how to properly QT a mandarin goby?

[flobup]

My tank has been fallow for about 6 weeks now due to an ich outbreak I could not contain. didn't QT any fish. lesson learned. the first fish I want to add is a mandarin goby. my DT has an abundance of pods for one to thrive but how should I go about keeping him eating in a QT tank? do I need to order more pods and just add them as if I were feeding him regular fish food?

 

[cojo8888]

Everybody said mandarin goby is copper sensitive. Not sure that's true or not but for sure copper kills pods and etc which is main source food for him. I would do tank transfer method. Seems like perfect for mandarin goby. Google it!

 

[Averhoeven]

Algae barn sells pods. Depends on your QT plan though. Copper will kill the pods. Not sure mandarins do well in copper anyway.
I did mine with TTM and bought pods and it worked. I added frozen mysis when I added the pods to see if I could convince him to eat frozen but I never saw him eat it.
When you say you have pods in your DT, what does that mean? How big of a tank, how long has it been running for etc? Most people's tanks will never be ready.

 

[bluprntguy]

I’d suggest quarantining a mandarin exactly as you would another fish. Use the time in quarantine to help get them on prepared foods. Decapsulated brine shrimp eggs are usually a good first start. Hatching live baby brine shrimp can also keep them sustained for a few weeks. Move on to frozen baby brine shrimp and cyclops.

TTM is a good way to insure they don’t bring in ich and it helps reduce water quality issues that result from overfeeding . I’d also add prazipro treatment to rid them of flukes. Observe for a few weeks for other issues.

You’ll go broke feeding them a bottle of pods everyday. If you are concerned about pods during quarantine, you can start a clean culture of pods a few weeks before. It’s pretty simply and all you really need is a container, some phyto, spirulina, and a bottle of Tisbe pods. Culturing pods in a separate container is really the only option.

Finally, I’d highly recommend a captive bred mandarin from biota. They are generally in better health when they arrive and they are already used to eating prepared foods.

 

[flobup]

Algae barn sells pods. Depends on your QT plan though. Copper will kill the pods. Not sure mandarins do well in copper anyway.
I did mine with TTM and bought pods and it worked. I added frozen mysis when I added the pods to see if I could convince him to eat frozen but I never saw him eat it.
When you say you have pods in your DT, what does that mean? How big of a tank, how long has it been running for etc? Most people's tanks will never be ready.

tanks been up for like 4 months, 55 gallon. and I mean an abudance of pods as in they are everywhere in my DT. huge pods. theres nothing to eat them since my tank is fallow so they are just reproducing like crazy.

 

[bluprntguy]

tanks been up for like 4 months, 55 gallon. and I mean an abudance of pods as in they are everywhere in my DT. huge pods. theres nothing to eat them since my tank is fallow so they are just reproducing like crazy.

A mandarin is going to demolish the pods in a tank that small in short order. Best to train it on frozen food before going in the tank.

 

[Lasse]

Finally, I’d highly recommend a captive bred mandarin from biota

Do you need any QT if you buy direct from them - it is the first fish - why not put it into the DT directly if you get a bred, disease free fish? Or have I missed something? Is not the common believe that bred fish is disease free, especially from parasites?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

A mandarin is going to demolish the pods in a tank that small in short order. Best to train it on frozen food before going in the tank.

And how would you do that in a new QT tank without any pods at all? Add pods? - but that you can do in the DT too. And if it is a bred fish - it already eats frozen food - or?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[bluprntguy]

Do you need any QT if you buy direct from them - it is the first fish - why not put it into the DT directly if you get a bred, disease free fish? Or have I missed something? Is not the common believe that bred fish is disease free, especially from parasites?

That may be the belief, but captive bred fish often get dumped into the same systems that house wild-caught fish. Somewhat depends on the source. I'd assume it's been exposed to something along the supply chain.

And how would you do that in a new QT tank without any pods at all? Add pods? - but that you can do in the DT too. And if it is a bred fish - it already eats frozen food - or?

See my post above. I think a large majority of mandarins will eat decapsulated brine shrimp eggs immediately. They certainly will eat freshly hatched baby brine. It's certainly possible to sustain a mandarin on those two things for a few weeks in quarantine. If you can train them to accept other frozen foods during quarantine that's even better. It's easier to train them on frozen foods when they are alone in quarantine than when they are in a display tank and able to eat pods instead.

Most captive bred mandarins are used to eating both pods and prepared/frozen food. However, they sometime revert to refuse frozen when placed in a new environment. It's best to insure that they understand that you are the food person before dropping them in a display tank where they may disappear for weeks, snack on pods, and forget to eat frozen food at feeding time.

 

[Lasse]

Things can be done in a simple way or in a complicated way. You have a new tank, lot of pods and can acclimate without any other fish bulling the mandarin. IMO – it is a perfect way to introduce a mandarin.

Sincerely Lasse