Mandarin as Consumer of Ich?

ca1ore

Grizzled & Cynical
I'm not proposing this as a serious solution, necessarily, ..... but I have noodled it over a bit. Thinking out loud, I wonder if a Mandarin would actually view the free swimming trophont stage as prey and at least help to reduce ich parasite pressure in a reef tank? Probably the trophont is too small .....
 
Care to elaborate?

Why? If you want to understand further, please read the sticky I wrote on ich. That can be found here. Then use google to understand the attributes of copepods. By the way, while mandarins are resistant to ich, they can contract it, and can definitely easily contract oodinium.
 
Likely because they are microscopic and not visible to the fish.

Yeah, that's fine, and I wasn't proposing 'Mandarin as Ich Magic Bullet' all that seriously. Just thinking 'outside the box' as the old saying goes. There can be a lot of dogma here on RC at times .....
 
Yeah, that's fine, and I wasn't proposing 'Mandarin as Ich Magic Bullet' all that seriously. Just thinking 'outside the box' as the old saying goes. There can be a lot of dogma here on RC at times .....
Ca1ore, I like outside the box thinking and like it better when there is no box. I like your thinking but I have to agree with Snorvich and I hate to do that. I just think ich is to small.
 
Ca1ore, I like outside the box thinking and like it better when there is no box. I like your thinking but I have to agree with Snorvich and I hate to do that. I just think ich is to small.

No, I'm sure you guys are right. I'm just trying to work out a rather baffling 'sort of ich' problem in my tank. In the past when I have had ich it has blown up the tank, yet this time it is just kind of there, but not yet problematic. So, is there something else at play? Maybe its not really ich? So, I'm thinking out loud about what might be going on, that's all.

In the meantime, I have to figure out how to stop my Naso getting stuck to the side of my vortech pump. Was thinking about posting small signs - wonder if that will work?
 
Well I won't give you ich advice but I put a lot of faith in signs. My "No Jumping" sign never worked on firefish though.
 
Yeah, that's fine, and I wasn't proposing 'Mandarin as Ich Magic Bullet' all that seriously. Just thinking 'outside the box' as the old saying goes. There can be a lot of dogma here on RC at times .....

YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE THE STICKY SAYS SO! STICKY

I'm just kidding around. :rollface:

It's good to think outside the box and try to come up with some fresh ideas. That's how CP got rebooted, and I think for a lot of folks it has worked out for the best. I've come up with some crazy ideas in my time... most of which never worked out the way I had hoped/planned. ;)
 
YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE THE STICKY SAYS SO! STICKY

I'm just kidding around. :rollface:

It's good to think outside the box and try to come up with some fresh ideas. That's how CP got rebooted, and I think for a lot of folks it has worked out for the best. I've come up with some crazy ideas in my time... most of which never worked out the way I had hoped/planned. ;)

Of course, CP has its issues. Why I do not advocate chloroquinine phosphate (or related)

The problems/issues I have with chloroquinine phosphate (or related) are:
1. Dosage is anecdotal and is unclear
2. Half life of the drug is not defined
3. No way of testing current concentration
4. Drug may disassociate and release the Phosphate radical
5. Long term effect on fish has not been studied
6. Some fish are negatively affected
7. In humans, drug resistant strains have resulted
8. Counterfeit supplies of the drugs exist

There are some circumstances where chloroquinine phosphate (or related) is the only feasible solution; however, in general, I advocate the more traditional approaches to parasite eradication (other than hyposalinity).
 
No, I'm sure you guys are right. I'm just trying to work out a rather baffling 'sort of ich' problem in my tank. In the past when I have had ich it has blown up the tank, yet this time it is just kind of there, but not yet problematic. So, is there something else at play? Maybe its not really ich? So, I'm thinking out loud about what might be going on, that's all.

For those that have ich problems, I suggest a back to basics approach with the known solutions. Otherwise, you will continue to have it. Or . . . you can experiment with out of the box solutions.
 
For those that have ich problems, I suggest a back to basics approach with the known solutions. Otherwise, you will continue to have it. Or . . . you can experiment with out of the box solutions.


A "snow has me stuck at home for a while and its too early for a martini" rant:
Experimenting outside the box works well for me; because it always involves someone else's fish.

I guess I've gotten to the point where I'll suggest CP as a last resort to someone who has too many fish to use TT, obviously lacks the ability/guts to use copper, or obviously can't /won't use a QT. I don't like to spew advice unless I'd do the same with my fish. This is an exception; all fish I own will always be treated with copper. At least until there is research done to the level of proof that Snorvich considers adequate.

I would rather just tell folks who won't use a QT that this isn't the right hobby for them, but we know how many people just don't listen to this. When I'm brave enough to visit the new hobbyist forum; I'm amazed at the "what I need" threads. A QT is seldom mentioned.
 
You mean thread? Apparently he was "gone" by his own choice, the details of which are unclear.

No, we have our own forum now (kidding - ice storm has made me :wildone:).

Yeah, I don't know for sure what the deal was with him leaving. I'm just happy to have him back and hope he will continue to contribute to the CP thread. If it weren't for his perseverance, I doubt we'd have a major thread to share our anecdotal experiences. And I doubt CP would be as popular as it has become.

Anyone who likes "outside the box thinking" would do well to read some threads/posts by both alprazo and Paul B. Somewhere there's actually a video by alprazo where he demonstrates fish sedation and force tube feeding as a means of last resort for a fish refusing or too sick to eat. Blew my mind away!
 
Actually, I do not consider that PaulB does "out of the box" thinking. The catchphrase, or cliché, has become widely used in business environments, especially by management consultants and executive coaches, and has been referenced in a number of advertising slogans. To think outside the box is to look farther and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking beyond them. What PaulB has is a deep understanding of how marine fish act in the ocean. Both he and I are divers, each having a large exposure to marine fish in their native environment. Both of us have been doing this a long time (decades, actually) and we agree on more than we disagree. While I do not agree that his ich viewpoint is useful or desirable for new to the hobby (who are often looking for a silver bullet and cannot execute properly), I do agree with his nutritional viewpoint and his understanding of fish behavior.
 
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