Mandarin to QT or not QT?

[Neptune 555]

I am absolutely getting a mandarin for my 75 gallon reef. This is the fish that made we start a saltwater tank.

My question is do you QT a Mandarin or not? All of my fish are going through TT and Prazi (had a wipeout 6 months ago learned my lesson!) but if I do this for all the other fish.. and then just let the mandarin go into the tank is all my work for nothing? How can I keep a mandarin in QT w/ no live rock or sand? I am about to give up on QT.... and just to provide a happy environment for my fish.... with limited stress.

Neptune

 

[MondoBongo]

Mandy's do no tolerate many medications well, so prophylactic treatment should not be used on them. likewise you wouldn't want to house them in tanks that have been treated with meds, as they could still contain residuals.

i would never outright advocate to someone not to QT anything, although i will say that due to their specialized needs, my mandy was the only thing i did not QT going in to my tank.

that was a calculated risk, and i would certainly advise that you asses your situation and risk aversion first before decided on a course of action.

you certainly could QT them if you wanted to. you would just need to use a tank with some established rock and pods populations. supplement their feeding with a diner or Paul B. style feeder, along with things like Nutramar Ova and live black worms/white worms.

you should be able to sustain one in a reasonably sized tank for a reasonable length of QT time, as long as the fish is in good health, and you are diligent about making sure it is fed.

keep in mind most fish stores, and certainly all online outlets, sell live pods. these are pricey, and while they wouldn't be a feasible long term food source without culturing or refugium reproduction, they can certainly help seed a tank, and in the short term provide the main grazing diet for the fish.

anecdotal reports suggest that mandarins are less prone to contracting ich than other fish, however less prone does not mean immune. additionally, ich isn't the only nasty in the world that we use QT to mitigate.

regardless of what you decide to do, i would not suggest trying to QT one without live sand and live rock, and some form of pod population in the tank. be it seeded and supplemented by you on a regular basis for the length of QT, or naturally occurring and sustaining. any other food should always be considered supplemental.

 

[Marshall O]

All good points by MondoBongo. I currently have a small one in QT as we speak. Tank is a 40 long, setup for a year now, with ~50 lbs of live rock and 2" sandbed. I also threw in chaeto the size of a a softball size to make sure pods won't be wiped out.

I personally would not add one to any tank without QT'ing first. It should also make it much easier to "train" it to eat prepared foods vs. in a busy tank with established fish.

 

[Neptune 555]

So I have a 10 gallon refugium I have been running for 6+ months. chaeto / pods / rocks. I used it to seed my 75 gallon sump.. I wanted it w/out fish for 3 months to ensure no ich... as if I took it from LFS directly I could contaminate my new tank... Going a bit insane over ICH FREE tank!

BUT if you just QT the Mandarin and watch him... don't treat them and do not do Tank Transfer - I only have one refugium to use... How does that eliminate the risk of the mandarin introducing ich or other nasties to the tank?
Neptune?

 

[Fishfirst]

Use tank transfer method

 

[snorvich]

Use tank transfer method

And use Nutramar Ova to supplement copepods from added chaeteo.

 

[rocsec1]

I didn't qt mine becuase I didn't have enough pods in the qt tank to support it. I wouldn't recommend it but I did