Do you have any reefer success keep this fish? Can anyone share experiance?
batfish,moorish idol and mandarin
- Thread starter Difficult marine
- Start date
Welcome to MASA first of all. I can't talk about the batfish and moorish idol but the mandarin needs a large mature tank with lots of live rock and preferably a refugium to culture pods to feed the display. Batfish need large tall tanks as they get very big and tall. Moorish idols some guys have had luck with them where they take prepared food but generally they don't last long in captivity
trad
Fish, thats the word!
Please dont buy moorish idols they are almost impossible to keep, manderins can be kept in large reef systems with lots of lr where they are the only preditor fish.
There are posts about these fish in the fish forum.
There are posts about these fish in the fish forum.
A VERY WARM WELCOME to MASA, Difficult Fish. Great to have you on-board.
I have not encountered ANYONE who could keep a batfish successfully, ever.
Regarding moorish idols - the only 2 places where I have seen them survive long term, is at UShaka public aquarium, and I have heard that they survived long term at the Bayworld Aquarium in P.E. as well....
Steve Warren is a member here - and he works with/for the Bayworld public aquarium.
It is DEFINITELY NOT recommended practice to keep moorish idols, in our tiny little marine aquariums (compared to public aquariums, and the sea).
Regarding mandarins - as Tony has said - yes - we CAN indeed keep manderins, BUT - as 99% of them ONLY live off live food (pods, etc), your tank HAS to have more than enough live rock, and/or a Deep Sand bed as substrate, to successfully generate enough pods, to keep manderins alive, long term.
BTW: Please start a new thread in our "New Members" section, telling us more about yourself, your tank/s, lifestock, and hardware?
I have not encountered ANYONE who could keep a batfish successfully, ever.
Regarding moorish idols - the only 2 places where I have seen them survive long term, is at UShaka public aquarium, and I have heard that they survived long term at the Bayworld Aquarium in P.E. as well....
Steve Warren is a member here - and he works with/for the Bayworld public aquarium.
It is DEFINITELY NOT recommended practice to keep moorish idols, in our tiny little marine aquariums (compared to public aquariums, and the sea).
Regarding mandarins - as Tony has said - yes - we CAN indeed keep manderins, BUT - as 99% of them ONLY live off live food (pods, etc), your tank HAS to have more than enough live rock, and/or a Deep Sand bed as substrate, to successfully generate enough pods, to keep manderins alive, long term.
BTW: Please start a new thread in our "New Members" section, telling us more about yourself, your tank/s, lifestock, and hardware?
leslie hempel
Professional Aquarist
i reluctantly accepted a moorish as a present from a friend who caught one, he already has one. both are doing exceptionally well taking prepared and pelleted foods. anther friend of mine who caught one had a moorish eating out of his hand only to arrive home to find it dead one evening after work. what im trying to get at is even if the fish eats there is no gaurantee that the food being fed is suitable or digestable by the fish so this is an extreemly important factor to keep in mind.
as for the mandarin i have had success and actually witnessed the pair i kept for 6 years mate and try reproduce. a full on coral system with mature LR and a healthy pod population is a must. these little guys cannot compete with biggerfish for food, and they need special attention.
batfish i cannot comment on as i have never had a desire to keep these fish.
as for the mandarin i have had success and actually witnessed the pair i kept for 6 years mate and try reproduce. a full on coral system with mature LR and a healthy pod population is a must. these little guys cannot compete with biggerfish for food, and they need special attention.
batfish i cannot comment on as i have never had a desire to keep these fish.
thanks guy
my LFS has a bat fish in,very nice character for a fish.
when he got it in a few months ago it was covered completely in whitespot and fungal like white feather growths.he placed it into his skimmerless coral tank and viola a month later its completely healed all its fins etc and it eats food right out of his hand!
was the last week and its still living healthy and eating like a pig,thats the first batfish i have ever seen surviving in an aquarium.
when he got it in a few months ago it was covered completely in whitespot and fungal like white feather growths.he placed it into his skimmerless coral tank and viola a month later its completely healed all its fins etc and it eats food right out of his hand!
was the last week and its still living healthy and eating like a pig,thats the first batfish i have ever seen surviving in an aquarium.
not 100% sure but it looks like the orbiculate batfish...
Marlin Fischer
Mutantfish
I had about 11 months success with a Moorish Idol that was shipped from Kenya ( I do think that the African ones are a bit more hardy). He unfortunitely died... NOT from Malnutrition but from a rogue crab in my system nipping him on the mouth and slicing it open, quite severely.... I never witnessed this however my girlfriend did. He (Moorish) was apparently picking from the rocks, which he did all day (gutsy little guy that was constantly keen to eat), when he stuck his mouth into the crabs hole after which the crab nailed him. He then swam frantically around the tank and came to a stop in the corner of my 1.5m display. This allerted my girlfriend who then phoned everyone from my firm to my parents to let them know that "Moorish" was injured! Man down!
