Jennyb1486
In Memoriam
i just got a green mandarin but during transfer he got ich what do i do???? help?
mandarin
- Thread starter Jennyb1486
- Start date
zoomfish1
New member
Search here for the care and requirements of the mandarin:
http://reefcentral.com/search.php?menu=11
In a new tank, like yours, they have very little chance of finding enough pods to live.
http://reefcentral.com/search.php?menu=11
In a new tank, like yours, they have very little chance of finding enough pods to live.
Their slimy coat often picks up sand grains in a new tank where sand is fine and loose. This can give the appearance of ich. First observe the individual dots: if any move, about, it's just sand grains.
Mandy's RAREly get ich unless water quality is really bad: test your water for alk and ph and salinity and temperature.
If you have to pull this fish to quarantine, go to your lfs and ask for live copepods, tiggerpods, etc. The likelihood it will eat anything but these near microscopic crustaceans is not good. You can also buy them online @ reefnutrition.com. It's expensive, but one bottle would feed your mandy through quarantine and treatment. The problem is, any treatment will rapidly kill the pods, so you have to feed very small but often.
Mandy's RAREly get ich unless water quality is really bad: test your water for alk and ph and salinity and temperature.
If you have to pull this fish to quarantine, go to your lfs and ask for live copepods, tiggerpods, etc. The likelihood it will eat anything but these near microscopic crustaceans is not good. You can also buy them online @ reefnutrition.com. It's expensive, but one bottle would feed your mandy through quarantine and treatment. The problem is, any treatment will rapidly kill the pods, so you have to feed very small but often.
Warnberg
New member
Ths is a quote from here.
http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=3
"These fish don't get Ich as they secrete an oily substance on their bodies. Their skin type and the oils secreted make them extremely sensitive to many medications. What may heal one species will more than likely kill a mandarin. So if your other fish develop ich, the mandarin is not to be put in to quarantine. Which is fortunate because it would starve to death if you did, assuming the medication didn't kill it first."
http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=3
"These fish don't get Ich as they secrete an oily substance on their bodies. Their skin type and the oils secreted make them extremely sensitive to many medications. What may heal one species will more than likely kill a mandarin. So if your other fish develop ich, the mandarin is not to be put in to quarantine. Which is fortunate because it would starve to death if you did, assuming the medication didn't kill it first."
Duddly01
New member
I would just watch it for a day. My Mandy sleeps in a nitch in the rocks, curled up like a kitten in the sand. Every morning it has a few white specks that go away within an hour. They are really slimey little critters. 
It is very unlikely it has ick, though not impossible. They are extremely resistant to ick, not immune. The bad news is an extended period in quarantine would be worst on the fish than the ick, if it had it, which I doubt. You could hypo a mandarin, but they don't have scales, I would think copper would be deadly.
BTW, please tell us this is an established tank (6 mo. or more), with a refugium and or larger than 30gal. If not your little guy is likely to starve to death anyway. Not many eat prepared foods.
It is very unlikely it has ick, though not impossible. They are extremely resistant to ick, not immune. The bad news is an extended period in quarantine would be worst on the fish than the ick, if it had it, which I doubt. You could hypo a mandarin, but they don't have scales, I would think copper would be deadly.
BTW, please tell us this is an established tank (6 mo. or more), with a refugium and or larger than 30gal. If not your little guy is likely to starve to death anyway. Not many eat prepared foods.
papagimp
COMAS Rocks!
My first mandarin scared me the same way, it was just sand/debri on him. Nonething major. but fwiw, I purchased mine when my 29g was only a couple months old. Nearly starved him off, took lot's and lot's of pods being added on a monthly basis to keep him alive until his move to my 55g w/ fuge. He does well now. Try and get a good look from above on him, if he looks "pinched" or squeezed in the mid section, probably starving. They fatten up noticably when eating well.
Jennyb1486
In Memoriam
what do u feed urs i was told blood worms and krill
Waterbury Guy
New member
They mostly only eat live foods (pods). On the very, very rare occasion, one will take to frozen foods. If you did not see it eating frozen foods at the store, and you only have a 30 gallon tank w/ no fuge, that is less than 3 months old.............
Jennyb1486
In Memoriam
madarin
madarin
its a 70 gallon tank that i have him in
madarin
its a 70 gallon tank that i have him in
Jennyb1486
In Memoriam
what r pods
Waterbury Guy
New member
Did you research this animal at all before you bought it?
