methylene/dragonet

fishgirljockey · Jan 3, 2023

Can I give a red ruby dragonet a methylene blue bath? and then can I put him into Kanaplex? If not, what can I use? He isn't sick or anything. I just bought him so I'd like to QT him! This is my normal routine whenever I have a new fish, but I know these can be more sensitive to medications. If y'all can let me know, appreciate it!

Sharkbait19 · Jan 3, 2023

Because of the very thick slime coat, dragonets tend to be quite disease resistant. The best way to qt one is to keep it in a qt for 76 days to make sure nothing pops up. Be sure to keep it well fed.

landlubber · Jan 3, 2023

Sharkbait19 said:
Because of the very thick slime coat, dragonets tend to be quite disease resistant. The best way to qt one is to keep it in a qt for 76 days to make sure nothing pops up. Be sure to keep it well fed.

for fish that often arrive emaciated and reluctant to accept prepared food sources i'd be very leery of subjecting one to a fallow period and expecting not to have it starve to death.

fishgirljockey · Jan 3, 2023

Sharkbait19 said:
Because of the very thick slime coat, dragonets tend to be quite disease resistant. The best way to qt one is to keep it in a qt for 76 days to make sure nothing pops up. Be sure to keep it well fed.

Yeah, that is what I have read and heard about them. I just wish there was something for them. Maybe someone needs to jump on that idea. There has to be something! I know they are resistant but they can carry velvet and you won't know it. I am completely traumatized about the velvet situation I went through and I was reading about how the dragonets can carry the parasite without you knowing, so, I am just very hesitant to put him with the others in the quarantine buckets I have them in. I have the Flame Angel, Ruby, by herself in a small 2.6 gallon tank. The other fish...there is only 3 (pink skunk, maroon clown and a citrus clown goby. I wanted to put him with the 3, but maybe I can just make him a separate bucket for himself. He eats mysis and brine. He'll pretty much eat anything... THANK GOD lol So maybe ill just do that. I was just wondering though if there was any meds. I just remembered while typing this... I can put him in hyposalinity for a couple days.

fishgirljockey · Jan 3, 2023

landlubber said:
for fish that often arrive emaciated and reluctant to accept prepared food sources i'd be very leery of subjecting one to a fallow period and expecting not to have it starve to death.

He eats mysis and brine very well. He isn't a picky eater...hallelujah!

DaJMasta · Jan 3, 2023

I haven't heard that methylene blue is a problem for them, but I'm not sure if it actually treats for all that much. I would not use formalin on them, though. They seem to tolerate it somewhat but can die in the next couple of days - mandarins seem to fare much better but it's still not recommended for them either.

Sharkbait19 · Jan 3, 2023

landlubber said:
for fish that often arrive emaciated and reluctant to accept prepared food sources i'd be very leery of subjecting one to a fallow period and expecting not to have it starve to death.

The important part is making sure the qt has lots of food available - the reason I don’t suggest meds is that they would kill pods.

fishgirljockey said:
Yeah, that is what I have read and heard about them. I just wish there was something for them. Maybe someone needs to jump on that idea. There has to be something! I know they are resistant but they can carry velvet and you won't know it. I am completely traumatized about the velvet situation I went through and I was reading about how the dragonets can carry the parasite without you knowing, so, I am just very hesitant to put him with the others in the quarantine buckets I have them in. I have the Flame Angel, Ruby, by herself in a small 2.6 gallon tank. The other fish...there is only 3 (pink skunk, maroon clown and a citrus clown goby. I wanted to put him with the 3, but maybe I can just make him a separate bucket for himself. He eats mysis and brine. He'll pretty much eat anything... THANK GOD lol So maybe ill just do that. I was just wondering though if there was any meds. I just remembered while typing this... I can put him in hyposalinity for a couple days.

The point of the 76 days is to rule out any potential disease. If it came with velvet, even the dragonet would eventually be effected.
If you haven’t gotten it yet, you can consider ordering from a vendor who quarantines like dr reef.

fishgirljockey · Jan 3, 2023

Sharkbait19 said:
The important part is making sure the qt has lots of food available - the reason I don’t suggest meds is that they would kill pods.

The point of the 76 days is to rule out any potential disease. If it came with velvet, even the dragonet would eventually be effected.
If you haven’t gotten it yet, you can consider ordering from a vendor who quarantines like dr reef.

What would someone use to treat a dragonet if it had velvet or illness? Thanks for the info by the way. He thankfully eats very well. He loves mysis and brine so QT him won't be an issue.