Moorish Idol feed. Sponge??

[globaldesigns]

Originally Posted by George

I neither agree nor disagree with naesco's comment. I subscribe to the philosophy that "buy fish that excites you, not the other people", but at the same time I also know that some fish have a lesser chance of surviving in an aquarium long term than other fish. Until we know more about those fish, I am not going to keep the fish. Moorish idol is one.

That is a great philosophy and very well put.

[naesco]

My view is that as reefers we have an obligation to provide optimum conditions for the animals we choose to keep in our glass cages.
The chance of keeping a Moorish Idol alive is slim to none. Conscientious reefers do not want to see fish taken from the ocean home only to watch it die in their tanks.
One day we will know what it takes to keep them and until them we should leave them in their home.
Sadly, when this or similar fish come up in a post you read several success stories (which may be true) but you do not read about the overwhelming death stories unless you read reviews on the fish by experts. It is a disservice to newbies who may not know about the fish's poor survival rate.

[AHHope]

we curently have 2 idols at my lfs. One has been in a display for almost 6 months eating everything we can throw at it. The other much larger one is for sale and is eating very well, not to mention the other one we last month is doing very well in its new home. I find that if you spend the proper time with any fish you would be amazed by what you can do.

[Madreefer]

Everone has their opinions on this fish and I'll keep mine to myself. But whats the answer to the question that was posted? I would like to know that answer myself as well.

[kien]

Originally Posted by naesco

Wow it is a long time since I had heard of an lfs bringing in a Moorish Idol.

that's because you don't live in Calgary A few LFS get them in all the time! In fact, there are a couple of LFS that have at least two or three in stock at the moment.

But yes, as others have stated, if you have your fish eating staple foods already then I think you're good to go! I wouldn't worry too much about the sponges.

[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.

[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.