Moorish Idol feed. Sponge??

[viperfish]

Also keep in mind that getting a Moorish Idol to eat is just one aspect of longevity. The tankmates, tank conditions, husbandry, and even flow in the tank all affect this very sensitive fish. I had one a few years ago and like most people it is no longer alive. I did have this guy eating mysis and even Nori from the clip and I thought I was home free but I couldn't be more mistaken. One thing I learned about these guys is the slightest change such as moving one rock, doing a water change, and basically anything outside the normal routine would stress the heck out of it and where most other fish would rebound quickly he would take days to regain his confidence. After one unsuccessful try which lasted a few months I decided as most have to never try to own one again. Fish stores will bring in anything that will sell and the only way to stop this is to stop buying these doomed species, the sad thing is this never seems to happen. I see LFS selling Nudibranchs that will die if they don't get a specific kind of sponge, electric scallops, stingrays, and the list goes on, it is very sad that they are viewed as revenue for the store and not as a species doomed to die. There are enough robust species to choose from in this hobby that there should be no need to bring home something that probably won't survive anyway.

[RD]

Kieron Dodds, from Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine wrote an article on the Moorish Idol in 2008, titled; "Still Impossible After All These Years - Keeping Moorish Idol". He clearly admits that the main intent of his article was to discourage anyone from acquiring this species, as he feels this species has almost no chance in being kept alive in captivity beyond a very short duration.

At one point in the article he states "Pablo Tepoot is perhaps the single individual who has had the most success with this species" - unfortunately Pablo (the creator of New Life Spectrum) lost his last group of Moorish Idol to an electrical failure during a hurricane, at that point he had kept them thriving in captivity for 5+ years.
Something that most people would have considered impossible 15 or 20 yrs ago.

Can they be kept healthy & thriving long term, absolutely.
Are there any guarantees with this species, absolutely not.
Of course the same could be said about many things in this hobby, but that's a far cry from classifying Moorish Idol as being doomed to die in captivity.

Feeding foods such as mysis & nori will definitely not meet this species nutrient demands,
these types of foods have been tried many times over the years, and always end up a failure. I'm not posting this in defense of keeping Moorish Idol in captivity, but for those that try, take a hint from Pablo Tepoot as to what to feed, because getting this species healthy diet wise, is the single most important part of the equation.

So to answer the OP's question, diet wise, for long term success there is nothing required beyond feeding a high quality pellet that will meet & exceed all of your fishes nutrient requirements. Choose that pellet food wisely, and you will have already made it past your largest hurdle in keeping this species thriving in captivity.

Best of luck with your new MI.

[albert_dao]

For the record, this is RD's original post to the OP.

Originally Posted by RD

Kieron Dodds, from Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine wrote an article on the Moorish Idol in 2008, titled; "Still Impossible After All These Years - Keeping Moorish Idol". He clearly admits that the main intent of his article was to discourage anyone from acquiring this species, as he feels this species has almost no chance in being kept alive in captivity beyond a very short duration.

At one point in the article he states "Pablo Tepoot is perhaps the single individual who has had the most success with this species" - unfortunately Pablo (the creator of New Life Spectrum) lost his last group of Moorish Idol to an electrical failure during a hurricane, at that point he had kept them thriving in captivity for 5+ years.
Something that most people would have considered impossible 15 or 20 yrs ago.

Can they be kept healthy & thriving long term, absolutely.
Are there any guarantees with this species, absolutely not.
Of course the same could be said about many things in this hobby, but that's a far cry from classifying Moorish Idol as being doomed to die in captivity.

Feeding foods such as mysis & nori will definitely not meet this species nutrient demands,
these types of foods have been tried many times over the years, and always end up a failure. I'm not posting this in defense of keeping Moorish Idol in captivity, but for those that try, take a hint from Pablo Tepoot as to what to feed, because getting this species healthy diet wise, is the single most important part of the equation.

So to answer the OP's question, diet wise, for long term success there is nothing required beyond feeding a high quality pellet that will meet & exceed all of your fishes nutrient requirements. Choose that pellet food wisely, and you will have already made it past your largest hurdle in keeping this species thriving in captivity.

Best of luck with your new MI.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

Also keep in mind that getting a Moorish Idol to eat is just one aspect of longevity. The tankmates, tank conditions, husbandry, and even flow in the tank all affect this very sensitive fish. I had one a few years ago and like most people it is no longer alive. I did have this guy eating mysis and even Nori from the clip and I thought I was home free but I couldn't be more mistaken. One thing I learned about these guys is the slightest change such as moving one rock, doing a water change, and basically anything outside the normal routine would stress the heck out of it and where most other fish would rebound quickly he would take days to regain his confidence. After one unsuccessful try which lasted a few months I decided as most have to never try to own one again.

