New mandarin, quarantine and raising salinity

[Brett S]

So I have some fish arriving from LiveAquaria tomorrow, including a mandarin. Given the unique feeding requirements of the mandarin and their natural parasite resistance I had pretty well convinced myself that I was going to break protocol, skip the quarantine, and add it right to my DT.

However, it just occurred to me that LiveAquaria fish typically come in at a salinity of about 1.018 and I run my DT at 1.026. Normally I’ll put new fish into quarantine at 1.018 and slowly raise it to 1.026 over a few weeks during the quarantine period, so now I’m rethinking my plan for the mandarin.

I think I’ve got three options...

1 - Drip acclimate for some time, then put him right into the DT

2 - Put him into quarantine at 1.018 with the other fish and keep him there for the whole quarantine period slowly raising the salinity over several weeks.

3 - Put him in a separate tank at 1.018 and bring up the salinity over several days, then transfer him to the DT.

Option 1 worries me a bit in that even if I drip acclimate for several hours it would still be raising the salinity a lot in a pretty short period of time.

Options 2 and 3 would be a little easier on the fish in terms of raising the salinity, but I worry about feeding him during the time he’s in the quarantine tank. I could get some pods to feed him, but that might get to be somewhat expensive, especially if I quarantine him for several weeks. With option 2 I’m also worried that the other fish in quarantine with him would eat the pods meant for the mandarin.

What do you think is the best option here?

 

[sghera64]

I’ve always used option 1 (on all my fish - uh, oh l. . . Here comes the flames) and have not lost one to introduction stress or disease.

Is you system set up to keep the Mandarin well fed?

 

[Mjrenz]

I wouldn't recommend option 1, the waste in the water he came in will quickly turn to ammonia when it's exposed to the air. It's really the best practice to match temp and salinity in a qt and just drop him in

 

[Mjrenz]

Also, if you do decide to qt, keep in mind that copper is not safe to use with mandarins

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Most don't recommend quarantine for Mandarins due to not being able to keep them fed. I believe the tank transfer method is used with success, you can search specifics on the forums.

 

[Mjrenz]

Most don't recommend quarantine for Mandarins due to not being able to keep them fed. I believe the tank transfer method is used with success, you can search specifics on the forums.

TTM can be used but chloroquine phosphate is the safest prophylactic treatment for them, this post is very informative
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-and-treatment-guidelines-with-chart.283450/

 

[Mjrenz]

It took me a minute to locate this post from yesterday but this may help

For food, hatching live baby brine shrimp is going to be the sure fire bet. The hatchery from brineshrimpdirect is phenomenal. Squirt them directly in the mandarins face with a turkey baster.

I’d also purchase some decapsulated brine shrimp eggs from amazon. They come dry in a pouch. The decapsulated brine shrimp eggs can be fed directly (non-hatching) and most fish love them. If the mandarin takes to those, you can start mixing in some frozen cyclops then move on to mysis.

I’d wager that’s enough to get the mandarin through 2 months and you’ll hopefully have a mandarin trained on frozen at the end.

You can also culture Tisbe pods in a separate tank, but I think you are going to have enough to worry about and I don’t think it’s necessary.

 

[Paul Sands]

What’s your plan for quarantine? Mandarins don’t usually show ich, velvet and brook, but they can be carriers. It’s a tricky fish to quarantine.

 

[Brett S]

My normal quarantine process is to use TTM and prazi pro prophylacticly, followed by observation and further treatment only if necessary, so I think the mandarin should be fine with that, assuming I can keep him fed.

 

[Brett S]

I’ve always used option 1 (on all my fish - uh, oh l. . . Here comes the flames) and have not lost one to introduction stress or disease.

Is you system set up to keep the Mandarin well fed?

That’s good to know. I’ve used option one before, but not for such a bit salinity difference.

I believe the system should be able to support a mandarin without problems. It’s well established (more than three years old) with a 220G display tank and a 30G fuge.

