moorish idol question

David · 06-20-2002, 11:26 PM

Three days ago I brought home a fish I thought I would never own, a moorish idol. Normally I would not buy one, have passed them up many times. Everything I have ever read or heard indicates that they do not do well in captivity. There is an lfs that I know and trust, know the owner quite well. The other day he rushed me over to see this fish, has been in a customers tank for 6-8 months, eats well, and is absolutely spectacular. The most impressive thing was the "banner" fin, trailing maybe 8-10 inches. I put it into my 125 with only a small (3") naso tang and a pair of young tomato clowns. There has been no observable aggression and the idol has been eating well. Today I came home to find the dorsal "banner" is gone! No signs of damage or shredding, just gone! The fish all seem to be getting along just fine, and there is no other fin damage. No other signs of poor health either. I was at Birch Aquarium (SIO) on Tuesday and noticed that the idol in thier huge reef tank had no banner, I was snickering as mine was so much more impressive. Anybody know what gives? Might this be something that happens periodically, fin gets so long it "sheds" and regrows? Any thoughts?

newreefman1 · 06-21-2002, 06:46 PM

I have no clue david..

Just thought I would say hello though being in san diego as well

GL with the IDOL...where did it come from? It couldnt have come from Ron....Aquatic warehouse perhaps? Fontains?

J

stang69 · 06-22-2002, 06:06 AM

My money is on the Tomato Clowns. As far as growing back it should in time I would think

Jeff

MontanaRocknReefer · 06-22-2002, 09:55 AM

Hey Jeff! Nice bumping into ya over here!! I would agree with Jeff on the tomato clowns! I had a tomato clown that tore the fins right off another fish I had! Johnny

reefhead · 06-22-2002, 04:31 PM

Good Luck with this fish. They are very beautiful and IMO just be left in the ocean. There are several people on the boards that have had good experiance with this fish but, the majority do not!

David · 06-23-2002, 01:34 PM

Like I said in the beginning, I would not normally buy one of these fish. This was unusual in that it has been captive for 8 months and eats everything you can throw at it. Been a week now and it is doing great so far. Cross fingers. Previous owner says banner drops off periodically and then regenarates. Maybe stress of transfer and new environment? Absolutely no aggression from tomato clowns, I don't think they did it.

reefhead · 06-23-2002, 04:06 PM

David I understand where your coming from. the thing is that when you DO buy these fish you are telling the owner of the LFS that people will buy this fish and that he should get more. the next person to come along may not have your knowledge and success.

David,

Good luck to you and your new best friend!

friendly regards,

Joe

ReefDreamer · 06-28-2002, 01:05 AM

What you have been told was right,the streamer off the top fin of a M.I. will periodically be servered for what ever reason and then grow back relatively quickly.Nothing to worry yourself about. One thing to worry about is to feed the fish the right foods. The main one being a food with some sponge in it,such as angel formula.They will do better with a lot of this in their diet. Also a lot of algae such as Nori.

06-20-2002, 11:26 PM	#1
David Citizen Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: San Diego Posts: 210	moorish idol question Three days ago I brought home a fish I thought I would never own, a moorish idol. Normally I would not buy one, have passed them up many times. Everything I have ever read or heard indicates that they do not do well in captivity. There is an lfs that I know and trust, know the owner quite well. The other day he rushed me over to see this fish, has been in a customers tank for 6-8 months, eats well, and is absolutely spectacular. The most impressive thing was the "banner" fin, trailing maybe 8-10 inches. I put it into my 125 with only a small (3") naso tang and a pair of young tomato clowns. There has been no observable aggression and the idol has been eating well. Today I came home to find the dorsal "banner" is gone! No signs of damage or shredding, just gone! The fish all seem to be getting along just fine, and there is no other fin damage. No other signs of poor health either. I was at Birch Aquarium (SIO) on Tuesday and noticed that the idol in thier huge reef tank had no banner, I was snickering as mine was so much more impressive. Anybody know what gives? Might this be something that happens periodically, fin gets so long it "sheds" and regrows? Any thoughts?

06-21-2002, 06:46 PM	#2
newreefman1 Council Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: SanDiego Posts: 310	I have no clue david.. Just thought I would say hello though being in san diego as well GL with the IDOL...where did it come from? It couldnt have come from Ron....Aquatic warehouse perhaps? Fontains? J __________________ http://members.home.net/jasonco6/fulltank

06-22-2002, 06:06 AM	#3
stang69 Mayor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Bremerton, WA; 98310 Posts: 952	My money is on the Tomato Clowns. As far as growing back it should in time I would think Jeff __________________ Hmmmmm what to put here???

06-22-2002, 04:31 PM	#5
reefhead Governor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: st.petersburg,Fl. Posts: 1,513	Good Luck with this fish. They are very beautiful and IMO just be left in the ocean. There are several people on the boards that have had good experiance with this fish but, the majority do not! __________________ Joseph Abrams Enjoy Being, LLC www.NanoReefCentral.com

06-23-2002, 04:06 PM	#7
reefhead Governor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: st.petersburg,Fl. Posts: 1,513	David I understand where your coming from. the thing is that when you DO buy these fish you are telling the owner of the LFS that people will buy this fish and that he should get more. the next person to come along may not have your knowledge and success. David, Good luck to you and your new best friend! friendly regards, Joe __________________ Joseph Abrams Enjoy Being, LLC www.NanoReefCentral.com

06-22-2002, 09:55 AM	#4
MontanaRocknReefer Citizen Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Missoula, Montana USA Posts: 135	Hey Jeff! Nice bumping into ya over here!! I would agree with Jeff on the tomato clowns! I had a tomato clown that tore the fins right off another fish I had! Johnny

06-23-2002, 01:34 PM	#6
David Citizen Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: San Diego Posts: 210	Like I said in the beginning, I would not normally buy one of these fish. This was unusual in that it has been captive for 8 months and eats everything you can throw at it. Been a week now and it is doing great so far. Cross fingers. Previous owner says banner drops off periodically and then regenarates. Maybe stress of transfer and new environment? Absolutely no aggression from tomato clowns, I don't think they did it.

06-28-2002, 01:05 AM	#8
ReefDreamer Just Moved In Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Ft.Worth,Tx.,U.S. Posts: 11	What you have been told was right,the streamer off the top fin of a M.I. will periodically be servered for what ever reason and then grow back relatively quickly.Nothing to worry yourself about. One thing to worry about is to feed the fish the right foods. The main one being a food with some sponge in it,such as angel formula.They will do better with a lot of this in their diet. Also a lot of algae such as Nori. __________________ Ed

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