Just caught a beautiful medium sized Moorish Idol here in Hawaii. I’ve gotten them eating spectrum pellets before and wondered why people say they are impossible. This gives me inspiration to keep one again. I’m him g to begin with a copper treatment because where I catch them they always have parasites and can easily get Ich.
Well, the issue is generally that they arrive in poor shape and people put them in to unsuitable tanks. Your supply chain is next to nothing so I’m sure you will be completely fine!
They are spongivores. Feed them a large angelfish based diet that is heavy on the sponge component of the diet. Also new life spectrum pellets will address any deficiencies in the diet. They need a big aquarium with lots of swimming room and surf like water movement for their metabolism and swim muscles.
@@viking_reefing Have you seen the interviews with Pablo Tepoot (New Life Spectrum Food)? He has a tank with 25 healthy Moorish Idols. The water quality isn't that great, he just has a wet/dry filter. He says the biggest key is the food. He doesn't feed them anything besides the New Life pellets. The other factor is he has a lot of them. He says the large number spreads the aggression around. It's fascinating and it judging from the health of those fish, he knows what he's talking about. I'm going to give that a shot, but it's going to take awhile for me to get it all set up.
I’ve also found that Feeding clams, oysters it helps in them eating well because of the long beak mouths its more natural to the ocean environment. All my fish love the fresh seafood and are all really fat and healthy, just make sure you scrub the clams and oysters thoroughly with clean RODI water as the excess salt on the shell fish can increase your salinity over time if not pre washed.
@@ocean8434 definitely. Diet is really key with those guys (and with a lot of the more sensitive angels as well). Fortunately there has been great progress in prepared foods and nowadays you can get both frozen and flakes containing sponges and coral polyps. I also have a sponge covered rock in my sump that I cycle in to my tank which all the angels m and moorish go crazy for hehe
Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I made this video. I’m willing to bet that 90% of the casualties are down to the factors that I mentioned. I’ve had this guy for about 1.5 years and it’s doubled in size haha Had one for 4-5 years in the bast before breaking down that tank….and one about 18-19 years ago which ended with an abysmal failure since I was a stupid 13 year old kid that didn’t know what I was doing.
Thx for Info. Tried one but my ClownTang didnt allow her to Enter Reef insearch of Food as she aas keptafkoat abive Rocks. Size and Competition is critical as u said.
They are spongivores. Feed them a large angelfish based diet that is heavy on the sponge component of the diet. Also new life spectrum pellets will address any deficiencies in the diet. They need a big aquarium with lots of swimming room and surf like water movement for their metabolism and swim muscles.
Need some guidance! I bought a small idol online and a full grown guy showed up. 75 gal sps with 7 other smaller fish. Should i send him off to a better home?
Just got one yesterday starred picking at the live rock is that a good start his in 6 foot tank are they better in 2 and was gonna put garlic on there frozen foods and what's this selcon everyone's on about awesome tank by the way cheers and can you keep with cleaner shrimp cheers
Can you add multiple moorish idols or will they fight with each other. I'm planning a 9ft x 3ft x 3ft reef and I plan lots of anthias, chromis in schools and id love this as my show fish
@@viking_reefing why or why is this hobby so hot headed. I need to become a fish whisper and teach the fish some aquarium Etiquette and anger management lol
Nice video , I think a lot off people under feed their fish , I feed mine 4-5 a day with varied diet . Especially having 3 big tangs and gold flake angel
Question for you. I currently have a RSR 525 mixed reef. I see you have a goldflake and Red Sea Regal, two fish I really love. What’s your thoughts on getting them to add to my reef? Thanks
Not the more sensitive fish. An idol would probably do poorly in sterile tank such as that. I would put it straight in to a full reef environment. If not the DT a conditioning tank with live rock, algae would be a good option. I’m going to set up a tank like that down the road to observe sensitive new arrivals in a stress free environment.
@@viking_reefing thanks for the advice. It’s best for me to skip this fish as I have recently experienced a velvet outbreak I will NEVER put ANYTHING in my tank without full QT.. I hope this never happens to you. By the way, I love seeing how you allow your corals to get big, too many tanks with frag collects these days.
