Green Mandarin peeling??

Mini Coop · Mar 4, 2017

so, I have a green Mandarin and a scooter in QT. I had 2 wrasses as well, but neither of them made it. One didn't make it 24 hours and the other got injured and a bacterial infection. I have done a coupe of water changes.
Nitrites are 0, ammonia 0. Salinity 1.025
My mandarin appears to have little bumbs or raised bumps on her skin. I noticed especially on the bottom side of her. Yesterday I noticed some stringy stuff that appears to be coming off of her! Could she be shedding her slime coat? If so is that bad? I have antibiotics on hand now. I'm not sure if she is eating or not, sometimes I see her up against the glass...I'm pretty sure I have a lot of isopods on the glass. She has been in QT for a little over a week and started second round of prazi yesterday. I can't tell if she looks like she is losing weight. I've been feeding copepods live 3x a day, frozen copepods and the nutra ova eggs 2x a day. In the pic you can see the kind of stringy slime I'm talking about.
Please help. I just couldn't stand if I lost 3/4 fish in QT. The scooter is bee booing around just fine. All over the place.

Mini Coop · Mar 4, 2017

She does seem to be lacking energy and hiding more than when o first got her. Got a good look at her from the front this morning...could I really be seeing actual white spots burrowed under her skin? I've thought I've seen white spots, but it's hard to tell with her color and with the sand in the tank.
Dare I even say...ich? Not sure how she would have had it. None of the other fish showed any such signs...and she was in QT 2 weeks prior to me getting her with my coral guy - the one I got her from. The QT she was in was in a brand new set up as well. And showed no signs of anything while with him....ugh. At least she isn't in my display...but still.
Any advice would be great. I'm afraid mandarins won't respond well to copper....

Humblefish · Mar 4, 2017

Mandarins secrete their mucous coat, so that is probably what you are seeing. I usually notice it first thing in the morning, after the lights flip on. If you look at your mandarin at night they look almost white.

Mini Coop · Mar 4, 2017

What about her white bumps and raised spots?

Mini Coop · Mar 4, 2017

Humblefish said:
Mandarins secrete their mucous coat, so that is probably what you are seeing. I usually notice it first thing in the morning, after the lights flip on. If you look at your mandarin at night they look almost white.

And yes, when I first turn on the lights, she looks so pale! Her color is still coming back, but these raised apots are worrying me.

Humblefish · Mar 4, 2017

I see some white spots on her fin, but assumed that was just sand/substrate from the QT.

melypr1985 · Mar 4, 2017

When I had my ich breakout it ended up being pretty bad. My mandy had bumps just like that and she didn't make it. I took her to my lfs in hopes that she could survive it and have a happy home somewhere, but she died not long after I left her there. I hope I'm wrong, but I would start TTM on her and the scooter just to be safe. The mucus thing is normal though.

Mini Coop · Mar 4, 2017

melypr1985 said:
When I had my ich breakout it ended up being pretty bad. My mandy had bumps just like that and she didn't make it. I took her to my lfs in hopes that she could survive it and have a happy home somewhere, but she died not long after I left her there. I hope I'm wrong, but I would start TTM on her and the scooter just to be safe. The mucus thing is normal though.

I will just be so heartbroken. I have no idea how she would have even picked it up! Found someone who has an extra tank I can borrow. I will pick it up tomorrow. I sure hope she makes it. I have wanted one for so long. Finally got her. To lose her....ugh.

melypr1985 · Mar 4, 2017

Mini Coop said:
I will just be so heartbroken. I have no idea how she would have even picked it up! Found someone who has an extra tank I can borrow. I will pick it up tomorrow. I sure hope she makes it. I have wanted one for so long. Finally got her. To lose her....ugh.

keep in mind, this all happened like two years ago. My memory might not be as sharp on that one as it would be for an even that happened last week. Running TTM would be the best precaution here though no matter what.

Mini Coop · Mar 4, 2017

melypr1985 said:
keep in mind, this all happened like two years ago. My memory might not be as sharp on that one as it would be for an even that happened last week. Running TTM would be the best precaution here though no matter what.

Agreed. I'll get it set up tomorrow.
Should I basically just run the HOB filer with nothing in it since a sponge or fabric would be really difficult to get clean if any ich?

melypr1985 · Mar 4, 2017

Mini Coop said:
Agreed. I'll get it set up tomorrow.
Should I basically just run the HOB filer with nothing in it since a sponge or fabric would be really difficult to get clean if any ich?

yes, you could do this absolutely, but it would be easier to do if you had two of them. That way one can be used while the other is sterilized and drying.

Humblefish · Mar 4, 2017

I've never seen ich on a mandarin, but would trust @melypr1985's instincts on this one.

More info on TTM here (just in case): https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

melypr1985 · Mar 4, 2017

Humblefish said:
I've never seen ich on a mandarin, but would trust @melypr1985's instincts on this one.

More info on TTM here (just in case): https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

I just wish I had kept a picture of it. It looked just like that.

Mini Coop · Mar 5, 2017

Humblefish said:
I've never seen ich on a mandarin, but would trust @melypr1985's instincts on this one.

More info on TTM here (just in case): https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

I know! Just so weird! The guy at the LFS said the same thing...how rare it is for a mandarin to get it. Especially when none of the others had it. The scooter is all brown and white, so it's nearly impossible to see if he has it! But I figure the TTM won't hurt to make sure things are ok. I'll try and get a better pic of her today. But @melypr1985's experience is I think confirming what I fear...
Thank you both! I'll update soon.

Mini Coop · Mar 5, 2017

Ok. The tank I can borrow is a 20 long...if the filter Runs ok, i don't have to fill it all the way, do I? Can I just fill with 8-10 gal for TTM? Also, @Humblefish i have already done the 2 rounds of prazi, so I'm good with that, correct?

CarrieB · Mar 5, 2017

Mini Coop said:
Ok. The tank I can borrow is a 20 long...if the filter Runs ok, i don't have to fill it all the way, do I? Can I just fill with 8-10 gal for TTM? Also, @Humblefish i have already done the 2 rounds of prazi, so I'm good with that, correct?

You don't have to fill the 20g all the way up. I've used mine as a "pseudo" 10g when necessary.

Humblefish · Mar 5, 2017

CarrieB said:
You don't have to fill the 20g all the way up. I've used mine as a "pseudo" 10g when necessary.

^^ Agree

Mini Coop · Mar 5, 2017

Ok. Well. Here are some good shots of her. Picked up the tank - soaking the parts and pieces in vinegar and water - they are gross. Cleaning them out good. Will set up TTM tomorrow.
I also noticed a big white spot like the color had been shaved off in the back...beat pics I could get...she's a little camera shy right now.
Am I also dealing with some kind of infection?
@melypr1985 @Humblefish

Mini Coop · Mar 5, 2017

4FordFamily · Mar 5, 2017

Humblefish said:
I've never seen ich on a mandarin, but would trust @melypr1985's instincts on this one.

More info on TTM here (just in case): https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

I've seen it before one time. It survived on its own though. Powder blue tang started the downward spiral and when it was all done (7 years ago) all that remained was a chromis, a melanarus wrasse, and a red mandarin.

In fairness, I wasn't very good at diagnosing velvet versus ich back then. The fast and nearly total deaths have me somewhat second guessing but I'm sure the spots were larger than I feel like velvet would be.

To continue this "thinking out loud" if a fish had a very thick slime coat like a mandarin goby, perhaps the spot collects more mucous and appears larger like ich.

Op, I know this isn't making you feel any better I hope it's just ich. Thoughts on some of that @Humblefish, @Brew12, and @melypr1985?