Quarantine Mandarin?

[Duchess]

I am a firm believer in quarantining new fish before adding them to the community tank to avoid the introduction of diseases.

However, I have read that the Mandarins should be added to the community tank w/o quarantining because of their feeding requirements. I also have read that Mandarins have a slime coating that makes them disease-resistant, thus relatively safer to add directly to the community tank.

I would appreciate any advice/input on this issue. I'd love to add a Mandarin to my tank but I want to do it safely.

Thank you!

Lynn

 

[Mariner]

Both things you've read are true.
As a rule, I quarantine all fish before adding them, but I did not quarantine my mandarin for the reasons you stated -- it worked out fine for me. IMO, if you buy from a dealer with fairly clean tanks and make sure not to allow any water from the bag into your tank when you introduce the fish, the chances of having a problem would be extremely low. You might also consider giving the mandarin a bath or dip in a separate container of saltwater between the bag and your tank.
FWIW,
Mariner

 

[Duchess]

Thanks for your input Mariner!

Lynn

 

[mysis]

What about feeding issues, or does yours just eat pods?

 

[sunfishh]

Mysis mandarin eat pods.

Duchess I would put them in the display ASAP. Usually these fish have had very little to eat at the whole salers and LFS. You need to start putting weight back on them by letting them munch on the pods in your display tank.

 

[Duchess]

Thanks, Sunfishh! That's what I'm going to do!

Lynn

 

[bigfruits]

a friend of mine put his mandarin in a quarantine tank for a few days only to try to get it to eat frozen. after a few days of blowing food in his face he started accepting blood worms and was moved to the display tank. im not sure if this is a good method or if he got lucky. if you try this i wouldnt keep him in the quarantine tank for more than 4 or 5 days unless it has a pod population.

 

[Duchess]

Thanks for the info. My new Mandarin is in the display tank and seems to be having fun. So far so good!