hello had my moorish idol for about a week now and he hasnt been eating good. he eat mysis shrimp but very little and very rarely, he does eat the coraline algae in my tank is the algae enough food for him or should i be worried. i also have seaweed out for him to eat he rejects it. i feed pellets, brine and sometimes live mysis.
I have never had one, but I will let you know what I have found. A good friend says that no one should have one, because their wild diet is almost exclusively sponge and we can't provide that. I do have another friend that has had one for quite awhile and has has success having him eat. Bottom line is that you have him now and need to keep him healthy. I would check with Kevin at Top Shelf Aquatics. They have a Moorish Idol their that Kevin has had for awhile.
David Hill
OREO VP 2017-2018
OREO President 2015-2016
ORCA President 2014-2016
ORCA Secretary 2011-2013
I had a Morish that eat a 8" section of sponge in 3 days. I would try some different types to see if it will stimulate it to start eating.
You had?we're sponges all it would eat. Or we're you able to get it to eat other foods.
No it eat frozen and dried foods too. The sponge may have been the kicker to get it to start eating other foods. I was only able to keep it alive a little over 2 years.
what type of sponge were you giving it.
Disclaimer - I do not have direct experience with Moorish Idols.
Have you tried one of the foods aimed at Marine Angelfish? Most Angelfish are also Spongivores so maybe a formula designed for Angels might work for Moorish Idols too. I think it's worth a shot or at least some Google searches. That said, if the fish isn't eating frozen/flake food now, I'd concentrate on offering live foods. Sometimes the movement of live food will trigger a feeding response. Good luck and HTH.
Well today he was actually eating a lot of seaweed and algae from the rocks, still not sure if this is enough for him to live happy, or if its just barely getting him by. i bought a pretty big sponge for him to pick on, he's been looking at it for a while but hasn't picked at it hopefully later tonight.
If you know any one that has a older tank set up they probably have some sponge on a rock they could pull out for you. The closet sponge I could find was Chalinula pseudomolitba it may not be the one I had it but looks close. Iggy has an excellent idea as well. Angel Formula(frozen) from Ocean Nutrition has sponge in it. If you get the Angel Formula you could press it into a rock since he is grazing. Keep us updated.
http://www.spongeguide.org/speciesinfo.php?species=52
Yep my cousin gave me some rock with some purple type sponge like the one in that pic and my moorish idol started eating it right away thank god. Hopefully this helps keep him in good health.
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