So Im going to get me a mandrin... help please

[TOURKID]

tanks almost a year old... pods arent in huge numbers... but I have mysis over running my tank.
Im ready.

Bit I need to have 1 really important quesstion answered for me..

Im REAL big on qt'ing things. I REALLY want to qt the mandrin.. but is it smart?

What would you do?

What would I feed it in qt? should I make it quick because it wont eat?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
maggie

[EnderG60]

your tank aint big enough, and unless you have about 100lbs of live rock crammed in there dont even bother.

[Sk8r]

Tourkid, I have a mandarin in a 52g. I occasionally have to supplement pods. My advice would be, get the smallest mandarin you can. Size matters in a borderline tank. Prepare to spend 100.00 on pod supplements every few months, and feed your tank phytoplankton nightly. I lost ALL my pods to Chemiclean shortly after I got my little female, and I've spent beaucoup building up the pod population to a sustainable level WHILE she was predating on them. My tank is jammed in a corner where I can't get a refugium hung on, which would have saved me a bundle. Look into the refugium angle. Plus get some rock-rubble and make little untidy piles of it in various places. Set a rock of green star polyps atop: it won't mind, if it colonizes the rubble you can break pieces off and trade them, and being on the rubble piles will keep it from spreading to your structural rock. Pods breed in such places, and it keeps the mandarin from eating the breeding population.

HTH.

[TOURKID]

I have a mysis population so big I cant look anywhere without seeing them all over. I talked it over with my lfs and they seem to think I NEED a mandrin.

But what about qt? do I? How long? feed it pod suppliments while in qt?

I have about 75 pounds of lr... qt'ing is my main concern

[Serioussnaps]

dont Qt it, mandarins are practically disease resistant in tanks with good water quality...dont QT not needed....will only hurt your chances

i know to some people not QTing sounds absurd, but dont qt the mandarin

[TOURKID]

thats what my lfs said (very trusted lfs too) but it bothers me not to qt....

maqybe just overnight then make sure theres no parasites i can see. Im really excited, wanted a mandrin from the beginning

[Hormigaquatica]

I would either quarentine it fully, or not at all. Just holding the fish overnight or for a couple days may just stress it out- having to make 1 more stop on its way to the final reef tank. Could actually cause any small infections to get a hold of the increasingly stressed mandarin and develop into something substantial. Not a garauntee, but a risk.

Im curious why you Need a Mandarin? Mysis are harmless to a tank- good cleanup crew members actually. If they are reproducing too quickly, it likely means that you have too many organics available for them to eat down in your sandbed and rockwork. Getting a mandarin to pick off the mysis wouldnt improve the conditions in the tank, and would just remove one of the animals that is currently helping keep things cleaned up.

If you Really want to thin out the mysis population, I would suggest something a bit sturdier than a dragonette anyhow- you could consider a 6-line or other small wrasse, small basslet, etc. That way, when the pod and mysis levels get too low to sustain a mandarin (which they will do suprisingly quickly), you will have a fish that is likely to accept other food sources and live just fine.

[Ironsheikh]

mandarins dont get ick --why would you qt? it's written in almost any fish book

didnt know having having mysis was a bad thing?

they say mandarins like to eat flying fish roe ---so try buying some at the sushi store --post if you have success w/ it

[BiggySmalls]

if u have enough $ and pods u should do it

they are cool fish

[BiggySmalls]

if u have enough $ and pods u should do it

they are cool fish

[snorvich]

Do NOT quarantine a mandarin, there is absolutely no reason. The only GUARANTEED food for a mandarin is copepods. You might get lucky with another food but the odds are against. In general, you need a 100lbs of live rock for a mandarin and your odds of success go up if you have a refugium.

[Sk8r]

You got good answers: I'm sorry to have ignored your central question: I had an appointment and had to run. I wouldn't qt him. But once he's acclimated, give him an intermediate dip, in your hand, in a quart of your tank water, and swish him around a little...this will at least wash the last of the water he came in off of him [how's that for a preposition stack?] and in effect, bathe him before he gets to your tank. It's a weak intermediate step, but this assures no fish store water gets there with him. And I'd recommend 'her'. The females are a little smaller, and small is going to be a good thing.