Hi everyone, just checked on my mandarin and hes breathing but not moving think hes ganna die today.... anyhow bought him from LFS told them my set up they said he was there for 3 weeks and was eating live brine and he would be fine even though i didnt have a fuge at the time, i have one now and bought some copepods and put them in. was doing the TTM with my manderin and put a bit of sand and rock to make him comfy and put live brine in the tank, he ate a bit that i could see but didnt seem very interested and pods went in fuge so i didnt have any to feed him i have 10000 pods with some phyto coming in mail tomorrow but i think its going to be to late by then. any how my question is what can i do next time to make sure he survives the TT and QT? i know i blundered on the fuge not being established first but i wasnt well informed and the LFS talked me into it...
Mandarin not surviving TT?
- Thread starter Isaac85
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top shelf
New member
How old is your tank and what size? Mandarins need to eat constantly as they don't have a normal stomach so they need a constant supply of pods. Its not recommended to attempt a mandrin unless you have a well established tank with plenty of pods and even then often needs pods added to supply demand. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong here but I believe I recall reading somewhere due to mandys thick skin coat they aren't susceptible to ich which is what a ttm is designed to treat.
top shelf
New member
Sounds like your tank has been up long enough, I would allow your sump.to mature more and build up a large pod population before attempting again. Sounds like maybe your LFS was trying to make a quick buck. I'm not 100% on qt procedures for a mandy so maybe someone with greater knowledge bon that can jump in and help. Sorry about your misinformation from the LFS. in this hobby you always wanna take it upon yourself to research any future inhabitants as some places will do and say anything the make a quick dollar. Good luck hope your new mandy pulls through.
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
i typically don't run TTM on madarins. they're my one exception. i usually place dragonets directly in to my established grow out system.
they're very susceptible to water quality issues, so that could be part of the issue. i wouldn't be surprised if the QT tanks are spiking some ammonia with the additional of the rocks, sand, and food. are you using an ammonia locker like prime or amquel?
also, i don't medicate mandarins. anything else that comes in ttm gets at least two rounds of prazi, i skip this for dragonets.
i would do a large water change, run some carbon, make sure the temp, salinity, and oxygenation are all good.
they're very susceptible to water quality issues, so that could be part of the issue. i wouldn't be surprised if the QT tanks are spiking some ammonia with the additional of the rocks, sand, and food. are you using an ammonia locker like prime or amquel?
also, i don't medicate mandarins. anything else that comes in ttm gets at least two rounds of prazi, i skip this for dragonets.
i would do a large water change, run some carbon, make sure the temp, salinity, and oxygenation are all good.
GimpyFin
Active member
scooter31707
New member
Yep, I think that's one fish you have to take a chance on, unless it's eating Mysis shrimp or something which is highly unlikely.
Celtic_Fox
New member
Some people have good results feeding roe to their Mandarins. Perhaps that would be a good substitute to get them through TTM or a short quarantine before they can start getting pods again?
thanks for all the advise... but i did just see a thread about mandarin getting ich and people were saying that although they might not ever show signs of ich they could be a host that introduces it into tank because of lack of QT or TT. maybe im just overthinking it but if i wanted to try again with the TT and qt what are the chances im ganna get one to eat that roe stuff? also i think ima wait for at least 6months before trying again i wanna make sure my fuge has a large pod colony
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
Your best best for dragonet qt in my opinion is having a fully cycled long term grow out tank. This will give you the opportunity to isolate and observe the fish, and should be set up to provide food for it as well.
This technique is useful for lots of fish, and I also usually use it as a rest stop of sorts after TTM, but before they go in the big pool to give a chance for additional observation and attempts to introduce new foods.
This technique is useful for lots of fish, and I also usually use it as a rest stop of sorts after TTM, but before they go in the big pool to give a chance for additional observation and attempts to introduce new foods.