Duddly01
New member
Copepods, amphipods are basically salt water bugs. Very tiny crustaceans. You often purchase them from a LFS or order them from places like reefnutrition.com. Most Mandarins will eat only live food. You can supplement their food with live baby brine shrimp. They are easy to culture and cheap but not nutritious enough to be the only thing they eat. Even with a 70gal. a refugium is almost a must have. Not olny would you get the benefit of food for your Mandarin, but it also is the best way to control Nitrates and Phospates. Pods love to live in Cheato.
REMF
Premium Member
Jennyb1486
Here is a very good read on Mandarin Goby's. It talks about feeding and some good alternatives.
http://joshday.com/mandaringoby.htm
Here is a very good read on Mandarin Goby's. It talks about feeding and some good alternatives.
http://joshday.com/mandaringoby.htm
dippin61
New member
i have a horrible feeling, this mandarin wont make it. you really should of researched first.
from your tank description, you dont have enough LR to sustain him. Nor do you know what they eat... these are not beginner fish, and can be very difficult to take care of. You will most likely have to culture your own food, because most mandarins, will not eat prepared foods. and if they do, it wont be for months and months..
are you prepared to raise your own food for him? if not, id take him back.
from your tank description, you dont have enough LR to sustain him. Nor do you know what they eat... these are not beginner fish, and can be very difficult to take care of. You will most likely have to culture your own food, because most mandarins, will not eat prepared foods. and if they do, it wont be for months and months..
are you prepared to raise your own food for him? if not, id take him back.
NeveSSL
Got tubes?
First off, don't get discouraged! 
Since you didn't do your research, now we can try to help you save your fish.
Its relatively easy to make your own food... but it will take you some time to get things going.
I'm not an expert by any means, but from what I know you generally want a fuge with chaeto in it. Get some pods and put in the chaeto (I hear copepods are generally preferred by mandarins over amphipods). Finally, start some cultures of phytoplankton to feed the pods... this should make them really thrive faster than just waiting on them to multiply eating whats in the fuge.
You may want to see if your LFS will hold your mandarin while you get some pods going. Or you may see if they'll take him/her back until you can get your tank up.
For more specific instructions, check out these links (in addition to REMFs link):
Sumps: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
Copepods: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/breeder2.htm
Phytoplankton: http://melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html
Hope this helps!
Brandon
Since you didn't do your research, now we can try to help you save your fish.
Its relatively easy to make your own food... but it will take you some time to get things going.
I'm not an expert by any means, but from what I know you generally want a fuge with chaeto in it. Get some pods and put in the chaeto (I hear copepods are generally preferred by mandarins over amphipods). Finally, start some cultures of phytoplankton to feed the pods... this should make them really thrive faster than just waiting on them to multiply eating whats in the fuge.
You may want to see if your LFS will hold your mandarin while you get some pods going. Or you may see if they'll take him/her back until you can get your tank up.
For more specific instructions, check out these links (in addition to REMFs link):
Sumps: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
Copepods: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/breeder2.htm
Phytoplankton: http://melevsreef.com/phytoplankton.html
Hope this helps!
Brandon
zoomfish1
New member
In a 3 months old tank? Lets be real here and say what needs to be said. For a mandarin, the skills needed for it's survival, probably aren't there. Even for an experienced reef keeper, it's difficult to keep one alive.
Bottom line, take the fish back for store credit and get something that you can keep alive. Of course if you're interested in investing in a sump, overflows, return pump, macro algea, plumbing, pods, and probably more that I am forgetting, then go for it.
We have all seen a pretty fish and bought it before we knew how to take care of it. For me, it was an expensive part of the learning curve. Our objective here is to help others not make the same mistakes. Right. So, don't be afraid to say what needs to be said. I'm not trying to be mean or bash her for buying it, I've done it too. So, JennyB, take it back and learn. Research, ask questions and make good decisions. Hopefully, we can help you not to make some of the mistakes we made.
Thanks for listening.
Bottom line, take the fish back for store credit and get something that you can keep alive. Of course if you're interested in investing in a sump, overflows, return pump, macro algea, plumbing, pods, and probably more that I am forgetting, then go for it.
We have all seen a pretty fish and bought it before we knew how to take care of it. For me, it was an expensive part of the learning curve. Our objective here is to help others not make the same mistakes. Right. So, don't be afraid to say what needs to be said. I'm not trying to be mean or bash her for buying it, I've done it too. So, JennyB, take it back and learn. Research, ask questions and make good decisions. Hopefully, we can help you not to make some of the mistakes we made.
Thanks for listening.