She understood how much I loved this fish because the night he first started eating i had friends round at my place and when showing them how my other fish ate he decided to brag and devoured a few blood worms as well. The excitement of this little bugger eating ended up with me hugging every person in the room with delight, jumping for joy...... then waking up the next morning wrapped around my new, not yet installed, metal halide light unit, that i had placed on my bed for safe keeping. My girlfriend was on the couch...admin! The cause....A bottle of wine and a bottle of Richellue consumed quicker than usuall. Every time someone at the party chanted "Moorish consume" .....i consumed! My girlfriend filled me in the next day...first had to feed her before she would give me any reaction....like most ladies, they happiest after a meal.....tip for all you peeps that sometime give your tank more attention than anyone or anything else..... haha
The moorish took to food in captivity after 2 days and ate pretty much everything i fed him. He was a young specimen, which most should i say, early eaters are!
I devouted my time to making as happy as possible.... specifically offering him any sponges that i could lay my hands on.
However these were rarely eaten (maybe not the right species?). Instead Moorish's favourite was large LM prawn heads and thick blood worm as well as flakes. The prawn heads i would cut in half when frozen and allow them to defrost. He would eat the brains of the prawn and most of the head out of my hand. he also like pilchard gut!
I heard that Pablo Teapot, Bob Fenners bud, kept a few healthy Moorish Idols feeding them only Spectrum Thera A pellets. Bob Fenner confirms this on WWMedia. I tried to get hold of these pellets but was unsuccessful. Not sure if Pablo's Idols are still alive?
Moorish however seemed to be thriving with the occasional thining of his fin but which always grew back.
He grew quite considerably and pretty much doubled in size over the time that had him.
Moorish never ate after the crab incident as his mouth swelled quite badly and was badly cut... I did however try my best to coax him to eat.
The day he died there was some tears, especially from my girlfriend!
They had grown quite close, even though he was the biggest pest and main culprit for stealing all the food out of all my corals mouths, which she loved feeding (the corals).
O yes.... my Idol was reef safe, believe it or not..... did not tough one of my LPS, SPS or softies and even ignored my coco worms as well as all other invertebra.
Thought i would dedicate this little piece of writting above to him in his memory!
Lastly... I WAS LUCKY!! after a lot of research i realised that, had the crab not got him, the chances of me sustaining his diet in the future was slim and he most likely would of not been around for a very long time. I do agree that we can try, however there diet in the ocean can not be replicated in our tanks at the moment and malnutition is inevitible!
So in the support of conservation of every creature, not just the rare ones, i would recommend that unless one is very sure of oneself that you can give the animal as close replica of its natural habitat and diet that is necessary, rather dont attempt to keep it.
Sorry, got a little carried away with enthusiasm....
Cheers.
She understood how much I loved this fish because the night he first started eating i had friends round at my place and when showing them how my other fish ate he decided to brag and devoured a few blood worms as well. The excitement of this little bugger eating ended up with me hugging every person in the room with delight, jumping for joy...... then waking up the next morning wrapped around my new, not yet installed, metal halide light unit, that i had placed on my bed for safe keeping. My girlfriend was on the couch...admin! The cause....A bottle of wine and a bottle of Richellue consumed quicker than usuall. Every time someone at the party chanted "Moorish consume" .....i consumed! My girlfriend filled me in the next day...first had to feed her before she would give me any reaction....like most ladies, they happiest after a meal.....tip for all you peeps that sometime give your tank more attention than anyone or anything else..... haha
The moorish took to food in captivity after 2 days and ate pretty much everything i fed him. He was a young specimen, which most should i say, early eaters are!
I devouted my time to making as happy as possible.... specifically offering him any sponges that i could lay my hands on.
However these were rarely eaten (maybe not the right species?). Instead Moorish's favourite was large LM prawn heads and thick blood worm as well as flakes. The prawn heads i would cut in half when frozen and allow them to defrost. He would eat the brains of the prawn and most of the head out of my hand. he also like pilchard gut!
I heard that Pablo Teapot, Bob Fenners bud, kept a few healthy Moorish Idols feeding them only Spectrum Thera A pellets. Bob Fenner confirms this on WWMedia. I tried to get hold of these pellets but was unsuccessful. Not sure if Pablo's Idols are still alive?
Moorish however seemed to be thriving with the occasional thining of his fin but which always grew back.
