Dragonetts and mandarins

[Olliefowler]

Ok, so i had a mandarin for 3 weeks and today he died.
I had him in a qt with other fish, as i am carrying out hypo and the lfs i bought him from keep there salinity at 0.14 so i thought would make sense to hit 2 birds with 1 stone.
I have been trying to target feed him brine shrimp and mysis.
From when i had him he hasnt really been too active but seemed ok just subdued.
Attacking his reflection etc.

Anything i have done wrong?







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[Sillyfishies]

Mandarins have to be constantly eating. Which means they need a stable population of pods, which a qt tank in hypo does not have. He most likely starved

 

[Olliefowler]

Yea i think he did. But i am so worried of getting white spot again.
Pod population in my dt is massive!
Also they were feeding him frozen in the shop!
Bit confused!


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[bribo12]

Mandarins really don't get ich due to their slime coats ring quite thick. They can but it's less common ten most othe fish we keep. If you're going to qt the mandarin he needs a tank setup with tons of sand and rock to forage on while in qt. I'd just put it right in the display no qt or them.


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[54seaweed]

this is just a thought since you said you were dealing with white spot / ick
i know you said you were in hypo but were you treating the qt tank with copper also ? mandarins cant tolerate copper as they dont have scales like other fish

dont think it died from starvation as it takes 7 to 10 days for that to even show signs

 

[Olliefowler]

No copper!
The only other thing is obviously as i was trying to target feed him he had other fish kind of busy around him. Could that of caused stress?
I think it may of been starvation as he got more and more lethargic.
Im not sure why though!


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[Sillyfishies]

this is just a thought since you said you were dealing with white spot / ick
i know you said you were in hypo but were you treating the qt tank with copper also ? mandarins cant tolerate copper as they dont have scales like other fish

dont think it died from starvation as it takes 7 to 10 days for that to even show signs

The mandarin was in the qt for 3 weeks (21 days). I think that's plenty for it to starve off.

 

[Ingy]

Next time I'd just QT the mandarin without the additional stress of hyposalinity or other treatments. Lots of rocks in there like someone mentioned for pods. And all by himself.
I agree you starved him. 3 weeks without anything to eat that he wants would have done him in.


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[Olliefowler]

Yea the reason i put him in with the other fish in hypo is because the lfs keep there salinity at .014 so it was kind of convinient!
He ate but i dont think enough because of the competition.

I love the mandarins and want to try again eventually but just want to know the best way. Bearing in mind my dt has been seeded and basically the tank is swarming with pods.
However on the other hand i am treating for ich now and it is a right pain to do and so want to avoid risking getting it again!!


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[thehowards]

I have had my mandarin almost a year now I got mine as a juvenile and has been growing ever since. I would just go straight for the DT since he will have to food source and your less likely to have a mandarin with ich than any other fish just acclimate him. Also some stores sell live pods in the bottle I put a bottle in with mine the day I added him just incase even though I already had a large population. Just watch the mandarin they eat all the time so if you don't see it striking the rock all the time it's not eating.


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[54seaweed]

The mandarin was in the qt for 3 weeks (21 days). I think that's plenty for it to starve off.

i misread the 3 weeks thought it was 3 days
yes 21 days is long enough to starve

 

[PB_Smith]

Am I the only one who wonders about the store keeping the specific gravity at 1.014?

That seems awfully low to maintain the tanks at.
For hypo-salinity treatment it's fine for a few weeks, but maintaining the salinity that low would begin to lead to organ damage.

Does the lfs you shop at keep it that low all the time or were they trying to deal with parasites?

If they keep it that low all the time that calls into question their knowledge and ability, if they were keeping it that low to treat the tanks, you should have not purchased anything at that time.

 

[Mattyfelts]

Am I the only one who wonders about the store keeping the specific gravity at 1.014?

That seems awfully low to maintain the tanks at.
For hypo-salinity treatment it's fine for a few weeks, but maintaining the salinity that low would begin to lead to organ damage.

Does the lfs you shop at keep it that low all the time or were they trying to deal with parasites?

If they keep it that low all the time that calls into question their knowledge and ability, if they were keeping it that low to treat the tanks, you should have not purchased anything at that time.

alot of lfs do this so that the fish seem prestine (parasite free) and will be purchased faster. Since they only plan on haveing the fish for 1-3 weeks the fish live. HOWEVER, that being said its still cruel

 

[TheTodd]

I'm not sure that short term hypo is "cruel" and it is way easier on a fish than copper. I know some stores use hypo going with the "it's only here a while" concept, but I wonder how many people go home and hurt their fish by raising the salinity to normal too quickly (which is what would be done under normal acclimation timelines).

For future attempts, I would either just put it in the DT or QT in regular salinity and make it the only fish. I'd add pods after a couple days if it did not eat frozen and even a few live rocks and some chaeto.


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[Olliefowler]

Yea they said they keep all there fish at that salinity to prevent parasites. But like you said it is almost impossible to acclimate it within a reasonable timescale as you should only change salinity max .02 a day if raising it. From what i have heard!
Yea well i think next time i will qt it for a couple of weeks alone. Bringing salinity up and of course feeding it on frozen and pods!
I think him adapting to a new home and so much competiton straight away was too much for him!
I feel sad but at the same time anxious to learn from my mistakes!


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[Gregcoyote]

As a ex LFS owner, I can comment that the large majority of mandarins don't make it long. Some do. Especially ones that arrive fat. They eat thousands of pods, so they either have to dependably have a non-contended food source that others, like wrasses can't wipe out. Or the tank needs to produce a huge number of pods.


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[Olliefowler]

So its ideal to try and find a bigger one?
They are all similar at the place i go to! So it seems i will need to try and do the fattening myself!
I feel i need to try again and have him in a seperate tank which i can fill with pods and constantly fatten him up!


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[Gregcoyote]

If you buy a skinny one, you are reducing your chances of success many fold. He wasn't skinny because he was eating well at the LFS. They are very ick resistant, but very prone to starve even in larger tanks like my 300. My wrasses outcompete any dragonette I might place in there.

My son on the other hand has had a fat one for years, and that's because he will accept prepared foods and has little direct competition.


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[Mebbid]

I would suggest starting a culture of pods before you try again. Make sure its accepting prepared foods before you buy it and load lots of pods into the tank regularly for it to eat.

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[Olliefowler]

My dt is rammed with pods. Literally the glass is crawling! But obviously the store keeps there salinity really low so putting it straight in my dt is risky!
How long can i acclimate him from 0.014 to 0.026!?


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