[vee5]

My LFS has Moorish Idols in and I would dearly love to have one; however, I'm aware that their main diet is sponges. As I have some very pretty sponges that I wouldn't want eaten, I would like to find out where one buys sponges to feed Idols. Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Vee

[Ninong]

Hi vee5, welcome to Reefland!

Moorish Idols (Zanclus cornutus) are notoriously difficult to maintain in captivity. In their natural environment they constantly graze on the zoobenthos, consuming primarily sponges and tunicates (87% of their diet) plus filamentous algae (8%) and algal fronds (5%).

There are a few individual hobbyists who have reported success (3+ yrs) with these beautiful fish but they are the exception rather than the rule and invariably they have really large (300-500 gal or larger), mature systems. The topic of what to feed Moorish Idols in captivity has been discussed more than once on one of the larger bulletin boards but the consensus seems to be that it is mostly a matter of luck getting the fish to adapt to substitute foods in captivity. Some people seem to think that younger specimens are easier (relatively speaking) to adapt than older ones. You might do a search on www.reefcentral.com using the search word "Moorish" and see what you come up with. I do remember reading a thread that included pictures of a hobbyist in the U.K. who is keeping a few Moorish Idols in his system but I think his tank is around 700 gallons.

Even public aquaria have a difficult time keeping these fish long term, although I don't know if they are willing to admit that. This is probably something better left to those with very stable, very large systems.

[GoinSalt]

Originally Posted by vee5

My LFS has Moorish Idols in and I would dearly love to have one; however, I'm aware that their main diet is sponges. As I have some very pretty sponges that I wouldn't want eaten, I would like to find out where one buys sponges to feed Idols. Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Vee

You might want to make sure they really are moorish idols. I saw similar looking fish at my lfs and the guy said they were some type of angel (?). But definitely not moorish idols.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by GoinSalt

You might want to make sure they really are moorish idols. I saw similar looking fish at my lfs and the guy said they were some type of angel (?). But definitely not moorish idols.

This is the fish that you are talking about: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...ame=acuminatus

Some LFS owners can't even tell the difference between that and a Moorish Idol: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...sname=cornutus

[nickie]

I bought my med sponge from https://www.aquacon.com/index.html it is realy huge.
They are on sale for half price about once every 3 months or so.