Is 2 week QT enough for mandarin?

jshepherd

jshepherd

Member
I have a green Madarin to go in my 9 month old 150g DT that has over 200 lbs of LR. The Lr was from 8 months ago from a friend that was getting out and it was in a very mature tank and was transported in buckets so there was little to no die off. i have also been ordering bags of pods from SW and throwing them in on every order so 4 bags now
I set up a 10g Qt with some of my live rock and also added an extra bag of pods from SW and a bottle of tigger pods.
It is now 2 weeks to the day and he is looking very skinny underneth. I can see pods at night and I see him eating some but not all of the time. I have tried Mysis but he will not even go near it and being in the 10g I am afraid to over feed.
My hopes are that he will be better off in the DT. i really do not know how I would see ich on him anyway becasue he always has sand stuck to him.
thanks for any advice and for your patience answering redundant questions.
John
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, go ahead a move him. He is likely not eating well enough in the QT.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
I agree here. Mandarins very rarely have parasites attach to them anyway because of their thick slime coat.
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2860199
I agree here. Mandarins very rarely have parasites attach to them anyway because of their thick slime coat.
+2. Also, these fish usually have been malnourished since their capture so the sooner they get back to a larger reef/aged rock environment, the better.
 
jshepherd

jshepherd

Member
He is in there but I just don't see him eating like he should be. At night I can see pods all over the place. Maybe he is eating at night and I cannot see him with all of my live rock.
Actually reading what I wrote makes sense that he would not eat as much during the day
 
jshepherd

jshepherd

Member
I have snuck in and have watched him eat at night but as you can see in the pic he is extremely skinny. Will he be able to eat his way out of this ?
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Ok I will play the devils advocate here two weeks in QT is not enough time under any circumstances. To put a fish that is obviously malnourished in a healthy DT in the hopes of curing it seems like you are putting the other fish in jeopardy if he is carrying a disease that can be transmitted to your other healthy inhabitants. The good of one at the possible risk of many is wrong.
Of course this is JUST IN MY OPENION
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I don't think he is carry a disease or any one that is contagious. These fish can go south fast due to their particular dietary needs. The question sep asked, is important. My guess is, he didn't get adequate nutrition at the LFS either.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2864940
Ok I will play the devils advocate here two weeks in QT is not enough time under any circumstances. To put a fish that is obviously malnourished in a healthy DT in the hopes of curing it seems like you are putting the other fish in jeopardy if he is carrying a disease that can be transmitted to your other healthy inhabitants. The good of one at the possible risk of many is wrong.
Of course this is JUST IN MY OPENION
Joe, I completely see where you are coming from. In this situation I fully feel that the fish is better off in the DT.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/2864961
I don't think he is carry a disease or any one that is contagious. These fish can go south fast due to their particular dietary needs. The question sep asked, is important. My guess is, he didn't get adequate nutrition at the LFS either.
Beth that is my point exactly I also do not think his state of malnutrition was initiated after he was purchased. Given the rather dubious state of consuren for health care in your average LFS I would have to fear that this fish with its diminished immune system do to lack of nourishment would make it a prime candidate for disease either as manifested or as a carrier. And that is why I think it is not prudent to put a fish with heath issues in a healthy tank in the hopes it is just being a matter of it not eating because it was in a QT
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2865032
Joe, I completely see where you are coming from. In this situation I fully feel that the fish is better off in the DT.
So what you are saying is that if I purchase a malnourished fish and after two weeks of QT that fish is not eating I should disregard all protocol of quarantine and put that fish in my DT in the hope that it will start eating and if it does that justifies putting my other fish at risk
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2865058
So what you are saying is that if I purchase a malnourished fish and after two weeks of QT that fish is not eating I should disregard all protocol of quarantine and put that fish in my DT in the hope that it will start eating and if it does that justifies putting my other fish at risk
Of course not. This is a mandarin though. They have a VERY thick slime coat that parasites very rarely can penetrate. They also have a specific diet that he can get better in the display. These fish eat pods. They sometimes will accept frozen but it doesn't have the nutrition that they need.
Mandarins only get ich if the entire tank is completely infested. It is very rare that they ever get a parasite. I have told people to leave a mandarin in the display when they pull all other fish out for hypo.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Hm Joe, you always make me think. It is imperative to know if this fish was that thin to begin with. He could have had a decreased immune system at the store, which would thin his slime coat.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2865114
Hm Joe, you always make me think. It is imperative to know if this fish was that thin to begin with. He could have had a decreased immune system at the store, which would thin his slime coat.
Bingo
 
jshepherd

jshepherd

Member
I bought him from this site and it is my first Mandarin. I did put plenty of rocks from the dt in the Qt and he hid a lot and I really didnt notice him being that thin but also rarely seen him much either.
I am frustrated because I always take pictures of my new fish while acclimating so I can look back for reference but I cannot find one of him. Sorry that I cannot accurately answer the question but I think it is safe to say that no he was not nearly this thin when I got him.
He was eating last night and I do see pods in the tank but will dump some more in as well. Like I mentioned the 200# of live rock was from a very mature system from a friend. The sand was new though but the tank is about 9 months old now. Some of the pods are big enough that I was trying to suck them up in a turkey baster because i thought they were baby mantis shrimp lol.
I have put tigger pods in and also several bags of pods from this site. is there a preference for feeding a mandarin?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Brine is not the best source of nutrition. jshepherd, you are on the right track with what you're doing.
BTW, 2 weeks in QT is pretty safe for contagious parasites, 3 weeks, is a sure thing. For this fish, it is always risky business QTing. They can go south pretty fast. When buying a Mandarin online, there is also the added stress of transport, then going into a QT that can't adequately support the fish's dietary needs.
Hopefully, within a few days, you'll see him fill out again. Keep us posted.
 
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