Mandarin help.

[pontiac2002gtp]

I just got a new tank got the whole set-up while i was getting the tank ready some of the fish lived in a bucket for a few days. There was a mandarin in the bucket and now it looks like he has ick but i read the faq and it says mandarins don't get ich so what do i do its on his one eye just looks all white like a film over the eye please help i don't know what to do should i get him out of the tank assuming i can catch him??

 

[paulamrein]

Mandarins are more immune to parasites because of their "skin" mucus, they can still get it in their gills and soft tissues. You mentioned that it is going into a new tank, is it eating prepared foods? You will find it difficult to sustain proper health with this fish with your pod population just starting. It's not impossible to train them to eat, and luckily if you treat this fish for the parasites in a QT there is a better chance this can be accomplished. My suggestion, (I feel justified in my suggestion because I have personally done this with success.) is QT all fish in that system in 2 separate quarantine tanks. One tank only with the mandarin, the other with all the other fish. Treatment of the parasites are up to you, but the reason the mandarin is in a separate QT is because this is a place where he will learn to eat prepared foods. The best way I have found is using the Classical condition method. Placing a dish in the same place at the same times everyday with live foods (enriched brine) every time you place the food in the dish tap on the top of the tank. Once the mandarin seems to take to it routinely, start placing frozen mysis along with the live brine and start limiting the amount of brine you put in until it is just mysis. Than you can start putting some into the water column along with the dish until it is just eating out of the water column. The QT period will also be time for your main tank to develop good pod population for supplemental feeding. Of course you will still need to ensure the mandarin is getting enough because it will never really compete with food the way your other fish will.
This is all in the assumption that your mandarin doesn't take prepared foods, if it does, than chalk this post up as a reference for your next stubborn fish Still QT all fish though, Most parasites are easily taken care of in QT. And if one fish has them, they all will.
A pic would help identify exactly which parasite it is. It may not be ich.
Hope this helps.