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View Full Version : Ich Question - How to QT a Mandarin Dragonet


Aquaman101
03/22/2011, 01:40 PM
I believe my Kole Tang has ich. I noticed a few white dots on it when the actinic lights came on last night.

I understand I need to remove all fish from the DT to stop the ich life cycle, but how do you QT a mandarin dragonet since it only eats pods?

davocean
03/22/2011, 02:04 PM
That's a tricky deal.
Mandarin's are supposed to be somewhat impervious to ich since they have that really thick slime coat, so some might not even QT them(I personally never have)
I suppose there are ways of QT'ing them and maybe add pods by either shaking chaeto into QT to release pods and maybe buy pods online.

Palting
03/22/2011, 02:17 PM
Since I have gone through the big hassle of treating 11 fish in a 110 gal tank for Ich, which included one mandarin BTW, I claim the dubious honor of the most OC when it comes to Ich treatment and prophylaxis with hyposalinity QT. Having said that, my last addition was a mandarin, splendiferus, and I did not QT. Just a freshwater dip, and that's it. So, IMO, not worth it to QT mandarins.

I can explain why I did that specifically for mandarins whereas I will QT and do hyposalinity prophylactically on all other fish and even QT rocks and coral, but that would take too long.

If it helps any, in my hyposalinity treatment of the 11 fish including one mandarin, that mandarin survived the 4 weeks treatment and is now fat and happy. He did get quite thin, looking like a tadpole with a big head and small body at the end of those 4 weeks.

t4zalews
03/22/2011, 03:00 PM
Mandarin's have a slime coat that protects them from ich. I wouldnt do anything drastic yet. I'd focus on nutrition for the tang, such things as Nori soaked in vitamins. This will help the tang build up its immune system to naturally fight it. If you feel you need more help, I'd get a cleaner goby if you can find one. IMHO these are much better than cleaner shrimp and dont harrass corals. I'd do a freshwater dip to the tang only as a last resort. I've always found keeping good water quality and enhancing the fish's diet helps greatly getting rid of ich. I also ran a UV sterilizer...many will say this does not help with ich...but I never had ich once I attached a UV sterilizer.

Sk8r
03/22/2011, 03:09 PM
This can be a serious problem. A mandarin needs a cycled qt with cheato moss, and probably doesn't have ich. Sorry to say, I used to think so to0-but cleaner fish don't actually do anything but eat scales off fish. They can't reach ich, which is under the skin.

In your situation, I'd hospitalize the tang and treat, and leave the mandy the sole occupant for 8 weeks, hoping it will stay healthy and not get it---they almost never ever do unless poor water quality has made them sick and ruined their slime coat. I think it's a gamble worth taking, with odds pro the ich dying out, unable to reproduce, because the mandy won't host them. If you have it recur, then go the whole route and treat the mandy in a separate cycled tank with something like Prazipro---they can't handle copper, and hypo isn't good for them either. At least it will buy you time---and I'm thinking it'll probably work.