LF Moorish Idol

[Doo]

Jason, I agree with what you are saying, but where did you get that stat from and do you know of similar stats on all the other fish that we keep?

It would be cool to do a POLE on how many fish (all types) that we all lose after purchase within: 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 & 24 months...

Just to see what overall % we lose.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Doo

It would be cool to do a POLE on how many fish (all types) that we all lose after purchase within: 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 & 24 months...

Just to see what overall % we lose.

Hmm, sounds just like our Canreef fish lifespan polls....we have a whole section on this

[Underwater]

+1000 on this. I, admittedly (and shamefully), thought that the rest of the fishkeeping world was also nuts about not being able to keep an MI. And, truthfully, there are many people who have "lucked out" in keeping them. So, I figured I would try it. Afterall, I have had tremendous success with many "difficult" animals, so surely this wouldn't be any different.

Let me be the first to say that I WAS TERRIBLY WRONG! Unfortunately, I am also a slow learner, so it took-not just one failure-but two before I admitted defeat. These are-no doubt-spectacular fish, and I (along with many others) would love to have them grace our tanks; however, to continue to try would be a waste of a beautiful, stunning fish.

Until there is a way to purchase an animal that is tank bred-save the life of a fish, and yourself the heartache of such devastating loss.

We can't always get what we want-

[superduperwesman]

Originally Posted by Edmonton Eskimo

To have success is to have it live for or very close to it's natural lifespan.

I'm not saying he should have one or not, but I think 90% of what is in our tanks doesn't live "very close to it's natural life span"

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I don't have actual stats on their death rate I have just read that it's close to 80 percent. If we keep a fish healthy and disease free they will usually live longer in our tanks than in the ocean. Most fish die due to our neglect or ineperience.

[superduperwesman]

Originally Posted by Edmonton Eskimo

If we keep a fish healthy and disease free they will usually live longer in our tanks than in the ocean.

and how many people do that perfectly?? Even the best get diseases and have tank crashes... I'd love to see someone who's had a clown fish for 20-30 years??

[Aquattro]

Had my pair for ten, then rehomed them. As far as I know, they're still kicking at 12.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Even if you think 90% of what we keep does not live long (which is not true) that doesn't make it ok to keep fish that have even less of a chance to survive in home aquaria. I would say 20% success rate for Moorish Idols sounds kind of on the generous side.

I personally only know one person who kept one over a year on a diet of sponges. I think his lived 3 years. Again, not a success story by any means.

The ones mentioned above that are still around after 12 years would be a success story but that is so rare.

I don't know why people insist on buying these fish

[fishoholic]

My friend (if memory serves me right) bought a MI from a fellow reefer who had it for awhile. She kept it for about 2 years before it out grew her tank and she sold it to someone else. When she had it, it ate well and was very healthy. Unsure if it is still alive now, but she never had any problems with it.

If you are going to buy one I would make sure it's healthy and eating first.

[Edmonton Eskimo]

Unfortunately "healthy" and "eating" do not always go hand in hand. Although a good sign it does not ultimately ensure success. Many idols eat well for a time and then slowly decline and perish. I'm not in a position to tell anyone what to do I'm only offering friendly advice. To those that are taking the side of "well, other fish die in our tanks too" I believe that to be silly(sorry if I offend anyone). Like I stated earlier most fish that die in our tanks is not because they are a delicate species or difficult to keep. They die because of inexperienced aquarists(which we all were at some point) or simply accidents. In the last few years I have not had any fish deaths due to so called unexplained circumstances. I have lost a couple to disease which I tried and failed to treat which happens to us all. I don't know about any of you but the fish I have would be very hard to kill even if I neglected them for a long period simply because my husbandry skills have improved greatly over the years. Try that with a moorish and see what happens.