freaking out- please help! - Page 2

SauceSBC · 05/12/2012, 01:37 PM

Also, I hope you dont have the mandarin in HT. It will most likely not make it. They dont do well in quarantine. They are an experienced fish as I have mentioned and others. They have a very particular diet that requires you to know what your doing and for you to keep up on their food, which is typically very difficult unless the tank has been setup for one from day 1.[/QUOTE]

I know about the mandarin. That fish is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to transfer over to sw. I keep up with the copepods on the reg. I wouldn't let it starve. He is still in my DT (display tank? right? I'm still learning lingo

, I know better than to move him. Though he is upset after yesterday (my having to take out most of the live rock to catch the other fish) He is doing the tail clenching thing. I'm keeping a good eye on him, as that is my favorite fish. Ive done my research on the animals I have.
The tank came with the inverts, and some clown fish. I rehomed the clownfish because they were the only fish in the tank for a whole year, and were way too aggressive to any fish I bought.

The tank has been established for a year and a half, and I still put in the pods often. No worries, I know how to take care of my fish- it's the disasters I was unprepared for. I do much research before I buy a new pet. I'm not as clueless as you may think.

sponger0 · 05/12/2012, 01:42 PM

Well by your original post, I would assume you are new. Either I assume someone knows everything or nothing. That way no detail is missed. So you are also aware of their slimey coat and ich?

blt · 05/12/2012, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SauceSBC

I went to my local fish store and got 10 gal of clean established sw (already been through the nitrogen cycle so I can put the fish straight in it).

There is no such thing as "established water" when it comes to the nitrogen cycle. Adding water that was in a cycled tank does not help you skip or accelerate the cycle in yours.

f3honda4me · 05/12/2012, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blt

There is no such thing as "established water" when it comes to the nitrogen cycle. Adding water that was in a cycled tank does not help you skip or accelerate the cycle in yours.

This +1

Cloudburst2000 · 05/13/2012, 09:17 AM

You can't leave any fish in the main tank while quarantining and treating for ich. Even though ich is showing on the other fish, they are still carries of the parasite, and will reinfect any fish you have just cured. Also, ich cysts will be on the rock, substratre, basically anywhere it can attach. You must leave your main tank fallow (or fishless) for a minimum of six weeks to ensure that all ich cysts on the rocks/sustrate/etc have died out. If you treat all the fish for ich in the quarantine tank and move them back over to the main tank before six weeks, you risk reinfecting all the fish with the parasite because the parasite may still be in your main tank. You have to make sure to leave the main tank fishless for long enough to allow ALL the ich cysts to die out. Do it right the first time. It would totally suck to treat all the fish for ich only to reinfect them all by returning them to the main tank too soon.

And sadly to say, I really think you need to take the mandarin back to your local fish store. You don't have the needed expertise to care for this fish. Wait a few months to make sure you have proper pod population and then possibly get a new one. Mandarins are one of the harder fish to keep in this hobby because of their very specific dietary needs. So many mandarins die because people try to keep them before they are ready. The same sadly goes for your anemone. Anemones are another marine animal that tend to require more expertise. I would take it back to the fish store also.

EllieSuz · 05/13/2012, 09:52 AM

Cloudburst is absolutely correct, except six weeks may be too short a time. I've read a lot of threads that recommend 72 days, which is a little over ten weeks. There are variables that effect the lifespan of the parasite and it's better to be safe than sorry. Six weeks is adequate to quarantine new fish, but ten weeks is necessary to be certain your fish won't be reinfected when you return them to the Display Tank. Although I've said this already, the Mandarin is not likely to make it through quarantine. Even if it eats frozen foods, you would need to vastly overfeed your QT in order for it to survive and this would be deadly for the other fish.

ken55 · 05/13/2012, 11:51 AM

Which kind of brings us back to my earlier suggestion. You can cycle a tank in the six to ten week timeframe. If you follow the suggestions of rehoming the mandarin and anemone and have everything else in Quarantine then it's certainly an option.

New sand. New rock. No Ich at all by time the fish are ready to return to a display tank. (Just not all at once).

I'll stop now

Cloudburst2000 · 05/13/2012, 01:45 PM

Well, I don't think he needs to completely get rid of the rock. I would think about getting new sand though. Considering the poor maintenance the previous owner did on the tank, no telling what ickiness is built up in the sand. If it were me, I would totally break the tank down. I would place the rock in a rubbermaid container with flow but no light. I would throw out the sand. I would have the tank drilled and install a sump. Sure, he doesn't HAVE to have a sump, but a sump is always better then no sump. Might as well make the change now so he doesn't have to break the tank down at some future point. After the tank has been drilled, plumbed, and sump added on, I would add the rock back into the tank with new sand. Allow the tank to cycle again. All of this should take a couple months at least. IMO, two months should be a long enough time period for the ich cysts to have died out. Once the tank has cycled, I would first start adding the inverts back into the tank. And then I would start adding the fish back one by one...not all at once. Don't want to overwhelm the tank with too much bioload at one time.

During the time that I was breaking the tank down, resetting it back up with a sump, and letting it cycle again, I would take the mandarin and anemone to the LFS. I would put all the remaining fish in one quarantine tank and treat for ich with the hyposalinity method. I would place all the coral and other inverts in another tank where they will be waiting to go back into the tank once it has been set up again and cycled.

