Moorish Idol success stories

[Jay Hemdal]

90,000g?! Where on Earth is that baby!?

I was the aquarium curator at the Toledo Zoo for 30 years before I partially retired 3 years ago. That’s actually on the smallish side for a public aquarium display (grin).

 

[PharmrJohn]

I was the aquarium curator at the Toledo Zoo for 30 years before I partially retired 3 years ago. That’s actually on the smallish side for a public aquarium display (grin).

And that explains your knowledge base. Makes sense. Kinda wondered what your background was. I'm going to the new Port Defiance Aquarium here this weekend. New set up. Gonna try to talk my way into the bowels of this thing. Usually I'm pretty good at this sort of thing. We'll see. I bet they use a RO 200 SSS in there, LOL!!!! Can't even imagine what the filtration is like.

 

[littlefoxx]

I’m debating the same thing

Well for what its worth I got an idol but it shipped bad and passed the next day. Havnt tried one since cause I would have to have it shipped again

 

[EliMelly]

Well for what its worth I got an idol but it shipped bad and passed the next day. Havnt tried one since cause I would have to have it shipped again

I’m going to try with Dr reef. Question is will it eat corals.

 

[littlefoxx]

I’m going to try with Dr reef. Question is will it eat corals.

The two orders I got from him the fish were in horrible condition and didnt make it, one fish was so thin its whole belly was concaved in

 

[PharmrJohn]

The two orders I got from him the fish were in horrible condition and didnt make it, one fish was so thin its whole belly was concaved in

That's criminal in my book. Shows a lack of basic empathy. Perhaps the fish just didn't eat, but you'd think that autonomic response would force the issue.

 

[EliMelly]

Did you speak with them? They have great customer service

 

[reely989]

The two orders I got from him the fish were in horrible condition and didnt make it, one fish was so thin its whole belly was concaved in

To be fair he has a big warning regarding this on his Moorish Idol page.

 

[EliMelly]

Btw just got a skeletor locked in. Saw you were looking for one. If you’re still after it let me know.

Well for what it’s worth I got an idol but it shipped bad and passed the next day. Havnt tried one since cause I would have to have it shipped again

 

[MrWellington]

I would advise against it, and any other difficult to keep species. The risk (death of an animal) is far too easy, and in the cases of the Morish Idle, or Copperband butterfly, the long-term survival rate is in the single digits. Is the challenge, cost, and ethical consideration really worth that level of risk?

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

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.

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

As a classic jaguar owner I can confirm.
I use my wife's honda for long trips every time.
Or any trips where I ABSOLUTELY need to get there.

 

[littlefoxx]

To be fair he has a big warning regarding this on his Moorish Idol page.

It wasnt an idol I ordered from him, I ordered fish that are usually very hardy

 

[littlefoxx]

Btw just got a skeletor locked in. Saw you were looking for one. If you’re still after it let me know.

Oo where??

 

[EliMelly]

Oo where??

Dr Reef

 

[EliMelly]

It wasnt an idol I ordered from him, I ordered fish that are usually very hardy

Speak with Mike he will make it right. Seriously he really is the best. Mistakes happen in general when ordering fish but he always makes it right.

 

[littlefoxx]

Dr Reef

Ah. Pretty eel though. I wont order from him again though

 

[vetteguy53081]

I had total success with a trio. Began with them bickering. Then I sold one and the two eventually staring picking at my softies and had to go. They ate Aggressively and were easy to care for

 

[EliMelly]

Ah. Pretty eel though. I wont order from him again though

That’s a real shame…

 

[Duane family]

Many many years back I was captivated by this fish and decided I was going to understand its requirements to successfully keep these healthy in a reef tank. As with all sensitive fish, there were many attempts but each time more data and knowledge was gained till eventually success was repeatable. Here are some details I can remember

1. Location is a big factor, mostly due to how these fish are caught and then shipped. Those from the East are of the poorest quality. USA specimens are better by a factor of 10 x.
2. These fish are very susceptible to ammonia burn while shipping, an instant indication of this would be the dorsal filament. If there is more than 30mm of dorsal filament present after shipping then this is about as good as can be. Less than 10mm of dorsal filament and significant ammonia burn occurred during shipping. If there is no dorsal filament and the tip of the dorsal spine is slightly exposed, that fish has almost no chance of survival.
3. Quarantine is a must, in fact extensive quarantine a few days or a week or two wont cut it. Within the first week of QT the fish must be left alone as much as possible. Just fussing about it or checking up on it often can stress it further and result in death due to starvation. So do only what is required and for the rest leave the fish alone in dim light conditions. My most consistent results were when going down slowly to 1013 sal and keeping it there for 2 weeks after which I would raise it up again over a week and match normal sal for the last week. Back then we did not understand the fine scale use of copper treatment and I think that in today's times this would be a huge benefit and offer better results.
In South Africa we found something very interesting with this species. In the peak of summer temperatures this species would migrate south with the Agulhas current which begins departing the coastline at a point. Every year in exactly the same week of March small numbers of this species would often enter estuaries and swim upstream a fair distance where the salinity was reduced. At the point where the Agulhas current departs from the coastline the temperature further south decreases. Many of the fish would become trapped in this colder water and perish while those which entered the estuaries would survive far longer in the lower sal water with same lower temperatures.
4. Once the QT period is complete and successful this fish should only be placed in a mature aquarium where the rock is full of interesting growth for them to pick on. Then as someone mentioned the angelfish food by ocean nutrition is a great feed for these fish, but if they are happy they will eat a bit of everything. However if they do not have that natural rock growth to begin with the chances of the fish being happy in the first phase is slim to non. That first phase is ultra important.

Personally I would love to keep one again but I think that its only possible after our tank is a good few years old and so it is not on our initial fish target list. The moorish is an amazing creature for sure.

 

[reely989]

It wasnt an idol I ordered from him, I ordered fish that are usually very hardy

Sorry you had a bad experience. I imagine I've ordered 20+ fish from him and they've all arrived looking good. Only issue I've really had was a Copperband that wouldn't eat, but I knew that risk going in.