@@insanity4224 that’s probably the best decision. I highly value QT but unfortunately some fish just does poorly under those conditions. Better to skip them than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Luckily I’ve never seen it in my 20+ years in the hobby but it’s basically the only thing that frightens me. Basically never herd of anyone getting it here in Sweden in the past but I’ve seen some cases popping up over the last few years which terrifies me. I know some people that manage it in their reefs but that’s a risky proposition.
@@viking_reefing that’s funny cos this is around my 20th year keeping fish too. I guess a more natural QT setup could be achieved as long as your will to sacrifice some rocks to copper, I just have mature rocks used for QT. It’s hard though cos some fish just won’t deal with a bare tank for too long.
I had it for about three years before the achilles went insane over night and killed it. Real shame. I tried another but the achilles just won’t accept an idol in the tank with it.
@@viking_reefing i bought 2 years back before i knew anything about them and one killed the other one and then went on to die hisself, The one he killed was acting weird which i now know that he was suffering from ammonia poisoning im sure due to shipping
The key to keeping idols successfully is to collect your own juveniles. I have 100% success rate. They cannot handle being placed over and over into different settings.
They are incredibly widespread around the globe and abundant. You could argue that the fish we eat should be left in the ocean to live a long life given the 100% death rate. Definitely not a fish that any LFS should order unless a particular customer is up to the challenge though.
I don’t agree. I’ve personally kept one for 5 years before selling it and one for 3 before I lost it in a stupid accident. I also know if several friends who has kept them for 7+ years. Not a easy fish by any means but provided that the aquarist has enough skill and meets their needs they can be kept no problem.
Just caught a beautiful medium sized Moorish Idol here in Hawaii. I’ve gotten them eating spectrum pellets before and wondered why people say they are impossible. This gives me inspiration to keep one again. I’m him g to begin with a copper treatment because where I catch them they always have parasites and can easily get Ich.
Well, the issue is generally that they arrive in poor shape and people put them in to unsuitable tanks. Your supply chain is next to nothing so I’m sure you will be completely fine!
I’ve kept moorish idols for over 8 years. I collected my own in Australia. The key to keeping them in my experience, is a very large aquarium.
You are right about that! Man, I’m so jealous of being able to do that…the best I can do here in Sweden is a damn cod or something 🤣
@@viking_reefing 😂
in your view, what constitutes a sufficiently large aquarium for the Moorish Idol?
@@S0ulinth3machin3 3m x1.2m minimum
@mrcites1 can I ask you tips on how u keep idols successful and getting them to eat?
For me is one of the most beautiful fish , has a unique shape like the Pterophyllum scalare or altum in the freshwater .
I completely agree mate!
Also thanks for providing some good information on keeping this wonderful fish. Awesome ! !
Any time!
Thank you so much really enjoyed the video , been waiting for it, this made me a little more confident in someday owning my favorite fish.
Awesome mate!
The thing is, they team up with other fish to escape, as seen in the 2003 documentary finding Nemo
Hahaha, indeed!
@@viking_reefing :D
Nice
He looks like he is about to make an escape plan
Probably lol
Awesome vid. I often see idols in docks here in the Philippines. They aren't very particular with water quality. I think its really about the food.
Cool! That’s some great insight :)
They are spongivores. Feed them a large angelfish based diet that is heavy on the sponge component of the diet. Also new life spectrum pellets will address any deficiencies in the diet. They need a big aquarium with lots of swimming room and surf like water movement for their metabolism and swim muscles.
@@viking_reefing Have you seen the interviews with Pablo Tepoot (New Life Spectrum Food)? He has a tank with 25 healthy Moorish Idols. The water quality isn't that great, he just has a wet/dry filter. He says the biggest key is the food. He doesn't feed them anything besides the New Life pellets. The other factor is he has a lot of them. He says the large number spreads the aggression around. It's fascinating and it judging from the health of those fish, he knows what he's talking about. I'm going to give that a shot, but it's going to take awhile for me to get it all set up.
@Mr and Mrs Garcia how'd you figure that out (that it's all about the food)?
Love it! Info on point as always 👌
Thanks bro!!
