Watch This Before You Get A Moorish Idol

[@sayannandi2525]

Man, I wish the idol could be kept long term. I think you are one of the few who can pull it off

[@zafishguy5166]

I've seen a lot of them kept long term. I've also seen 10x more not make it. They take a lot of planning and effort in terms of fish selection.

[@blunderbuss1395]

have an acquaintance that has had one going for 3+ years

[@Jesusrevus]

Main thing is most people don’t feed them the right food. If they get the right diet you’re on the right track. And a big enough tank with the right tank mates

[@junito1957]

OF ALL OF THE FISHES YOU PUT ON YOUR TANK THAT INCLUDING THE MOST COLORFUL ANGELS THE MOORISH IDOL WILL ALWAY BE THE CENTERPIECE OF YOUR FISH TANK HE TOO MAJESTIC !! and they are really not hard to keep , it all depend how he was caught , handle and ship because they eat like pigs and grow super fast once you have a good one not stress out

[@residentevil666ful]

It probably has to do everything with the corals it’s mostly accustomed to at genetic level. In the Indian coastline where they are endemic to, the most common corals are different closed brains and favia species.

[@EIY_Kumar]

In the Tidal Garden's video Eliotte had mentioned that it eats SPS corals rather than lps, probably that is what it likes to eat

[@Razimuth]

I own a puffer and he eats many of my SPS. It's annoying sometimes but I wouldn't dream of removing him from my tank. I get that corals come first for many folks, but it's a real shame to lose that Idol who seemed to be doing well. Stick to reef safe or don't, but I Think that risk should be accepted wholeheartedly first before purchase.

[@cameron8566]

I've had my Moorish Idol since June of this year and funnily enough, he also nips at my two platygyras! They are fairly big, so he never causes major damage and only a slight paleness to the spots he bites at. Like yours, he completely ignores acans, duncans, zoas, acropora, fungias, and other common mixed reef corals. I feed a half sheet of nori, pellets, and frozen foods daily and he will definitely let me know when he is hungry 😅 It's my holy grail fish so he is a permanent resident and I'll just have to work around his mischief lol

[@soysauce76]

I would consider losing some of my nice corals just to keep an Idol. Such a beautiful fish…. Someday.❤❤❤

[@markaldrich5216]

Tank looks awesome Alex!!

[@Highland_reef]

I have mine for about 3 months. He indeed picked on my fascination favia, a 24k gold psammocora and my space invader pectinia. None were killed, just bothered enough to look ugly. Nonetheless, this is my favorite fish, the idol gives such a real reef feeling to my 400g tank that i would rather change my coral choices than remove him from the tank. Love that fish

[@petersideris6216]

I had an idol at one point in time. I did not have a lot of corals in the tank (hammer, palys, zoa, galaxea, and a Kenya Tree). It did nip on the Kenya tree, but left everything else alone.

[@robdavinroy1761]

How long did he live?

[@petersideris6216]

@@robdavinroy176118 months. It was already a full grown adult so don’t know how old it was. I had an ich outbreak and had to move all fish into qt. The idol made it through hyposalinity, but stopped eating at about day 120 in qt. Died in about two weeks.

[@mrsgunsage01]

I've heard half the battle with keeping Moorish Idols is getting them to eat in the first place, so kudos on winning that battle. Would you try keeping another one a few years down the road when your system is matured and able to survive a bit of nipping here and there?

[@ReefDork]

No I don't think so - some people will put up with the risk but I really don't like coral munchers! Never say never I guess, but I think not.

[@bencobb3433]

Great video Alex, the 3 I had all picked and destroyed the exact same corals as you've had picked at as you said in the video they must taste wonderful

[@martincsreefandkoi]

Currently in the same boat with an emperor angel, my previous one was good as gold, the current one wont leave corals alone so I have finally broken and my trap is in

[@Crakencorals]

Mine eats acans only, indophyllia fine, everything else is fine. When you add new piece. It will peck at it and check it out then leave it alone. My copperband will eat sps polyps at night.

[@oldschoolnewventure845]

im gonna try one I had one twenty years ago, but that was when we used to feed tangs romain lettuce lol

[@bowLoqR]

Is there any fish in saltwater that is similar to a panda corydora? I love the little cory catfish and was wondering if there was a saltwater version.

[@ReefDork]

I don't really know freshwater fish - check out this website: www.liveaquaria.com/category/15/marine-fish it's a really good place to look for inspiration.

[@kevinpoe8137]

I remember seeing a brs video awhile back and they interviewed a pretty high end importer, I forget the guy’s name, but he said that once you get them eating that they’re pretty rock solid and that they require a high fiber diet

[@ReefDork]

Yeah that's the same guy as in the Tidal Gardens video - Elliott from Marine Collectors

[@kevinpoe8137]

@@ReefDork oh ok 👍 thanks 😊

[@robdavinroy1761]

The thing is yes they will eat like pigs. But most people can’t keep them more than a year or so. I think the key is to not put them in a tank with lots of rock crevices because I’ve seen them underwater in the tropics. They like open water and swim above the rocks. Their bodies are long and easy to get scarred around rocks so they stay above the rocks. At least that was my observation seeing them in the wild.

[@so_so_reef]

Would you try another in the future when the tank is more mature?

[@ReefDork]

Never say never but probably not - once bitten, twice shy.

[@giannisk.916]

Hey Alex, somewhat unrelated question: do you have any experience with the yellow long nose butterfly? Would you ever consider putting one in your tank? What are the reef safe odds if you know?

