We return with one of the aquarium fish most desired by the aquarium hobbyist. It's about the Moorish idol fish. Its scientific name is zanclus cornutus and it is one of the most demanded and sought after in the sector. It is a coral fish whose color makes it extraordinarily beautiful. It is a complicated fish to keep, so only aquarium experts can venture to care for them. Their acclimatization in captivity poses enormous problems of adaptation by feeding.
If you are an expert and want to dare to take care of a Moorish idol fish, do you want to know everything about this fish and its needs?
Key features
The Zanclus cornutus belongs to the Zanclidae family and to the order Perciformes. Its body is disc-shaped and highly compressed laterally. Its jaw is tubular and it has a small mouth with many long teeth. To feed, it uses its prominent snout with which it scrapes and constantly searches for its food among rocks, rocks, sponges and algae.
It is very common for the spines of the dorsal fin to be elongated in a white whip-like filament. and two black bars across the body. The fins are not very robust and mobile. If the filament is cut by a predator or accident, it can grow back. Older specimens may present a slight hump in the terminal area of the head. The dorsal filament may be more developed at this time.
When they are younger, these fish resemble the angelfish. Its ventral fins are triangular in shape and quite short. On the other hand, the anal fin has a pyramid shape, a triangle tail and the pectorals are circular. This set of shapes gives the fish great beauty.
They can measure up to 25 centimeters in an aquarium and if they can adapt to it, they are capable of having a life expectancy of more than 10 years.
Maintenance needs
Aquarium size
This is a rather complicated fish to care for. Therefore, only the most specialists are able to keep them healthy in the aquarium. The zanclus cornutus it requires some special care to survive. The first thing to consider is the aquarium and its size. In the wild, this fish is used to going through corals in search of food. You are an indefatigable swimmer, so you will need a fairly large aquarium to meet these travel needs. It should be at least two meters long and more than half a meter wide. The depth it is recommended that it exceed 50 cm, so it can unfold all its fins.
Food
Another important requirement is your diet. In its natural state it feeds mainly on microinvertebrates and sponges that live on coral reefs and rocks. For this reason, the aquarium must have enough live rocks and hard corals that provide it with the necessary food in its adaptation phase. They also need numerous hiding places to shelter in case it is necessary.
Cleaning the water
One of the most important requirements (if not the most important) it is the quality of the water. In its natural habitat the water currents are quite weak and its waters very transparent. There is no type of organic contamination. This means that the water in the aquarium must be kept very clean. Nor should it be little moved and the levels of nitrites, ammonia and nitrates always at zero.
Aquarium parameters
In order for these fish to acclimatize perfectly, the aquarium has to maintain some very strictly balanced parameters. The temperature should be round between 24 and 26 degrees and the density between 1020 and 1024. When feeding, this fish produces some waste that must be cleaned. For this, a protein skimmer and the installation of ozonators and UV lamps are recommended. This will help us eliminate some parasites that affect their health.
Zanclus cornutus diseases
Like their relatives, surgeon fish, the Moorish idol is quite sensitive to diseases like el oodinium and Cryptocarion. Both are skin diseases. It is also quite sensitive to tuberculosis and lateral line disease. These diseases usually end the life of the fish.
In general, all these problems are derived from the hard adaptation process that this fish entails entering an aquarium. Your immune system is naturally weakened. If, on top of that, we subject him to an adaptation outside of his natural environment, we will be forcing him beyond his limits.
The best thing to do in these situations is do not use medicines that have any copper content. These fish do not tolerate this metal well.
Improve adaptation of zanclus cornutus
To increase the adaptation possibilities of the Moorish idol, several things must be taken into account. The first is that it is imperative to acquire specimens for the aquarium while they are very young. This will help them in their adaptation process. As in human beings, the youngest are more adaptable to new scenarios. The second is their diet.
One of the reasons why they cannot adapt is stress. It causes them to stop feeding and die. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the aquarium with many live rocks and hiding as we said before. If we want to introduce them with other fish, they must be calm. This way they will be able to maintain more stable relationships and not have setbacks. If the fish and water remain calm, your stress will decrease.
As for their diet, it is essential that they feed only on live prey such as brine shrimp during their first days. This will cause him to start eating slowly. When you eat brine shrimp without any qualms, we can replace it with some type of frozen food. When they devour all the frozen food that is given to them without fear, they can try already with dried and freeze-dried foods, which they end up accepting as long as their state of health is optimal.
It is vitally important that the conditions of the water, rocks and food are kept in perfect condition so that the fish gradually get used to living in captivity. With these guidelines you can take care of your zanclus cornutus in conditions. Good luck with it!