Jawfishes

[mling]

I am thinking of getting a pair of Jawfishes when my tank has gone thru it's "cycle".

I was told that it is a good idea to get them as the very first inhibitants of the tank since they will adjust to the new enviroment faster if there are no other fishes around. Is this true ? What about other invertibrates like a shrimp ? Can those an other "clean up crew" came before a Jawfish ?

Is it a good idea to get a pair or just one ?

Has anyone any suggestion on where to buy them ?

I hear they are good jumpers but will settle down after a while. Do you need to cover the entire top or just 80% or so of it ?

I have 2in of sand with 2in of Aragonite above it. Should I mix the sand & Aragonite up ?
The surface area is 36" x 18", about 1/3 covered with life rock.
Do I need a higher substrate ?

[sally]

I would suggest just one jawfish. I had two in a 72 gallon and they constantly would fight. I had to remove one of them One would steal the others burrow. Unless you have a confirmed pair I would suggest just one. My LFS at the time suggested two and in hindsight that was not a good idea. 4 inch of substrate is good. Be sure to put plently of small pebbles on the sand for the jawfish to use also. I agree with your idea of the jawfish being one of your first fish since they can be rather timid. One of my favorite fish!

[Geoff]

most people use the drop in ceiling light covers to cover their tanks if they have jump prone fish.

G~