Are Mandarin Fish Poisonous??

I was at my LFS today and got into a discussion about how my mandarin dragonet doesnt seem to be bothered by anyone. My midas blenny bit him when he was close to his hole but he never really bothered him again... thats what sparked this conversation.

So.. are Mandarins poisonous or do they excrete some sort of poisonous mucous that protects them?

 

Yes. They secrete a poisonous mucus/slime coat.

 

sometimes when I wake up in the morning I notice like some gooey stuff stuck to the rocks or something.. I guess thats what it is.. do you know if after it blows off could it possible damage corals?

 

I have never heard of coral damage due to a mandarin. BTW, gooey stuff could be a lot of things. For instance, 6 line wrasses make a mucus cocoon at night when they sleep. Some other fish do this too.

 

O ok.. I have a cleaner wrasse I think I've seen him laying in the stuff to

 

Cleaner wrasses sleep in cocoons for sure.