Moorish Idol

[Anonymous]

I am making a plan for the fish that i am going tho put into my tank when it is finished in the next two weeks. At first i wanted to put a picasso trigger but i have changed my mind as i want to keep inverts in the tank. I have changed the list to incorporate a Copperband Butterfly and a Moorish Idol. My tank is 340L and the sump is 50L. Would these two fish be ok?

 

[Anonymous]

Copperband, yes probably.

Idol - no experiance, but you are going to get 100 no for very yes on these boards. They are notoroiusly difficult to keep well fed, though a few on RDO have had some success.

Keep us updated.
Do you have a link to any tank specs? How long has the tank been up?

 

[dnorton1978]

Is this a new tank? Regardless of being new or fully established even a year or more my advice on the Moorish idol is dont kill an innocent fish. Their survival rate is about the same as a bloddy seal in the middle of a school of sharks. Not very good. Most people that try to keep them wait until they have had their tank atleast a year. That way the chances are better. Also i believe your tank is around 90 gallons right? The moorish idol needs minimum of 100, but 150 gallons is ideally the smallest. I would strongly urge you against the Moorish idol. They are much better suited for life outside the aquarium..

 

[Anonymous]

I have just been reading up more on the internet, come to that conclusion myself. In the book that i have it said that they can be difficult to feed, this seems to be a bit of an understatement. Copperband ok, it will not be going into the tank for a while yet, only fitting my sump next week. Just wondering what i can put in the tank so i can find out about the fish. I got told that it is best to make a plan in advance of what fish that you intend on keeping.
Not got any pics of the tank yet, will try and put some on in the next two weeks when it is finished. Cheers for the help, loads of conflicting info.

 

[dnorton1978]

It really is to bad the idols are so difficult. I really want one myself. What ype of fish are you looking for? Something to work the rock work? Something to swim in the water column? I really pretty fish and good for the reef is the midas blenny. Take a look at them.

As for the planning ahead, you are in far better shape than most people that set up new tanks. To many people just "wing" it...

 

[Anonymous]

Will do mate, seems that most of the fish i like i cannot have. Thanks for the help, appreciated.

 

[shavo]

My LFS had group of idols in 2 weeks ago and they were eating pellets,
why are they so hard to keep? eating habbits? I thought it was funny to see a fish store bragging that there fish eat.

 

[Mike612]

It's the eating habits and also the fact that idols are very sensitive to water changes. It has been recorded that they fare better in groups in captivity. That's probably why that store's idols were feeding. If someone were to just purchase one though (splitting the group up at the same time), that idol probably won't eat in the buyer's tank and will probably die.

 

[shavo]

that sucks, do people on here have success with these fish? they are wierd looking anyhow.

 

[ChrisRD]

Many species of Bannerfish do well in captivity and look similar to Idols. Some of them stay small enough for a tank that size too. Something to consider...

Also, Copperbands don't have the greatest track record in captivity either. Not as bad as the Idols, but they're still hit-or-miss.

HTH

 

[spanko]

Cool discussion on the other site in this thread about Idols.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... id=1033224

 

[Anonymous]

My LFS said that they would keep the copperband in there tanks for a couple of weeks to make sure that it feeds ok in captivity. If it starts to feed ok then i can take it home to my tank. That sounds ok doesn't it.

 

[ChrisRD]

IMO you really shouldn't consider taking any fish home that's not feeding normally at the LFS, so that's really a given. Even if it is, however, that's still no guarantee of long term survival. Certain species just don't do well long-term in captivity. The Idols are a known problem fish in that regard. Copperbands are hit-or-miss.

Personally I wouldn't buy either species, despite their beauty.