# Moorish idols



## Jiinx (Apr 5, 2012)

I was just curious if anyone has kept these fish successfully? when I did a search for them I just found many stores selling them...I guess they're easy to bring in but have a low survival rate?


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

Moors have always been one of those fish that are best left in the ocean, according to most people who keep aquariums. However they are gorgeous, plentiful in the ocean and just add a great variety to a tank.
I think the big issue is that they are methodical eaters, and just can't compete for food. So they end up getting stressed and starving.
Flavio at Advanced Reef in Milton told us he kept a moor for 7 years. That's the longest I had ever heard. Very few people have mentioned keeping one past 6 months. Not a good success rate.
However, with the new foods like LRS I think there is a much better chance of keeping these fish. It's just finding a way to feed them, so they don't have to compete.


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## appak (Apr 9, 2014)

i did some digging a while back, from my understanding they require constant small feedings and can be very tricky to get eating...


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## corpusse (Jan 3, 2011)

The biggest reason I haven't tried one is they aren't really reef safe. Maybe if I had an sps reef...


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## ohdino (Jun 17, 2014)

Talk to Colin @ Reef Boutique, he has one in a display tank. He would fill you in on the details of trying to keep them alive the longest.


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## Jiinx (Apr 5, 2012)

I'm going to visit him this afternoon and ask him!


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## Mikeylikes (Nov 22, 2013)

let us know what he says/suggests .. I'm curious to know


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## Jiinx (Apr 5, 2012)

Mikeylikes said:


> let us know what he says/suggests .. I'm curious to know


He was really helpful and eased my trepidation about keeping these fish. He mentioned that moorish idols don't compete with other fish for food, so if there are other fish, like tangs, not letting him eat then he'll stop trying and after 6 weeks he will die. 
So in terms of keeping them, it is imperative not to keep angels or tangs and keep dither fish. He didn't say that they were harder to keep than any other fish he has had but he's quick to react if his fish are acting different etc. His moorish is doing awesome in his display tank, eats heartily and is the king of the tank!


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