/20/2006, 08:19 AM

Just a quick update- my mi has been captive over 1.5 yrs now & is thriving!

KDodds · #**740** 05/27/2006, 12:31 PM

6 weeks now for mine. It's not only doing well and continuing to feed, but growing at a very rapid rate. He's between 3 and 3Â½" TL now. Conservatively, he's grown about an inch in this 6 week timespan. Fishbase and other references but post-larval juveniles at 7.5cm, just under 3", so I guess you could say mine is a sub-adult now, obtained as a juvenile.

Paul B · #**741** 05/27/2006, 08:03 PM

My Idol has a new favorite food along with sponge.
Bananna with Selcon, garlic and plaster of paris.
Almost all of my fish eat this including the copperband butterfly.
Paul

KDodds · #**742** 05/28/2006, 07:18 AM

Aren't you concerned that the acids in Bananas might not be good for them long-term? Of course, an Idol eating something is probably better than one eating nothing. But, the conventional wisdom of most is to feed marine fishes foods from marine sources.

markey · #**743** 05/28/2006, 04:30 PM

hi all

just thought i would let you all know ,i got my first M i yesterday been researching for a while ,as i wanted to make this work

its good to see a thread on moorish idol where people are giving advice not flaming ,i have found the feeding advice great

bought my from an lfs just outside london ,he was feeding well ,and i kept an eye on him for a couple of weeks to be safe

willl try to get some pics to show ya

is it true M I does not like copper as mine seems to have a little white spot ,i have him eating frozen foods with garlic at the mo
,i am going shopping for all the different foods i can get to try to see what he likes

thanks Mark

Paul B · #**744** 05/28/2006, 06:27 PM

Kieron, besides bananas I feed the Idol mysis, plankton, sponge (that I collect) garlic, clams, selcon, amphipods and worms. He gets marine food. I also collect all sorts of things in the sea that he eats. He has been with me almost three years so I guess He is happy.
Paul

KDodds · #**745** 05/28/2006, 07:12 PM

Two things generally happen to Idols in Cu preventatives, they lose their banners quickly, and they slough off skin leaving pocks behind. These can be quite large. Left in Cu indefinitely, I would presume that the stress would eventually be too much for the fish to handle.

markey · #**746** 05/29/2006, 11:21 AM

here is that pic i promised ,will try to get a better one he is a bit shy at the mo

john37 · #**747** 05/29/2006, 11:31 AM

great looking fish, looks a little skinny though.
what food is he eating? what have you tried?

markey · #**748** 05/29/2006, 12:07 PM

i have tried loads in the two days i've had him he seems really timid at the mo and has only eaten small amounts

food list so far is , nori sheets ,frozen mysis ,frozen butterfly mix(which is what he was eating in the shop) ,various marine flakes and catfish pellets

am picking up some ocean nutrition pellets tomorrow any tips on getting them feeding ,from what i have read on this thread you need to try everything till you find what he likes

his white spot is almost gone

will keep ya informed

Paul B · #**749** 05/29/2006, 03:20 PM

Markey, that is a skinny Idol. Mine now eats anything, I think he would eat cardboard but at first the only thing he would eat was "Soft and Moist" pellets. He still gets the pellets once a day from an automatic feeder that dispenses the pellets into a funnel that goes to a tube to a dish on the bottom. I taught him to eat from the dish because he sees the pellets falling down the tube and he waits for them to emerge. The other fish can't seem to comprehend that food comes into the dish which is what I hoped. I only want the Idol to get them. Of course the Idol was eating pellets in the store or I would not have bought him.
I also collect a lot of sponge in the sea which is his favorite food. I try to feed that every day along with other stuff. It is all I ever saw them eat in the sea.
Yours looks too skinny to recover but I hope I am wrong. These fish have surprised me before.
The only problem I find with Idols (after you get them eating) is that they eat so much and so often that I have to change a lot of water. He is really messing up my tank. But thats life.
Good luck with yours
Paul

markey · #**750** 05/29/2006, 04:02 PM

thanks Paul

i've only had him a few days ,i'm sure he wasnt that skinny at the shop ,i will keep you informed which ever way it comes out

i will try to feed little and often