Need some thoughts what should I do

[Craigar]

Ok I am getting the morish idol from Evan it has been in his tank with a few zoas, frogspawn should I take a chance and put him straight in the display or should I put him into the 125 frag tank and see how he does in there?

Pros of putting him directly Into display
Only move him once
Less stress
More live rock
Larger swimming areA
More food


Cons
Tons of corals
Have to take the tank apart to catch him





I can't decide what to do

 

[Haddonisreef]

Though call man if it hasent been nipping at anything I'd go to the main display!

 

[280g-reefman]

I was gonna buy him too and just drop him in my main display. I find a fish that is well fed leaves most things alone. However dont know the value of all your corals currently. Mine is limited so it was worthe the risk.

 

[FinsUp]

tough call. FWIW, I have a low tolerance for risk, so I'd put him in the 125 for a while and make sure he's not going to do inappropriate things to your corals.

 

[daverf]

My vote is frag tank. He's probably been low stress for awhile where he is, and if you just plan to leave him in frag tank for a week minimum, then at least he'll rest and probably after the stress of the first move before he changes homes again. Think of the stress he'll have (and everyone else) if you have to tear down the main tank!

 

[amonchak]

Frag tank. This will help him become aclimated to your care and feeding schedule and water parameters. While allowing you better chance to catch him and provide propper care should the need arise. After the "trial period" and once you know that all is well then test his nipping tendency with some coral before you give him access to your whole collection of coral.

 

[DyM]

The saying "it's easier to prevent than cure" is applicable - so I say Frag tank too. What is your plan if he's in the display and goes crazy eating your corals, even later? I'm sure you realize how hard it is to catch a fish in an established reef.

 

[djkms]

I say straight to the display. Idols need a lot of swimming room and rock structures to swim in and out of to be comfortable. Also, the least amount of environmental transfers the better. Just because he may not go after any coral in your frag tank doesn't mean that he wont in your display. My Idol went a year without touching any coral in a full blown mixed reef and one day he decided to make it his own personal buffet. Regardless if you put him in the frag tank or display you need to prepare for a exit strategy encase he dines on your corals. If Evan has had his Idol for a year I would suspect its pretty big and won't fit in a fish trap. I had to tear apart the whole right side of my reef to get my Idol out last year. It sucked but I didnt lose any corals besides the ones he dined on.

 

[Smiley]

i would say put him in frag tank until you get a new home built for him....although it would be sweet to watch in your living room but risking expensive corals is crazy.

 

[daverf]

until you get a new home built for him

so Craig, when are you going to build the aquarium that wraps around the outside of your house?

 

[Craigar]

Need some thoughts what should I do

I say straight to the display. Idols need a lot of swimming room and rock structures to swim in and out of to be comfortable. Also, the least amount of environmental transfers the better. Just because he may not go after any coral in your frag tank doesn't mean that he wont in your display. My Idol went a year without touching any coral in a full blown mixed reef and one day he decided to make it his own personal buffet. Regardless if you put him in the frag tank or display you need to prepare for a exit strategy encase he dines on your corals. If Evan has had his Idol for a year I would suspect its pretty big and won't fit in a fish trap. I had to tear apart the whole right side of my reef to get my Idol out last year. It sucked but I didnt lose any corals besides the ones he dined on.

See this is what I was thinking also how cool is it to have a morish idol in a reef what did yours end up eating? I am torn on what to do

 

[ReefCheif]

COme up with a plan of action before hand. This way if you put him in the DT and theres problems youve already got a solution thought out. Although I will say this Craig, Ive seen your tank, and theres no way I would risk them corals, thats just my opinion.

Although I took the same risk with a trigger fish in my reef, ended up working out great. I keep her well fed, she does not mess with corals or inverts.

 

[ShelbyJK500]

I can't weigh in because I know how awesome your reef is! I am borrowing a fish trap (hopefully soon to be done with) and the Idol fits in there barely. When I put it in to catch my purple tang and angels, I couldn't get him out of the thing!! lol So the only hope is that if he ate awesome in the display (which I would hope he would since he does for me)....that you wouldn't have any problem getting him into a fish trap again if needed. Hard decision for sure.

 

[jda123]

Put him in your frag tank. Only put him in the display after they get used to eating out of the fish trap. I used this method for some Semilavatus that were "reef safe" for about a year - once they started gobbling up the coral, I caught them the same day - mysis in the trap.

 

[Smiley]

Put him in your frag tank. Only put him in the display after they get used to eating out of the fish trap. I used this method for some Semilavatus that were "reef safe" for about a year - once they started gobbling up the coral, I caught them the same day - mysis in the trap.

now thats a good idea....