Moorish Idol Feeding On Rocks

808

Candiru
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2008
347
2
48
hawaii
At least once a month i go and stop by a boat harbor near by my house, and watch all the fish in it. The fish that are in the harbor are mostly tangs and butterflyfish. Every time i go i see tons of moorish idols pecking at the rocks and feeding on them, and they are really fat. The stuff on the rocks they are eating is just this brown stuff and Its pretty funny that they even eat it. I want to get a moorish idol for my 55 SW, but know how hard it is to get them to eat. So I was wondering if i got some of the rocks from the harbor, and just kept replacing the rocks every few weeks or so, would that be fine for the fish.
 

Gene0514

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 3, 2008
731
0
46
Staten Island, NY
Moorish Idols need a minimum of a 125 gal tank and are extremely picky eaters. The brown things they are eating are probably sponges so you would have to keep them alive in captivity in order to provide a food source. Moorish Idols are not recommended to anyone to keep except expert keepers with large stable systems.
 

808

Candiru
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2008
347
2
48
hawaii
Gene0514;3007506; said:
Moorish Idols need a minimum of a 125 gal tank and are extremely picky eaters. The brown things they are eating are probably sponges so you would have to keep them alive in captivity in order to provide a food source. Moorish Idols are not recommended to anyone to keep except expert keepers with large stable systems.
Thanks, I wasnt nessesarily going to get a moorish idol, i was just wondering. The funny thing is that i looked at all the sides of the harbor, and the rocks they are eating off of, and i dont see any types of sponges. Im wondering if they just adapted to eat the stuff on the rocks. Ive got a few reef systems going, but ill wait a little while till i get a little more experienced with SW before attempting these fish.

Just a little side question, How much do tangs and butterfly fish cost on the mainland?

TTT
 

Gene0514

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 3, 2008
731
0
46
Staten Island, NY
the prices vary around the stores
I can get 3-4" yellow tangs for like $25-30
blue tangs are around $30

I don't know other prices but just tell me the ones u want to know and I'll let u know when I go to the store
 

808

Candiru
MFK Member
Sep 3, 2008
347
2
48
hawaii
Thanks for the prices. I always wondered how much saltwater reef fish costed on the mainland. Over here the fish are pretty cheap since all the fish are caught locally.

I think Yellow tangs around 3"-4" go for about $8.
Moorish Idols around 5" go for about $15

The average cost for tangs here are about $10 and butterflyfish $15
 

Billy the kid

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2009
92
0
0
OBX N.C
Never put something out of a harbor in your tank ,ick ick will come.Try sushi nore rubberband to rock.
 

agreeive?fish

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 2, 2007
429
3
18
oklahoma
808;3007612; said:
Thanks for the prices. I always wondered how much saltwater reef fish costed on the mainland. Over here the fish are pretty cheap since all the fish are caught locally.

I think Yellow tangs around 3"-4" go for about $8.
Moorish Idols around 5" go for about $15

The average cost for tangs here are about $10 and butterflyfish $15

well yellow tangs in my town run 79 and up
B/F (common hawaiian types) run 50-75
drawf angels 50 and up
powder blue tangs 99 and up
hippo tangs 89 and up
the cheapest fish will be 25 for a firefish or clownfish

of course i only have 1 real lfs and 1 wanta be lfs and the only chain store that sells fish is walmart
 
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