[@ReefDork]

I tried 2 from memory years ago but they both died quite quickly. I'd definitely take a punt in an SPS tank, probably not in an LPS tank. I'd guess similar risk to a Copperband so likely to be safe mostly, but definitely a risk.

[@lukas181118]

Nice tank and fish man , sub done 👍 . What light is shining above that tank? Ta

[@ReefDork]

Red Sea ReefLED 160x4 and AI Blade Grow x2

[@LordFarquaad007]

What’s that rabbit fish called ?

[@ReefDork]

Two barred rabbitfish 🙂

[@PnCBio]

monti plate for the idol to pick at.

[@lachlanbrown3112]

The 'weird audio thing' is definitely here in this video. It's super annoying and is a simple fix. I believe all you have to do is enable either mono instead of dual-channel audio on your recording/editing software. I believe it only happens to headphones with surround sound which is most gaming-focused headphones. Also speaker systems with surround sound systems will have problems. Thanks @Reef Dork.

[@lachlanbrown3112]

Dual channel also called stereo means you can hear which direction the sound is coming from (left ear more if it's coming from the left and right ear more if it's coming from the right). But for sitting and recording it just means the sound is louder on whichever side your mic is facing (I believe your Lepel mic is on one side). Stereo is for music, gaming and movies so you can hear where things are coming from. Hope this is clear and makes sense. PS I am not an expert at all I just remember from when I recorded that one time. :)

[@ReefDork]

Yeah, I'm trying to work it out still - I use a shotgun mic, not a lav mic. I'll see what I can do for next time...

[@skinnerjw5525]

I really don’t think you would’ve bothered your coral He went for the Christmas tree warm rock because of the worms. They definitely eat better dusters and all types of worms.

[@TomoBishBosh]

Great video Alex, btw its doing that weird audio thing again with it coming through my left earcup only

[@ReefDork]

Hmm. Had it stopped doing that until this one? Does it do it on the livestream? And what headphones are you using?

[@TomoBishBosh]

@@ReefDork It hasnt happened on any other video apart from one other which i commented on at the time. It doesnt happen on the live stream or anything else. I have surround 7.1 headhpones, but i've just checked it with my stereo speakers and its predominantly coming out of left also, similar with my air pods also. I think you said on a follow up on the live stream, its something to do with your camera recording on a certain setting, let me see if i can find it

[@ReefDork]

@@TomoBishBosh so weird. I have no idea what's causing it - I tried changing a few things last time it was reported but I can't replicate the issue on any of my speakers/headphones so I can't properly diagnose it. And I haven't changed anything for a few weeks so it's very strange that it went away and came back!

[@TomoBishBosh]

@@ReefDork just tagged you in another comment where we spoke about it. also with the live stream bit i was getting confused where you camera was cropping you. only been brought up in these 2 videos. Likely some weird settings that can default every now and then

[@jjs9390]

I'm getting the same thing. Maybe 80/20 left/right

[@masteroctopusesanimations153]

How many gallons is your tank?

[@ReefDork]

About 180 after displacement

[@masteroctopusesanimations153]

@ dang so you could get a blue tang. I watched your video video on the fish beginners should not get and I really helps me am a beginner wanting to get a 55 gallon tank

[@akkoster]

The Moorish idol is an extremely beautiful fish until it starts picking at your corals. I had two of them in my 160-gallon tank. The first one didn’t touch a coral and was doing really well, but after a few months, it died all of a sudden. Again, I bought a new one, but that guy started picking at my corals, mainly SPS polyps. In my experience, behavior differs from fish to fish, like all other living creatures. Some are good, and some are worse.

[@robdavinroy1761]

You had 2 adults together? They usually are very aggressive toward each other? How are they doing? How long have you had them? All the success to you.

[@-Wreckanize-]

So…you had a perfectly healthy idol that was eating and you got rid of him!? Jk.

[@ReefDork]

Yeah, you want him?! 😃

[@multisturge]

Question. What would you recommend for a good alternative to red sea reef mat? It's like £300+ and hard to find a 2nd hand mat. I rather not get socks

[@ReefDork]

The good ones are all roughly the same price. Red Sea and Reef Factory are the ones I recommend. I don't personally like the Clarisea but they come up cheap 2nd hand.

[@multisturge]

@ReefDork ok thanks, love the idol but I personally wouldn't get 1 unless is reef safe lol

[@jtdr2023]

Gonis look’n 🤩🔥🔥

[@matthewturbin969]

You should try again with the idol a few years down the road once you have a super established tank that can handle the occasional nip spread out

[@jules2545]

Ouch, you win some and lose some. A lovely fish though.

[@ilikeweirdfish7106]

Tariq ibn Ziyad will always be my one and only Moorish idol

[@dazsboxofwater]

Ooooo dear 😭🤣🤦🏻‍♂️

[@benmolloy3269]

Come on, some one has to say it. You should have listened to Ryan!!! 😂😂😂😂

[@bobbyknox9258]

None are reef safe imo. If a reef is established with hundreds of corals youll probably get away with it. (I didnt)

[@jawon70]

Nice fish,until he start to eat your expensive coral.

[@kevin16scalecollector54]

Dont want to say i told you so……….but!!!

[@power21100]

Its not my "idol" anymore

[@juliam4283]

Shame, but better to not take chances.

[@lifebidesign]

LOL That's why no one buys them.

[@garrycrout4027]

@reefdork Have you found him a new home yet? If not please pm me

[@ReefDork]

He's provisionally going back to my LFS tomorrow but email me at [e-mail] if you can collect him quickly