05/12/2012, 01:37 PM	#26
SauceSBC Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Kalamazoo, MI Posts: 31	Also, I hope you dont have the mandarin in HT. It will most likely not make it. They dont do well in quarantine. They are an experienced fish as I have mentioned and others. They have a very particular diet that requires you to know what your doing and for you to keep up on their food, which is typically very difficult unless the tank has been setup for one from day 1.[/QUOTE] I know about the mandarin. That fish is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to transfer over to sw. I keep up with the copepods on the reg. I wouldn't let it starve. He is still in my DT (display tank? right? I'm still learning lingo, I know better than to move him. Though he is upset after yesterday (my having to take out most of the live rock to catch the other fish) He is doing the tail clenching thing. I'm keeping a good eye on him, as that is my favorite fish. Ive done my research on the animals I have. The tank came with the inverts, and some clown fish. I rehomed the clownfish because they were the only fish in the tank for a whole year, and were way too aggressive to any fish I bought. The tank has been established for a year and a half, and I still put in the pods often. No worries, I know how to take care of my fish- it's the disasters I was unprepared for. I do much research before I buy a new pet. I'm not as clueless as you may think.

05/13/2012, 09:52 AM	#31
EllieSuz Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 3,858	Cloudburst is absolutely correct, except six weeks may be too short a time. I've read a lot of threads that recommend 72 days, which is a little over ten weeks. There are variables that effect the lifespan of the parasite and it's better to be safe than sorry. Six weeks is adequate to quarantine new fish, but ten weeks is necessary to be certain your fish won't be reinfected when you return them to the Display Tank. Although I've said this already, the Mandarin is not likely to make it through quarantine. Even if it eats frozen foods, you would need to vastly overfeed your QT in order for it to survive and this would be deadly for the other fish. __________________ "You can't learn this hobby one question at a time." (Mr. Tuskfish) Eileen Current Tank Info: I'm out of the hobby, but used to have a60 gal. reef, refugium in sump, Internal Mag 9 return, SC 302 skimmer, two Maxi-Jet 1200's modded, four bulb T5 Lighting, Reefkeeper Lite Controller with three PC4's, Little Fishes GFO reactor.

05/13/2012, 11:51 AM	#32
ken55 A wing and a prayer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SoChes Posts: 635	Which kind of brings us back to my earlier suggestion. You can cycle a tank in the six to ten week timeframe. If you follow the suggestions of rehoming the mandarin and anemone and have everything else in Quarantine then it's certainly an option. New sand. New rock. No Ich at all by time the fish are ready to return to a display tank. (Just not all at once). I'll stop now __________________ Current tank info: Last time I saw them they were leaning against a tree in my ex's backyard.

05/12/2012, 01:42 PM	#27
sponger0 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 6,659	Well by your original post, I would assume you are new. Either I assume someone knows everything or nothing. That way no detail is missed. So you are also aware of their slimey coat and ich?

05/13/2012, 09:17 AM	#30
Cloudburst2000 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 1,485	You can't leave any fish in the main tank while quarantining and treating for ich. Even though ich is showing on the other fish, they are still carries of the parasite, and will reinfect any fish you have just cured. Also, ich cysts will be on the rock, substratre, basically anywhere it can attach. You must leave your main tank fallow (or fishless) for a minimum of six weeks to ensure that all ich cysts on the rocks/sustrate/etc have died out. If you treat all the fish for ich in the quarantine tank and move them back over to the main tank before six weeks, you risk reinfecting all the fish with the parasite because the parasite may still be in your main tank. You have to make sure to leave the main tank fishless for long enough to allow ALL the ich cysts to die out. Do it right the first time. It would totally suck to treat all the fish for ich only to reinfect them all by returning them to the main tank too soon. And sadly to say, I really think you need to take the mandarin back to your local fish store. You don't have the needed expertise to care for this fish. Wait a few months to make sure you have proper pod population and then possibly get a new one. Mandarins are one of the harder fish to keep in this hobby because of their very specific dietary needs. So many mandarins die because people try to keep them before they are ready. The same sadly goes for your anemone. Anemones are another marine animal that tend to require more expertise. I would take it back to the fish store also.

05/13/2012, 01:45 PM	#33
Cloudburst2000 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 1,485	Well, I don't think he needs to completely get rid of the rock. I would think about getting new sand though. Considering the poor maintenance the previous owner did on the tank, no telling what ickiness is built up in the sand. If it were me, I would totally break the tank down. I would place the rock in a rubbermaid container with flow but no light. I would throw out the sand. I would have the tank drilled and install a sump. Sure, he doesn't HAVE to have a sump, but a sump is always better then no sump. Might as well make the change now so he doesn't have to break the tank down at some future point. After the tank has been drilled, plumbed, and sump added on, I would add the rock back into the tank with new sand. Allow the tank to cycle again. All of this should take a couple months at least. IMO, two months should be a long enough time period for the ich cysts to have died out. Once the tank has cycled, I would first start adding the inverts back into the tank. And then I would start adding the fish back one by one...not all at once. Don't want to overwhelm the tank with too much bioload at one time. During the time that I was breaking the tank down, resetting it back up with a sump, and letting it cycle again, I would take the mandarin and anemone to the LFS. I would put all the remaining fish in one quarantine tank and treat for ich with the hyposalinity method. I would place all the coral and other inverts in another tank where they will be waiting to go back into the tank once it has been set up again and cycled.