 

[Paul Sands]

My normal quarantine process is to use TTM and prazi pro prophylacticly, followed by observation and further treatment only if necessary, so I think the mandarin should be fine with that, assuming I can keep him fed.

I’d do the same for the mandarin. Live baby brine will be your best bet. It’s pretty easy to hatch them for two weeks and they don’t fowl the water at all. Also try training to frozen.

 

[sghera64]

That’s good to know. I’ve used option one before, but not for such a bit salinity difference.

I believe the system should be able to support a mandarin without problems. It’s well established (more than three years old) with a 220G display tank and a 30G fuge.

Sounds like you are in great shape. Do you see a lot of pods in the fuge?

 

[Coral Newbie]

Also, if you do decide to qt, keep in mind that copper is not safe to use with mandarins

Is this common knowledge? I had ich in my main display and had to move all my fish into qt which included a mandarin. I used copper power for 45 days @ 2.0 and he did fine. I was able to use a combination of copepods 1 bottle week and l was also lucky enough that he eats pellets. All the fish then went to my new 100 gal tank.

 

[Mjrenz]

Is this common knowledge? I had ich in my main display and had to move all my fish into qt which included a mandarin. I used copper power for 45 days @ 2.0 and he did fine. I was able to use a combination of copepods 1 bottle week and l was also lucky enough that he eats pellets. All the fish then went to my new 100 gal tank.

The link I posted above lists what treatments are safe for what fish. I'm glad yours did fine!

 

[Brett S]

Well, he (or she, I’m not really sure) has arrived. The new fish are in the quarantine tank and I’ll work on slowly raising the salinity level over a few weeks as well as attempting to get the mandarin to take prepared foods.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I’d do the same for the mandarin. Live baby brine will be your best bet. It’s pretty easy to hatch them for two weeks and they don’t fowl the water at all. Also try training to frozen.

Word of caution feeding baby brine with TTM, since you are keeping a sterile tank... if you accidentally over-feed it can cause an ammonia-spike. Feed sparingly.

It happened to me using 2 (10g) QT tanks for a couple small wrasses... they survived but I had to quickly transfer them out of it early.

 

[Brett S]

Word of caution feeding baby brine with TTM, since you are keeping a sterile tank... if you accidentally over-feed it can cause an ammonia-spike. Feed sparingly.

It happened to me using 2 (10g) QT tanks for a couple small wrasses... they survived but I had to quickly transfer them out of it early.

Thanks for the warning, I’ll definitely look out for that. I’ve gotta admit that ammonia worries me when I do TTM and I tend to be pretty heavy on the amquel... usually I give the water a full dose shortly before I add the fish, then I give another full dose about 1.5 days in.

I know that amquel can affect the oxygen level in the water, but I keep an airstone going 24/7 during the TTM, so I haven’t had issues with low oxygen.

 

[Paul Sands]

Word of caution feeding baby brine with TTM, since you are keeping a sterile tank... if you accidentally over-feed it can cause an ammonia-spike. Feed sparingly.

It happened to me using 2 (10g) QT tanks for a couple small wrasses... they survived but I had to quickly transfer them out of it early.

With live baby brine? I know I’ve had that issue with frozen baby brine (very quickly), but never even noticed a blip with live.

But agree in general you have to keep an eye on ammonia regardless.

 

[HawaiianReef]

I'm sorry to be so ignorant, I'm just now starting/planning a course to take in QTing fish.
Would you mind explaining your QT method?
Do you WC? If so how much and how often.
Do you immediately introduce meds to treat them?
Do you use shorter light periods to reduce stress?
You said you use an air stone for oxygen transfer. Do you also use a circulation pump?
Any help is greatly appreciated. I've been just acclimating my fish to my DT and have been lucky so far. But that's gotta stop.

 

[ngoodermuth]

With live baby brine? I know I’ve had that issue with frozen baby brine (very quickly), but never even noticed a blip with live.

But agree in general you have to keep an eye on ammonia regardless.

Yep, live baby brine. I fed too many, and they must have died-off and the ammonia spiked overnight. It was a good amount of ammonia too, I remember it was close to 1.0!