Ich and Mandarin

[cngreg]

My personal approach is seachems paraguard as instructed or cupramine at .2ppm. I've QT'ed a dozen mandarins in the past year like this with no deaths. To be fair, I make sure they're eating live brine at the store and have been lucky with a reputable company mail order for the red finned greens). Many of them were without a doubt carrying cryptocaryon, however, (and a few had brooklynella) based on microscopic confirmation. You can also do "musical tanks" and switch them to a new tank every 2 days just twice to effectively beat the life cycle, the cycsts on teh fish fall to the bottom to grow and while they're "sleeping" you switch the fish out and clean the tank.

Also, maybe use the opportunity of no heckler fish to wean your mandarin. I've gotten more than half of the mandarins I've QTed (for myself and others) on ocean nutrition formula 1 small pellets using the strategy outlined in last november's "Coral" magazine.

 

[xavi_west]

I think I might go with the 2 Qt's (Tin_Whistler) tank strategy seems reasonable... still would hate to buy more tanks.. not to talk about the space... would a 20 work out for 2 oscellaris, 2 fire goby and 1 basslet?

I'll get u guys posted on the process and how things are going...

 

[Tin_Whistler]

A 20 would be a bit small for three months. Paired clowns like their space, and will try to keep the other fish out of it.

I'd recommend a 40 breeder minimum. On the bright side 40B's are all over the place used. There's no reason to buy all this stuff new when there's folks getting out of the hobby everyday.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I'm glad to see tank transfer getting more attention. I think Snorvich knows more about ich than anyone I know and this is his preferred treatment route. (OK to say this, Steve?). the more i read & think (within my limited thinking ability), the better it sounds. Its pure common sense.
BTW, the pair of mandarins we had in my QT ate mysis and gut-loaded brine, also loved Cyclops-eeze.

 

[tmz]

I just finished preventative treatment with tank transfer for a male/ female pair of mandarins a couple of months ago. 10 gallon tanks with pvc for resting places were used. They ate cyclopeeze ,brine, bloodworms and brine while in transfer and are fat an happy in the tank they now call home;still eating some frozen and picking on pods and flatworms. I treat all new specimens this way. I was prepared to purchase live pods from the lfs but didn't need them.

I'm not certain about copper sensitivity for any fish including dragonets but a source on it either way would be helpful. I am not aware of any evidence .
Why do you think they are particularly sensitive to copper?

Melev is a friend and made many contributions but he's no longer here to comment or discuss the issue and his opinion though helpful is an opinion from one aquarist's perspective offered several years ago. There are others. I have seen mandarins treated with copper at therapeutic levels in the lfs I frequent without observable negative consequences.

Having said that , I prefer to avoid copper and/or formalin given the chatter and uncertainty about sensitivity not just for manadarins but other fish too. Using copper also complicates ammonia control since detoxifiers can't be used with it. Copper is, however, lethal to the free swimming pases of ich and velvet and may suit a particular situation.
Garlic is really useless in disease control,imo and there is nothing natural about it in a reef tank. it may be of some value to provke afeeding response in some fish; it may not.
Hypo salinity doesn't always work as there are many resistant strains of ich.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I just finished preventative treatment with tank transfer for a male/ female pair of mandarins a couple of months ago. 10 gallon tanks with pvc for resting places were used. They ate cyclopeeze ,brine, bloodworms and brine while in transfer and are fat an happy in the tank they now call home;still eating some frozen and picking on pods and flatworms. I treat all new specimens this way. I was prepared to purchase live pods from the lfs but didn't need them.

I'm not certain about copper sensitivity for any fish including dragonets but a source on it either way would be helpful. I am not aware of any evidence .
Why do you think they are particularly sensitive to copper?

Melev is a friend and made many contributions but he's no longer here to comment or discuss the issue and his opinion though helpful is an opinion from one aquarist's perspective offered several years ago. There are others. I have seen mandarins treated with copper at therapeutic levels in the lfs I frequent without observable negative consequences.

Having said that , I prefer to avoid copper and/or formalin given the chatter and uncertainty about sensitivity not just for manadarins but other fish too. Using copper also complicates ammonia control since detoxifiers can't be used with it. Copper is, however, lethal to the free swimming pases of ich and velvet and may suit a particular situation.
Garlic is really useless in disease control,imo and there is nothing natural about it in a reef tank. it may be of some value to provke afeeding response in some fish; it may not.
Hypo salinity doesn't always work as there are many resistant strains of ich.

There is a school of thought that says copper is always deadly and this myth just won't go away. If a fish dies, while the tank is being treated with copper, some folks will automatically assume that it must be the copper; thus, all members of that fish family are "copper sensitive". Of course, some fish are more sensitive than others to copper; but most can safely and effectively be treated with Cu at a lower level. Threads asking about silicone sealant absorbing and releasing copper are still common on the forum; pure myth. I think it would be almost impossible to find any fish that hasn't been exposed to copper somewhere between the reef and our tanks.