morish idol sick

[w_knowles]

i have had a my morish idol for about 6 months now and this morning he was fine then tonight when i went to feed him he isnt eating and is floating to his side running into objects rock coral lying on the ground would anyone perhaps know what may be wrong with hime

 

[Joe Fish]

What are your water params? Most likely he is about ready to perish. You could try to put him in a hospital tank and see if he can recover.

 

[OCCFan023]

What type of tank is he in, what is his diet been (and have you had past problems with him eating,) are you absolutley positive hes been eating, does your tank provide coraline or sponges if he hasnt been eating your offered food, does he have hiding spaces and open swimming room?

Moorish Idols are notorious for not doing well in aquariums (even in the most established and impressive of setups.) They are known to refuse food and suffer a slow death through starvation (which could be what is going on, however the symptoms seem to have come on rather fast.)

We would need to know more about our setup to offer a good option into what is going on.

 

[TheFool]

Malnutrition would be my guess. The ones I've seen do well have been kept in large reefs (150?+) with excessive flow and the owner accepting they are going to lose some corals to nipping to supplement the diet.