Manderine Goby Question

[reefitup]

Hey all...

Got a manderine goby. He's quite possibly the largest and coolest thing I've ever seen. I've got a pretty good run of copepods and I'm probably going to end up ordering the pod farm but I have a question...

Usually in the mornings he's covered with white 'stuff'.

I'm familiar with ick, and it's different. It almost looks like substrate stuck to him, and after he swims around for an hour or so, it falls off. ..so I was thinking that maybe it's debris dropping onto him.

What's your spin?

He's eating... no labored breathing... no unusual behavior (for having him 3 or 4 days).

[stevemitchell]

yah, that's typical. mines does the same. he will take mouthfuls of sand, eat whats edible and the rest will leave through the gills, plus they tend to sleep/rest in the substrate. nothing to worry about.

[reefitup]

Thanks...

That's kind of what I figured...but I figured I'd double check. He's got to be the largest one I've ever seen.

He's nearly 4 1/2 inches long and wider than my thumb in thickness. ...

Maybe I'll post a pic of him tomorrow...

[Reefmedic79]

Mucus like cacoon that he creates to help desguise its odor to protect him from getting eaten while he sleeps.

[poisonRN2]

I love my mandarin dragonet.
He is gorgeous and happy.
He loves to become pale in the morning, sometimes in the sand.
He is often covered with material that looks like ich however it is just the material he takes in and puffs back out or the sand.
Mandarin are covered well w/ a protective slimmy barrier so the this fish does not easily get ick/.
Are they not beautiful? I have started with a copepod growing kit and supplemented our tank with 3 quarts of copepods to seed the live rock. He eats continually and it does take quite awhile for those copepods to grow otherwise they are in a immature state and do not reproduce.
Good luck.
Sue