Hungry Moorish Idol + Zoanthids = Unhappy Me

[cale262]

I knew before getting a Moorish Idol that they were known nippers and would possibly consume soft coral polyps…Before purchasing I observed this fish at my LFS for about a month, he was housed in a tank full of zoanthids and was a veracious pellet eater, signs that comforted me into accepting the risk and gamble of adding him to my reef system. Things were great for the first couple months, he was eating a variety of foods, eating everything he was offered. None of my corals or zoo’s showed any sign of decline, everything was happy. A couple weeks ago my wife and I decided it was time for a mini vacation, a week in Radium was planned and arrangements were made with a friend to sit the house and aquariums, something which he has done for us several times in the past with out issue…We packed our bags and hit the road.

When we returned home my Idol had met me at the glass in the usual manner, like a dog greeting his owner home after a long absence, then I noticed almost immediately that something had changed …90% of the Zoanthids had disappeared, the only ones I could find were hidden in tight spots or in areas of higher water flow, hundreds of zoo’s wiped out in a little more than a week. That really hurt. On one hand I have always wanted a Moorish Idol but had put it out of my head for the longest time and on the other hand, the zoo’s had really started to take off, everything was looking great…

I’m now split, keep the happy hungry Idol or restart the zoo garden…Man this sux.