Salt Water Fish: Moorish Idol
This graceful beauty can brighten up your salt water aquarium with their stunning yellow, black and white bands, their elongated dorsal fin which form a crest (philomantis extension), the distinguished black triangular anal fin, and the short horn-like projections above the eyes. The Moorish idol is the only species in the Family Zanclidae and got their name from the Moors, an ancient African civilization who believed this fish was a source of happiness.
You can find them in shallow waters tropical and subtropical, flat coral and rocky reefs, and lagoons in East Africa, the Indian Ocean, Hawaii, Japan, Mexico and Micronesia where they either live alone, in pairs (they mate for life) or small schools.
The Moorish idol can grow up to 23cm long and do not adjust easily in captivity because they are quite finicky. You need a large tank of about 380l for adequate swimming space. They are omnivorous, picky and voracious eaters which enjoy benthic invertebrates, coral polyps, sponges and tunicates. They are pelagic spawners and the larvae spend a long time in the plankton before metamorphosing at 40-75 mm.
Photos were taken with a Samsung A3.
