Mandarin Dragonet is Sick!

rm_olsen · Apr 11, 2021

Hey all, I've had a captive mandarin for almost 2 months now and he had been doing great, he would hunt rocks for pods as well as eat TDO pellets and frozen food. He was growing like a weed but has recently fallen ill. About 3-4 days ago he started breating heavy, only moving a handful of times per day and won't hunt for pods or even eat food I've put right in his face. I have a pair of clowns and a firefish that are all acting normal and another captive mandarin (a much smaller female) that is doing well with no issues. None of the fish have ever bothered him and he has been left to his own devices, sometimes even chasing off the female if she got too close (she loved to follow him around). Water parameters are good and all my corals are doing well. Any advice on how to help him? I love this little guy and don't want him to suffer and/or die. He is also looking like his slime coat or something is coming off in the back half of his body where it looks patchy; it isn't a bump or dot.

Parameters:
Alkalinity: 8.1 dKH
Calcium: 480 ppm
Magnesium: 1560ppm
pH: 8.2
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78 degrees F
Ammonia: Undetectable
Nitrite: Undetectable
Nitrate: 1ppm

Jay Hemdal · Apr 11, 2021

The skin looks milky to me, or is that an artifact of the blue light?
For the lack of anything else to do, have you thought about trying a five minute freshwater dip? If the fish is too far gone, it might die, but if it provides some relief, then that points to a parasitic infection.
Jay

rm_olsen · Apr 11, 2021

It does look milky in the back half of his body, that is not a result of the light. Would it be beneficial to quarantine to treat him, or would that add excess stress?

Jay Hemdal · Apr 11, 2021

Mandarins don’t like QT, and your other mandarin has probably already been exposed, but there is some merit in the dip and move idea....
Jay

rm_olsen · Apr 11, 2021

I performed a freshwater dip and he is currently recovering. The cloudy appearance is gone but I'm not sure if it is because he shed some of his slime coat, or if it was a parasite. Ideas?

Jay Hemdal · Apr 11, 2021

rm_olsen said:
I performed a freshwater dip and he is currently recovering. The cloudy appearance is gone but I'm not sure if it is because he shed some of his slime coat, or if it was a parasite. Ideas?

Possibly both - the mucus gets shed, along with attached parasites. The key will be to see if any symptom improvement is seen tomorrow.
I thought I had asked, but it looks like I didn’t- is this Mandarin breathing faster than the other one?
Jay