Achilles Tang and BLue ribbon eel

[Ah Teck]

Hi marine fish lover ,

I am tempting to buy blue ribbon eel, Achilles tang , rock beauty and Morish idol . I was told that it is a waste of money as they won't last . Waste of money and better keep it in the wild.

Any one ever successful in keeping these fish? at least for 6 months?

many thanks.

[X_Japan]

Moorish Idol is indeed very hard to keep..........

tried to keep it for about 10 times before this time it finally survived

but luck has been good to me...

I kept it alive in my tank for about 8 mths already~~

As my fave fish of all is the moorish idol..

I also have a regal angel in my reef tank

[Morgan]

I think that keeping it alive for 6 months only is a waste of money. The life span for these fishes is definately longer than 6 months.

[Ah Teck]

Hi XJapan,

Wow. How I wish I can keep morish idol and regal angel alive.

Are there any special things to watch oout before keeping these two fish?

eg tank size, compatibility with other fish, temperature, etc

what do they eat by the way ? Hey pal, what about post some pictures of your tank .

many thanks.

[X_Japan]

yes i have to agree

because most of these fishes do not adapt to life in captivty readily

and unless you have sufficient experience to keep most fishes

please do not try it

[X_Japan]

1. Make sure there are not much boisterous fishes around as

they may nip at the fins of these less aggressive fishes.

2. Make sure the water quality is good.

i mean these are the most basic for all fishes of course.

my temperature is 28 deg C

I keep these fishes in a 3 feet tank...

And I do not have a digital cam. this is why until now I do not have pics of my tank online anywhere.

I feed my fishes a variety of pellets

at 1st i fed them with tubifex worms. now all my fishes in my tank are weaned off to pellets.

Hikari Marine S, OTTO anti Bacterial floating pellets, HBH Spirulina Moist and soft pellets, HBH Krill soft and moist pellets, another 1 is a taiwan brand which I am not too sure.

but my Moorish Idol and regal whacks everything I throw in now.

brine shrimp, mysis, pellets, worms, finely chopped prawns.

[Reefgang]

Hi X Japan,

This is the first time I have heard anyone keeping moorish idol for such a long time considering the difficulty in keeping these beautiful fishes. Are you keeping just one or a school of them?

I believe luck plays an important part in the adaptability of the difficult species in a captive environment.... as what we consider as ideal water condition may still be far from what nature offers. Just my opinion, anyway.

Reefgang

[X_Japan]

I sincerely believe that too..... maybe my tank something in it that could make it survive and want to eat

if u wan, u could come over to take a look though

[B|uEc@rpEt]

The moorish idol has one of the most interesting faces ard!

X_JP...u not intending to get another one? They school do they?

[Reefgang]

Hi X Japan,

Have just sent u a PM

Reefgang

[X_Japan]

i presently only have one moorish idol

I have quite a number of fishes in my tank already

1 regal

1 moorish idol

7 damsels

1 maroon clown

1 chevron tang

1 regal blue tang

1 scorpion or stone fish which i caught in east coast(very small)

1 coral beauty

they sometimes move in huge shoals in the sea

but then again solitary specimens can be seen also

their behaviour is sometimes confusing to marine biologists

and having a shoal in the tank would not really be advisable as there will be 1 specimen dominating the rest.(same as the case of powder blue tang)

and the rest will be harrassed.

I tried to keep 2 at 1 time before

It did not survive in the end, as they kept fighting and also did not feed.

but now it's ok as i keep only 1 in my tank and it is extremely peace-loving.

[X_Japan]

Reefgang

I also PM you already.....

[Phang]

i presently only have one moorish idol

I have quite a number of fishes in my tank already

1 regal

1 moorish idol

7 damsels

1 maroon clown

1 chevron tang

1 regal blue tang

1 scorpion or stone fish which i caught in east coast(very small)

1 coral beauty

they sometimes move in huge shoals in the sea

but then again solitary specimens can be seen also

their behaviour is sometimes confusing to marine biologists

and having a shoal in the tank would not really be advisable as there will be 1 specimen dominating the rest.(same as the case of powder blue tang)

and the rest will be harrassed.

I tried to keep 2 at 1 time before

It did not survive in the end, as they kept fighting and also did not feed.

but now it's ok as i keep only 1 in my tank and it is extremely peace-loving.

Hey Guys,

Been to X Japan's place,

and seen his Moorish idol... feeding on pellets.....

DUnno how he did it... but it's definitely eating......

GREAT!!!!

X Japan, like your regal angel too.... very nice.

Hmmmm... but is that a Chervon.... think its more like a Olive....

Maybe You can share tips on how you managed to keep the Moorish Idol alive for already 8 months......

[X_Japan]

well seriously I do not know what happened anyway.....

Actually when I 1st brought it home....

it contracted the cauliflower disease....

I thought that it was dead for sure already....

but it fed on tubifex worms even though it was sick.

then it miraculously survived the ordeal to become my best and most loving fish ever

soon after that I tried it with pellets...It just wouldn't touch it except for tubifex worms!! i was quite pissed off at that time though.

but soon when i fed the others with pellets, I suddenly saw it taking its very 1st bite!!! on the pellet!

soon from that day onwards, it began to eat every thing that I would throw in......except for veggies...which I have not tried before.

I bought this spirulina pellets specially for them....I think it's not bad

all my tangs and angels are doing well on this pellet.

and remember the silver sponge u saw, Phang?

it's my regal angel's supply of food.....

it grows quite rapidly....spreading to my live rocks as u have seen

it eats a fair amount everyday....

maybe this is the reason why they didn't die on me.

I bought my moorish idol at kwangs aquarium

I would prefer to buy it from there as I have this certain trust in him

his fishes rarely fail me.

most of my stock is from him

except for the regal angel which I bought it in coral farm.

[X_Japan]

and yes

Phang I think you are right....

I don't think it's a chevron tang....

but when it gets chased away by my maroon when he goes near the carpet anemone.............

the colour would changed instantly!!

and at that time when i saw it,

it looked exactly like a chevron!!

but when it;s normal, its look just purely brown.

[B|uEc@rpEt]

U bought the chevron or someone gave it to u?

Cos i think the price will be a good indicator for its species