I have watched it lol. No worries I’ve watched it again incase I missed something the first time round ! ! Thanks
I’ve also found that Feeding clams, oysters it helps in them eating well because of the long beak mouths its more natural to the ocean environment. All my fish love the fresh seafood and are all really fat and healthy, just make sure you scrub the clams and oysters thoroughly with clean RODI water as the excess salt on the shell fish can increase your salinity over time if not pre washed.
All true. I’ve had luck with oysters with a lot of finicky fish :)
I swim with moorish idols almost daily and they eat sponges and stuff like that so if you can't feed them properly , don't get them.
@@ocean8434 definitely. Diet is really key with those guys (and with a lot of the more sensitive angels as well). Fortunately there has been great progress in prepared foods and nowadays you can get both frozen and flakes containing sponges and coral polyps.
I also have a sponge covered rock in my sump that I cycle in to my tank which all the angels m and moorish go crazy for hehe
I had one for a year or so... ate everything, especially LPS corals.
Haha, tasty treats!
Very informative! How about a video on keeping regal angel?
Stay tuned 👍🏻
Good info, always wanted one, read so many bad ending. Did you say how old Idol is? Thanks
Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I made this video. I’m willing to bet that 90% of the casualties are down to the factors that I mentioned. I’ve had this guy for about 1.5 years and it’s doubled in size haha
Had one for 4-5 years in the bast before breaking down that tank….and one about 18-19 years ago which ended with an abysmal failure since I was a stupid 13 year old kid that didn’t know what I was doing.
I have one in my aquarium. he is about 7 months old, and hopefully he can live longer
If it made it through the initial phase it should do well for you :)
Cool. What do you feed yours?
Grymt bra med information och även filmat!
Man tackar! :)
Thx for Info. Tried one but my ClownTang didnt allow her to Enter Reef insearch of Food as she aas keptafkoat abive Rocks. Size and Competition is critical as u said.
Yeah, they suck at dealing with harassment as well
I guess I’ve been lucky I’ve had 3 of them and had them all eating pellets. One I got to eat pellets still in the bag it came in
That’s great!
They are spongivores. Feed them a large angelfish based diet that is heavy on the sponge component of the diet. Also new life spectrum pellets will address any deficiencies in the diet. They need a big aquarium with lots of swimming room and surf like water movement for their metabolism and swim muscles.
from what I've read, they're omnivores and they have sponge as part of their diet.
What a gorgeous little bastard. I wish i was experienced enough for salt water but ill stick with my cute little ghost shrimps
Give it time :)
Need some guidance! I bought a small idol online and a full grown guy showed up. 75 gal sps with 7 other smaller fish. Should i send him off to a better home?
I’d definitely re home it. An adult idol
Is way to big for that size tank. I’d say a 200g or larger is probably sufficient long term
Just got one yesterday starred picking at the live rock is that a good start his in 6 foot tank are they better in 2 and was gonna put garlic on there frozen foods and what's this selcon everyone's on about awesome tank by the way cheers and can you keep with cleaner shrimp cheers
Make sure to feed it 4+ times a day :)
Your channel is pretty good. Subscribed!
Appreciate it!
Thank You for this video!!
My pleasure:)
Can you add multiple moorish idols or will they fight with each other. I'm planning a 9ft x 3ft x 3ft reef and I plan lots of anthias, chromis in schools and id love this as my show fish
I’ve only seen it work long term in a huge tank with like 20 idols. If you just add 2 or 3 they generally kill each other of witching six months.
@@viking_reefing why or why is this hobby so hot headed. I need to become a fish whisper and teach the fish some aquarium Etiquette and anger management lol
@@darrenshore5853 hahaha, it’s that or threatening them with MORE violence 😄
Hiya Mate, does your idol eat at every feeding ? Also how do you stop the idol getting stressed ? B-road question I know lol
Nice video , I think a lot off people under feed their fish , I feed mine 4-5 a day with varied diet . Especially having 3 big tangs and gold flake angel
Yeah man, I completely agree. Tangs and stuff that many people keep are also designed to graze the entire day.
Had mine 3 years gutted lost my yellow tang rock beauty foxface and my moorish idol named razor heater did not turn water cold gutted
Ah man, that sucks!