He grew quite considerably and pretty much doubled in size over the time that had him.
Moorish never ate after the crab incident as his mouth swelled quite badly and was badly cut... I did however try my best to coax him to eat.
The day he died there was some tears, especially from my girlfriend!
They had grown quite close, even though he was the biggest pest and main culprit for stealing all the food out of all my corals mouths, which she loved feeding (the corals).
O yes.... my Idol was reef safe, believe it or not..... did not tough one of my LPS, SPS or softies and even ignored my coco worms as well as all other invertebra.
Thought i would dedicate this little piece of writting above to him in his memory!
Lastly... I WAS LUCKY!! after a lot of research i realised that, had the crab not got him, the chances of me sustaining his diet in the future was slim and he most likely would of not been around for a very long time. I do agree that we can try, however there diet in the ocean can not be replicated in our tanks at the moment and malnutition is inevitible!
So in the support of conservation of every creature, not just the rare ones, i would recommend that unless one is very sure of oneself that you can give the animal as close replica of its natural habitat and diet that is necessary, rather dont attempt to keep it.
Sorry, got a little carried away with enthusiasm....
Cheers.
Is there a specific reason why you want to keep a moorish Idol because you can also keep a banner fish. The look almost exactly the same and much easier to keep!!!
cannot comment on the Moorish or Batfish - but from experience wait till your tank is a year old with a great pod population before adding any of the dragonettes - mandarin or otherwise.
They have similar colour, but not the same. Like comparing a Scopas to a Yellow Tang
The Moorish Idol has way more markings and patterns. The shape of it is also very cool
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I can comment (as a beginner) on the Mandarin... Copepods - lots of them... That their main foodsource... Got mine to eat flakes (Omega 1) and bloodworm. He prefers the bloodworm, though... He shares a 100L nanno with 4 other fish (Clarkii, Tomato, and Common Clown), bi-color Blenny, cleaner shrimp and a pincoushin urchin. The Clarkii is the leader of the tank, but during feeding of the bloodworm, he will not bother the mandarin. The little mandarin actualy waits until the bloodworm settle on the rock and then "hunts" them. I took a few pics of him during the hunt, cos a lot of folks here didn't belive me. The only thing I can advise (and I think this is where my beginner's luck kicked in) was the fact that my Mandarin was a juvinile... They seem to addapt easier to your tank and feeding routine.
As already mentioned - rather go for the banner fish... They are much easier to keep than the moorish idol. Don't have either of them, but read up on both of them and must admit - I'll go for the bannerfish rather...
As already mentioned - rather go for the banner fish... They are much easier to keep than the moorish idol. Don't have either of them, but read up on both of them and must admit - I'll go for the bannerfish rather...
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i was thinking about the feeding issues when keeping a mandarin..
correct me if im wrong, but are coppapods those things you see crawling on rocks when you pick a rock out the rock pool.
if so, why dont people feed the mandrin those lil critters.. obviously if you live by the sea this will only work?
correct me if im wrong, but are coppapods those things you see crawling on rocks when you pick a rock out the rock pool.
if so, why dont people feed the mandrin those lil critters.. obviously if you live by the sea this will only work?
You got your Mandarin to eat flakes?? I am sorry if I sound sceptical, but in any article I have ever read I have never heard anyone getting a mandarin to eat flakes...in rare occasions they have been known to be tought to eat pellets. Can you maybe take a video clip, this is very interesting.
The amount of pods you would have to collect to feed a mandarin and sustain it like that in the long term would just not be possible. Remember they are continuously scrounging the rock work for critters to eat. You could collect pods from rock pools to help increase your population in your tank, but if there is non to start off with the mandarin would decimate what you put in in no time. It would basically have to be a daily collection and what happens if you can't get out there for some reason for a few days or weeks. Your mandarin would starve.
Giepie, unfortunately I must be sceptical about the Mandarin eating flakes as well. I've had mine right from when I started my tank over a year ago (didnt know about all the requirements for keeping him) and I have never seen him take flakes.
I am lucky as I have a lot of LR and thus has been able to sustain him.
If you can , please see if you can post a video clip...this is very interesting
I am lucky as I have a lot of LR and thus has been able to sustain him.
If you can , please see if you can post a video clip...this is very interesting
i have a scooter blenny, dragonet, in my nano, he is about 3cm.
had him now for 5 months and he picks at LR and sand all day, and eats live and frozen brine, and ocean nutrion pellets
then again i have seen a CBB eat pellets too
had him now for 5 months and he picks at LR and sand all day, and eats live and frozen brine, and ocean nutrion pellets
then again i have seen a CBB eat pellets too