Mandarin Diseases

[Kirblit]

Originally Posted by wav0718

I almost bought one of these but the LFS guy said it could wipe out my tank if it dies because they are deadly toxic. Are they really that poisonous? I also wanted a box fish but he said the same goes for those. I guess you have to becareful what you get in this hobby and maybe put up warning signs, lol. I can just see someone trying to swallow one of these after a few to many drinks.

Mandarins are not toxic if they die, but if you did not find one that died fast enough then it could foul the tank I suppose. They are just very specialized eaters and need special care to make them thrive.

As for the Boxfish, yes they are quite toxic if they die and they would wipe out a tank if they did. There are some species of box fish that are less likely to "nuke" a tank but I wouldn't recommend putting any of them for a reef tank, some of them are easily stressed.

[rmlevasseur]

Any update on your mandarins?

[Kirblit]

I returned the target because he was starting to grow a dorsal spine and I didn't want to have problems with two males in the tank. I might try to get another female later, but I don't know. I guess I would like to see how I fare with one before I try to get another one. The green still looks great and is going to be put in the DT probably today or tomorrow so that he can get his pod on. He is very healthy and struts around with his fin up all the time, I only wanted to do the QT to make sure they were healthy and to get them eating prepared foods (still won't eat pellets) and that was accomplished and I don't want to leave him without his natural food source for too long. I hope hes fit for some good swimming, it will be like going back into the ocean for him compared to the flow in the QT .