@@viking_reefing I know bro cheers
Question for you. I currently have a RSR 525 mixed reef. I see you have a goldflake and Red Sea Regal, two fish I really love. What’s your thoughts on getting them to add to my reef? Thanks
I’d say there’s a high chance of success. I’d also advice you to look at my video on that particular subject :)
👍🏼
Do you QT your fish? I’m ordering some fish in the next few days and wander if Idols would deal ok with the Hybrid TTM method?
Not the more sensitive fish. An idol would probably do poorly in sterile tank such as that. I would put it straight in to a full reef environment. If not the DT a conditioning tank with live rock, algae would be a good option.
I’m going to set up a tank like that down the road to observe sensitive new arrivals in a stress free environment.
@@viking_reefing thanks for the advice. It’s best for me to skip this fish as I have recently experienced a velvet outbreak I will NEVER put ANYTHING in my tank without full QT.. I hope this never happens to you. By the way, I love seeing how you allow your corals to get big, too many tanks with frag collects these days.
@@insanity4224 that’s probably the best decision. I highly value QT but unfortunately some fish just does poorly under those conditions. Better to skip them than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Luckily I’ve never seen it in my 20+ years in the hobby but it’s basically the only thing that frightens me.
Basically never herd of anyone getting it here in Sweden in the past but I’ve seen some cases popping up over the last few years which terrifies me.
I know some people that manage it in their reefs but that’s a risky proposition.
@@viking_reefing that’s funny cos this is around my 20th year keeping fish too. I guess a more natural QT setup could be achieved as long as your will to sacrifice some rocks to copper, I just have mature rocks used for QT. It’s hard though cos some fish just won’t deal with a bare tank for too long.
Could you do a video for us of your sump if possible 😁
I will do a full overview in a little bit :)
3 animals left: Pomacanthus imperator, lymma and echidna nebulosa eel
The imperator is a no-go but might be getting myself an eel as well in the future hehe
@@viking_reefing good luck with all these animals
How long have you had that idol ?
I had it for about three years before the achilles went insane over night and killed it. Real shame. I tried another but the achilles just won’t accept an idol in the tank with it.
@@viking_reefing i bought 2 years back before i knew anything about them and one killed the other one and then went on to die hisself, The one he killed was acting weird which i now know that he was suffering from ammonia poisoning im sure due to shipping
@@georgegriffith7263 yeah, unfortunately keeping two of them never works long term :/
@@viking_reefing that's weird because in the wild I see videos of large schools of idols. I wonder what's going on?
@@S0ulinth3machin3 it’s like salmon. Two will fight but large schools are ok
Absolutely beautiful fish but I'm still scared to keep one.
Shouldn’t be taken lightly but it can definitely be done with a bit of planning :)
If you can keep a small taeniura lymma, I make to you a monument "Viking Michael" 😂😂❤️
You just wait ;)
@@viking_reefing jajajajaa, I know what do you mean 😂😂😂
I am waiting for some kind of guidebook like .. " Reef Valhalla by Viking_Reefing" . 😋 Regards Balu
Hahaha…I’ll start working on it 😂
The key to keeping idols successfully is to collect your own juveniles. I have 100% success rate. They cannot handle being placed over and over into different settings.
I’d bet…kind of hard to do in Sweden though haha
Leave them in the ocean where they can live a long healthy life. Not all fish live in captivity for very long. Sad.
There are definitely a lot going in to the wrong hands.
They are incredibly widespread around the globe and abundant. You could argue that the fish we eat should be left in the ocean to live a long life given the 100% death rate. Definitely not a fish that any LFS should order unless a particular customer is up to the challenge though.
You keep him alone ???? This is so cruel !!!!
They can’t be kept in pairs/small groups long term in tanks. It always ends up with one killing the others.
Buy a poor man's instead. You ain't gon be able to keep these or polyp eating only butterfly fish alive in a setup for any long term period of time
I don’t agree. I’ve personally kept one for 5 years before selling it and one for 3 before I lost it in a stupid accident. I also know if several friends who has kept them for 7+ years.
Not a easy fish by any means but provided that the aquarist has enough skill and meets their needs they can be kept no problem.