Jenn,
I feel your plight. Prior to becoming an active member of reefcentral, we simply trusted the good people at our local fish store (LFS in case you don't know the acronym). We had developed a relationship with these people for over a year, and we really only had one purchase in the past where their advice was questionable, and that was regarding aggressiveness Anyway, when we bought our little mandarin he came with absolutely no instruction regarding his special care in regard to feeding ("he'll eat anything") WRONG!
I did research him when I got home and it was pure luck that our tank was large enough, had enough live rock, and had been established for over a year since these are the basic requirements before even considering getting a Mandarin. As I said, we were lucky.
Without being judgmental Jenny, consider this a lesson learned (I know we did) to resist impulse purchases in the future. If you like a fish, ask your LFS if they will put it hold, even for a day, while you go home and research it. Google the fish you're looking at, you will usually come up with a number of online retailers that sell the fish. Read the description carefully about any fish you are considering buying, and consult several sites. You can also try www.about.com it has some detailed information on most breeds. Even a general search on "saltwater aquariums" will find a lot of information helpful info for the novice reefkeeper. And of you course, you can always ask people here for their opinion on your specific situation (not that the people here are God, but some of them come pretty close, lol!)
To summarize, don't impulse buy, do your research, and don't blindly trust any one persons opinion (here, at the LFS, or anyone else for that matter). Consulting several people allows you to consider everyone's advice and experiences to make an educated decision about your own situation.
If you want to get the most out of ReefCentral I would strongly recommend a Premium membership. You will be able to use the search engine, and won't always need to wait for an answer. It's well worth the $25.
Check out these articles:
A great article about Mandarins..this is the one that made me sit up and take notice when we got ours!
http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_care.html
Pods FAQ
http://www.oceanpods.com/faq.html
How to Cultivate your own pods
http://home.alltel.net/teakiebarber/index_files/Page344.htm
I think you will see after reading these articles, than unless you happen to luck out with a Mandarin that will eat prepared food (very unlikely) that you would be best to return him.
Finally, I know that to a newcomer some of the members here can come across a little harshly at times, but their words come out of concern for the animals. Don't take it personally. I've found no better place online for live advice.
Hey, the good news is the you've learned a valuable lesson and luckily "no fish were harmed" during this lesson, lol!
Good luck!
Steph
I feel your plight. Prior to becoming an active member of reefcentral, we simply trusted the good people at our local fish store (LFS in case you don't know the acronym). We had developed a relationship with these people for over a year, and we really only had one purchase in the past where their advice was questionable, and that was regarding aggressiveness Anyway, when we bought our little mandarin he came with absolutely no instruction regarding his special care in regard to feeding ("he'll eat anything") WRONG!
I did research him when I got home and it was pure luck that our tank was large enough, had enough live rock, and had been established for over a year since these are the basic requirements before even considering getting a Mandarin. As I said, we were lucky.
Without being judgmental Jenny, consider this a lesson learned (I know we did) to resist impulse purchases in the future. If you like a fish, ask your LFS if they will put it hold, even for a day, while you go home and research it. Google the fish you're looking at, you will usually come up with a number of online retailers that sell the fish. Read the description carefully about any fish you are considering buying, and consult several sites. You can also try www.about.com it has some detailed information on most breeds. Even a general search on "saltwater aquariums" will find a lot of information helpful info for the novice reefkeeper. And of you course, you can always ask people here for their opinion on your specific situation (not that the people here are God, but some of them come pretty close, lol!)
To summarize, don't impulse buy, do your research, and don't blindly trust any one persons opinion (here, at the LFS, or anyone else for that matter). Consulting several people allows you to consider everyone's advice and experiences to make an educated decision about your own situation.
If you want to get the most out of ReefCentral I would strongly recommend a Premium membership. You will be able to use the search engine, and won't always need to wait for an answer. It's well worth the $25.
Check out these articles:
A great article about Mandarins..this is the one that made me sit up and take notice when we got ours!
http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_care.html
Pods FAQ
http://www.oceanpods.com/faq.html
How to Cultivate your own pods
http://home.alltel.net/teakiebarber/index_files/Page344.htm
I think you will see after reading these articles, than unless you happen to luck out with a Mandarin that will eat prepared food (very unlikely) that you would be best to return him.
Finally, I know that to a newcomer some of the members here can come across a little harshly at times, but their words come out of concern for the animals. Don't take it personally. I've found no better place online for live advice.
Hey, the good news is the you've learned a valuable lesson and luckily "no fish were harmed" during this lesson, lol!
Good luck!
Steph
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