This is what I didn't understand about MI's. I always thought if you could fine one that eats you'd be good to go. However what I didn't know is not only do you need one that's eating well you need to keep only peaceful tankmates with it and you can't have your hands in and out of the tank moving things around in it, because doing so can easily stress MI's and kill them. Impossible IMO no, worth it to try knowing how much of a PITA it is to keep them stress free and alive, IMO no.

I love MI's and I tried one once (that had been alive for 5 months and ate mysis) however from the trip back home (got it in Calgary) it got stressed and got a bit of ich on it, that and with my with my other fish harassing it a bit, it got stressed out and died a few days later. I will not try another one unless I am committed to having a tank set up strictly for one. Established FOWLR tank with a sump for doing water changes in, and the MI being the 1st fish in and any tankmate that looks at it the wrong way would be removed immediately.

To answer your question from what I understand sponge is a main part of their diet in the wild, that being said I don't know if the need it to live long term in captivity, or not but why risk it? I would buy sponge (I have seen sponge for sale at lfs) and add it to your tank, because it can only help not hurt having it.

[viperfish]

Bob Fenner highly recommends the New Life Spectrum Pellets for successfully feeding MI's. Apparently there isn't a particular ingredient identified that sets it apart from the other foods but I guess by trial and error this food seems to work ( I hope they didn't try too many brands before they hit the right one).

[RD]

Bob Fenner highly recommends the New Life Spectrum Pellets for successfully feeding MI's. Apparently there isn't a particular ingredient identified that sets it apart from the other foods....

There is much that sets it apart from other foods, but most of that falls under proprietary information.

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by RD

There is much that sets it apart from other foods, but most of that falls under proprietary information.

OK my point was there are foods out there of comparable quality to New Life Spectrum. NLS just has an unknown ingredient, or the right combination of ingredients, or maybe its just the region where their ingredients are harvested that makes them more complete for the nutritional requirements of the MI. I just find it sort of odd that the health of most marine fish depends on a varied diet consisting of primarily live or frozen food and this fish, one of the most sensitive in the hobby, has had greatest success with a pellet.
I'm just generalizing here because I don't know anything more specific, neither does Pablo Tepoot, or Bob Fenner, so if you have something more please share. I would go out and get a Moorish Idol tomorrow if I knew the secret of successfully keeping one.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

Bob Fenner highly recommends the New Life Spectrum Pellets for successfully feeding MI's. Apparently there isn't a particular ingredient identified that sets it apart from the other foods but I guess by trial and error this food seems to work ( I hope they didn't try too many brands before they hit the right one).

Is Robert Fenner suggesting that Moorish Idol can be kept sucessfully?
If so could you point me in to the article your read.
Thanks

[RD]

Bob Fenner has seen MI kept successfully for years, so none of this would come as any big surprise to him.

I just find it sort of odd that the health of most marine fish depends on a varied diet consisting of primarily live or frozen food and this fish, one of the most sensitive in the hobby, has had greatest success with a pellet.

Says who? I saw a marine tank that was full of the some of the most difficult to keep species, Butterfly Fish, Parrot Fish, Philippine Regal Angels, Majestic Angels, Rock Beauty, Moorish Idol, Achilles Tang, and numerous other species, and they all thrived on an exclusive diet of pellets.
That tank suffered a major crash a couple of years ago, but at the time the vast majority of the fish were over 12 yrs old, and none of them had ever seen live, or frozen food.

Bob Fenner has seen the same tank, a number of times.

IMO it's impossible to talk about comparable quality in foods, unless you are running long term feed trials, and feeding said food exclusively. No frozen, no live, no supplements at all. I suspect that many aren't willing to do that, so it's impossible to compare something that you've never personally tried. I also wouldn't be so quick to judge what Pablo knows, or doesn't know about the dietary requirements of marine fish, you might be surprised.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by RD

Bob Fenner has seen MI kept successfully for years, so none of this would come as any big surprise to him.



Says who? I saw a marine tank that was full of the some of the most difficult to keep species, Butterfly Fish, Parrot Fish, Philippine Regal Angels, Majestic Angels, Rock Beauty, Moorish Idol, Achilles Tang, and numerous other species, and they all thrived on an exclusive diet of pellets.
That tank suffered a major crash a couple of years ago, but at the time the vast majority of the fish were over 12 yrs old, and none of them had ever seen live, or frozen food.

Bob Fenner has seen the same tank, a number of times.

IMO it's impossible to talk about comparable quality in foods, unless you are running long term feed trials, and feeding said food exclusively. No frozen, no live, no supplements at all. I suspect that many aren't willing to do that, so it's impossible to compare something that you've never personally tried. I also wouldn't be so quick to judge what Pablo knows, or doesn't know about the dietary requirements of marine fish, you might be surprised.

Bullshit!
You are obviously in the business of selling fish.
If that is the case it is your obligation to identify yourself otherwise you are in a conflict of interest.
Reefers, especially new reefers, want to hear from reefers who have experience to help them. They do not want to hear from fish sellers who do not identify themselves as such.