Moorish Idol and SPS

[my2rotties]

I personally have never seen one up for sale. They are always sold and I am always told they hardly ever make it... They are beautiful, but even that is not quite enough for me to chance ordering one. If fish are in stock, it is one thing to try, but to have one pulled from the ocean on my behalf is not right for me to do. Even if they are in stock, I would have to do miles of research, which I did do for my Regal angel whom is happy and healthy.

Originally Posted by naesco

I agree with you.
If an experienced reefer wants to order a Moorish Idol, I have no problem with a LFS special order bringing one in.

I have a big problem with loser LFS stocking Moorish Idol and selling them to unsuspecting newbies, though

[seanoman]

Just so you all know, this was not an impulse buy for us either. We know the history of this fish and that they are supposed to be really hard to keep. There is an LFS that stocks these fish on a somewhat regular basis and before we bought it, we had a good long talk with the employees there. Whomever they get the MI's from, they have had fairly good success in keeping them healthy and eating.
The fish was eating at the store before we even took it home. I should also mention that the employees at the store were not willing to just sell it to anyone, they made sure that they asked us how long our tank had been up and running, and how big it was and who it would be housed with. He was the last one available as the others had been sold and he was missing part of his top fin and had no streamer. Since introducing him to our tank, both his fin and streamer have fully recovered and he is nice and chubby now. I wouldn't call us successful at keeping him yet though as it has only been a couple of months but I think we're off to a good start.
We're not ready to pull him quite yet and are keeping a close eye one him. I would hate to have to give him up.
Thanks to everyone for there help so far!

[my2rotties]

I personally think it is totally awesome that you have kept one of these guys!!! I think two months is great and perhaps he is nipping at corals to get the nutrition that he is needing. Since you posted about yours, I did some research, and see a connection between the ones that survive for the longer term with coral nipping. Many of the other fish that did not survive lived in tanks without many SPS and LPS.

I have a regal angel that is thriving in my display, but he trashed my organ pipe corals, and does nip at other things. He is even growing at a fairly fast rate. I see him sampling a lot of things in my tank, and he loves sponges and tunicates as well. However he really liked the organ pipe more so then anything else. I have PMd you a couple of times asking questions about the fish you have and the success you have had in keeping them. I find you are a wealth of knowledge and commend you on keeping this fish.

I guess you might have to buy a few more corals to keep him happy, but I doubt he will do that much damage. My regal trashed the pipe organ pretty good but anything else is faring well.

Do you have any pictures of your MI?

Originally Posted by seanoman

Just so you all know, this was not an impulse buy for us either. We know the history of this fish and that they are supposed to be really hard to keep. There is an LFS that stocks these fish on a somewhat regular basis and before we bought it, we had a good long talk with the employees there. Whomever they get the MI's from, they have had fairly good success in keeping them healthy and eating.
The fish was eating at the store before we even took it home. I should also mention that the employees at the store were not willing to just sell it to anyone, they made sure that they asked us how long our tank had been up and running, and how big it was and who it would be housed with. He was the last one available as the others had been sold and he was missing part of his top fin and had no streamer. Since introducing him to our tank, both his fin and streamer have fully recovered and he is nice and chubby now. I wouldn't call us successful at keeping him yet though as it has only been a couple of months but I think we're off to a good start.
We're not ready to pull him quite yet and are keeping a close eye one him. I would hate to have to give him up.
Thanks to everyone for there help so far!

[seanoman]

Thanks for the encouragement!
I do feel that it's really important to do your research before you buy a fish and know what you are getting yourself into and as a hobbyist I feel that it's my responsibility to do so. I know MI's are controversial fish and usually start a debate so I was hesistant to start this thread but I'm glad to hear that there are several others out there who are keeping them successfully as well and I appreciate all the advice.

[Atomikk]

FWIW, I am blogging my experiences with the MI. I find it needs a LOT of space to feel comfortable, and to avoid being harrased. Once it gets established, it will get quite comfortable with all the inhabitants, and even your hands in the water.

From what I noticed is that they need to be fed a lot. I can still see mine having problems gaining weight. These fish are definitely not for newbies or intermediate reefers. Why do I say that? Because to make sure it thrives, you need to do a lot more work than just to drop a couple of flakes for it to eat.

[my2rotties]

I came across your blog when I was doing some reading on the MI... very nicely done!!!

Originally Posted by Atomikk

FWIW, I am blogging my experiences with the MI. I find it needs a LOT of space to feel comfortable, and to avoid being harrased. Once it gets established, it will get quite comfortable with all the inhabitants, and even your hands in the water.

From what I noticed is that they need to be fed a lot. I can still see mine having problems gaining weight. These fish are definitely not for newbies or intermediate reefers. Why do I say that? Because to make sure it thrives, you need to do a lot more work than just to drop a couple of flakes for it to eat.

[Atomikk]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

I came across your blog when I was doing some reading on the MI... very nicely done!!!

Well, thank you. We appreciate all who read.

As for the MI, I constantly see it eat my sponge. And for that, I intend on finding more sponges to fit inside my tank. I too am growing them in the benthic zones in the sump, but they have not developed into sizable portions. Therefore, i will have to find some to buy.

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I think it's funny when someone considers keeping one of these for a year a success. I'm not saying every one collected dies in captivity and I don't know the exact percentage that do but I would suspect it is in the 90 plus percent. To me that is us as cocky humans thinking we run the world and taking what we wish. It's completely wrong and NONE of us should be buying these fish. To say"I bought it because it was at the store already is silly. The only reason stores keep bringing these fish in is because people buy them. I think governments need to step in and make this an illegal fish to collect and distribute. I'm not bashing any individual that buys one I'm just saying that us as supposed responsible reefkeepers need to stop purchasing these, or any fish, coral, invertebrate that has a higher than 50 percent death rate in captivity. Just my 22 cents

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Atomikk

FWIW, I am blogging my experiences with the MI. I find it needs a LOT of space to feel comfortable, and to avoid being harrased. Once it gets established, it will get quite comfortable with all the inhabitants, and even your hands in the water.

From what I noticed is that they need to be fed a lot. I can still see mine having problems gaining weight. These fish are definitely not for newbies or intermediate reefers. Why do I say that? Because to make sure it thrives, you need to do a lot more work than just to drop a couple of flakes for it to eat.

I agree Moorish Idol are definitely not for newbies.
The problem is not just the size of tank required or the attention given to feeding by a devoted reefer.
The problem is that the feeding requirements for this species are unknown with the result that they eventually die in reefers tanks even though they are given the best of care.
If a experienced reefer, devoted to experimenting with various specialty type foods (almost a scientist) wants to keep one, go for it.
Sadly, some hobbyists though well intentioned, hope that they are the one who can successfully keep them and they too fail.
For that reason, IMO they are best left in the ocean until their feeding requirements become know through science and the efforts of experts.

[Haloreef]

Are there any "scientists" studing the feeding requirements of the Moorish Idol?