Moorish idol feeding

[Wael El-Dasher]

As some may know, I recently bought a pair of Moorish Idols and I posted a concern I had regarding my yellow tang picking on them. Well after removing the tang and placing him in the QT the moorish idols were beginning to relax but still a bit picky about the fresh food I made. The were very shy eaters, preferring to pick a bit off the sand late at night while hanging around the back of the DT. They seemed to prefer to pick at the Caroline on my LR.

A week later I placed the yellow yang back in the DT after I changed the rockscape. Still the yellow tang picked on them immediately, continuing to try to use his surgeon blade to cut them. I immediately pulled him out and gave him away to my friend that's setting up his third SW tank.

I did a bit of reading online and found out that idols like clams, sponge and seaweed. So I bought some live clams off the docks at the fishmarket in town and bought them some sponges from the LFS. I also wrapped a small piece of LR with nori and boy are they happy!

Daily they eat 4 clams, pick a bit on the nori, some on the sponge. They're not skittish anymore, I would have my arm in the tank and they'd swim around my arm. Here are a few pics. The clams keep hiding in the sand so I have to dig them out each evening. I set up one corner as the designated clam area so it's easier to dig them up. If someone is considering idols in their DT, then try the live clams. It was so cheap that it's probably the cheapest food I bought thus far at about $1/lb!

It seems there is an issue with uploading attachments using the forum app on the iPhone, so I'll try later. It keeps saying there is an error in the Runner plugin of the forum

 

[Gti_Leo]

were ther clams in your homemade food? alot of people tend to mix nori and a bunch of other things for herbavors.

but either way i'm glad your moorish idols are happy, they really are afantastic fish to watch swim and feed

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

Thanks, the home made food is made up of shrimp, mussels, squid, nori, Seachem vitamins and Seachem garlic liquid. Still they want to pick their food, preferring to eat the Caroline on the LR until picked up live clams. I'm still unable to upload the photos of them eating the clams, so I'll try again in a while. It's really amazing watching them wear the clam down until it's opened. They do seem to prefer the clams to the sponges.

They're also testing the food mix more and more everyday but still they prefer eating the same way they must have in the ocean. I have no issue if they never migrate over to prepared foods as long as I'm able to find them fresh clams. I'm searching now for live mussels but they're not native to this area so it might be tough. Scallops too are not native to this area so the only ones I find are already out of their shell.

 

[Gti_Leo]

have you tried hand feedign them?

 

[Fishguy2727]

Moorish idols can eat and live on New Life Spectrum exclusively.

 

[Gti_Leo]

i was thinking that. its got a blend of everythign in it already even has fruits and vegitables mixed with alot of meaty foods. my clowns and even my shrimps and hermit crab, love feeding time with it, but at the same time they go nuts for mysis shrimp also

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

have you tried hand feedign them?

Yes, but so far they haven't accepted it. Keep in mind also that I bought them the day they arrived at the supplier. He told me they haven't been trained yet.

It must be a traumatic experience for them to be plucked out of the ocean, packed and shipped in a matter of 48 hours before they're in my tank. It took them a week or so to be less skittish but were hiding in the back behind the LR for another week or two.

They are very good observers, they watch my other fish eating and recently started coming to the front during feeding time but they don't eat. Later on they'd pick up floating or sunken pieces of food and taste it then spit it out. I think they'll come around.

 

[joy13]

It sounds like you are having luck getting them to eat most don't live long in home aquariums.