About fish and how to feed Moorish Idol

All my life I've been thinking how fish are impersonal and faceless animals. They just float around and do nothing, and having them in your home is as boring as having a stuffed toy.

Cat is a much better choice for a pet, and some people would even say dogs!
Not me, I'm a cat person.
I don't mind cute puppies occasionally tho.

But the truth is, it's not really like that when it comes to fish.

First, once you have a huge saltwater tank, there's shitload of work that goes with it and thankfully, I have nothing to do with that. I just look at fish sometimes.

Actually, once you start looking, you can't stop. That staring is addictive and dangerous. Minutes fly by and you suddenly realize you've been looking at them for half an hour and there might as well be a fire in another room and you wouldn't notice. It's like drugs.  It's mesmerizing and you can really lose track of time watching them.

Anyways, we got this tank and put some fish inside. First two lucky little ones died, cause they couldn't adapt. Then we add more fish. Then after a while another one died. Good thing we didn't have time to bond with them. Then we add some more.

Now they're all doing just fine and they seem to be happy.

And then we added the Moorish Idol.

The interesting fact about Moorish Idols is that they can't be bred in captivity, hence every Idol in the fish tank is first caught in the wild and sent by plane to a certain fish shop who sells it to fish collectors.

Our Idol came from another part of the world, with a little suitcase and big rebellion attitude. A common problem with them is that they adapt very hard, and if they do - you consider yourself lucky. People do all kinds of stuff and tricks to make them feel like home, but Idols can be stubborn, so they often die in captivity.

Our Idol wouldn't eat, lake many others. He just didn't know how. I found it hard to believe he doesn't have some kind of instinct, especially after a few days of not eating - you would think a wild animal would figure it out and eat whatever he can when hungry as hell. Nope. He didn't.

So we tried different kinds of foods, nothing. We tried plants, nada. Some slummy green stuff, zero. He went without eating for a week and a half, avoiding other fish and playing stupid around feeding time. All the other ones are devouring anything you put in the tank, and then there is the Idol, floating with the confused look on his face, trying to figure out what the hell are the other ones after, and why so perky and feisty for those little meatballs.

So after loads of research and trying out different things, I came across some guy's experience about getting the Idol eat - clams. Yeah, pasta clams from the market. So we went and buy a bunch (well one for him, the rest for me). We put it in the water and guess what - nothing. Zero interest in the clam.

But, because the clam was hung onto something (forgive me my amateur language - I don't know how you call those little thingies that hold food for fish), I believe the little particles of the clam were starting to float away, and maybe that triggered Idol's sense of smell - so after a while we noticed he was grasping for something - which was a huge change in his behavior.

It looked like he was trying to catch some of these particles, but they were so small, barely noticeable. He did that for half a day, and then we put some normal fish meatballs in the tank - and guess what - he was  trying to catch them, and when he did, he ate them! He was a little clumsy at first, the meatballs were getting away, but he got the hang of it. He was eating and we were happy!

The next day, he wouldn't eat again. I think he forgot how. They say fish has short memory, so after a whole 12 hrs of not feeding, he simply forgot (well, that's my theory). Anyways, another clam made the trick again, and he's been eating ever since.

I shared this story because:

1. I learned you can bond with fish. This little fellow is very cool, even tho he doesn't care for me at all, just like Shelly the hamster. They live in their own world. Unlike Mischief the cat, who loves me when he needs something from me. And it's Family Day today, so it seemed appropriate.

2. There are a lot of hungry Moorish Idols out there, with people who tried everything to feed them - so I wanted to show this worked for us. Maybe it'll work for them too, so give it a try. Take a normal clam, get it out of the shell and hang in onto that thingie. Some Idols love to eat them like that apparently, even tho it worked out differently for us, but it still helped.

3. I was bored and didn't have anything else to shoot than the fish tank.

4. Shelly is having her winter beauty sleep and is not interested in apples.

5. I made pasta with clams in white sauce with wine. It was actually pretty good, never made clams before at home, so I'm happy with that.

So if you ever consider getting the fish tank, you should try it. It's nice to have it around. The air in the home is different, better, and the gazing in the tank calms the nerves. Be prepared for a lot of work on it though. Or find someone who will.

And if you do get an Idol (make sure everything else is in order first), don't lose your hope. They can adapt, and they will, but make sure you treat him with love! And with clams, if everything else fails.

Happy family day!

Xoxo