jawfish

BLEEZY · 09-17-2006, 03:50 PM

always wanted a pair of jawfish, i went with a dsb and tried to arrange flat rocks on the sand and put coral skeletons under the sand for them to dig burrows to.
what should i know about their care?
what are some different species of jawfish?
my sand is about 6 inches on one side and four on the other.

ChrisPrusha · 09-17-2006, 04:28 PM

They are jumpers, so keep that in mind. 4-6" of sand should be good. Stay away from blue spotted jaws...they don't do well in the home aquarium. Pearly jaws are very cute, and relatively hardy.

tiburon · 09-17-2006, 04:57 PM

I had a blue spot and it didn't do well at all.. wow. I was thinking a pearly might be fun and would help keep my sand bed churned over..

Question, do they "dune" the sand? or dig big holes/pits in it?

leveldrummer · 09-17-2006, 05:01 PM

i saw one at a lfs called the tiger jaw fish. it was really nice. might be worth trying.

ChrisPrusha · 09-17-2006, 05:17 PM

People have had success with dusky jaws, as well. Maybe that's the same as a tiger, I dunno.

gregb · 09-17-2006, 07:04 PM

Alot of them throw sand all over the corals.

BLEEZY · 09-18-2006, 12:55 PM

yeah are there any types that wont dump sand all over everything? and does anybody have a link to any info on the diff species.
also does anyone know how to get them paired? do they like one mate or more males than females etc.
thanks

Cylenchar · 09-18-2006, 01:47 PM

I had the Pearly, or Yellowheaded Jawfish.... Very cool fish, will dig hols under your live rock so make sure you settle it directly on the glass. Also, you will want a courser sand so it is easier for them to make tunnels...
And, as mentioned before, they will jump, especially if spooked, so pick coinhabitants cafefully, nothing fastmoving.

afbengochea · 09-18-2006, 01:51 PM

u could also try a sand sifting goby. thats what I have (diamond goby) and he digs but doesnt cover my corals with sand since he mainly stays on the substrate and never goes higher than an inch or two

BLEEZY · 09-18-2006, 04:50 PM

what do you mean about the lr? none of my rock is touching the glass at all. and the substrate i used is pretty fine not quite oolitic but close will this mean i cant keep a pair? also as to the fast moving fish tangs and damsels would scare it so is my tank not fit for jawfish? its a 125 with lots of rock viewable on all sides which prolly wouldnt make them feel too secure .
lemme know what you think i really want this fish and will cover the top better for it but im not taking out other fish or changing the sand. and i want it to be comfortable otherwise i would have just bought it anyway.

BLEEZY · 09-18-2006, 04:51 PM

makes me mad i went with a dsb ('kicks self in head').
ill prolly consider going bb within the year if i cant have this fish.

Cylenchar · 09-18-2006, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLEEZY

what do you mean about the lr? none of my rock is touching the glass at all. and the substrate i used is pretty fine not quite oolitic but close will this mean i cant keep a pair? also as to the fast moving fish tangs and damsels would scare it so is my tank not fit for jawfish? its a 125 with lots of rock viewable on all sides which prolly wouldnt make them feel too secure .
lemme know what you think i really want this fish and will cover the top better for it but im not taking out other fish or changing the sand. and i want it to be comfortable otherwise i would have just bought it anyway.

what I meant by having it settled was wiggle it securely into place so that when the jawfish digs under it it won't send all your LR crashing down.
As to the sand size, well that may be too fine grained, a work around is to go to your LFS and buy a bunch of empty shells, put them in a bag and crush them into small chunks.
The best way to make the Jawfish comfortable in the tank is to make them the first fish in the tank to not do not add any fish for at least a month. If you have the others, can you put them (the tangs, damsels) in another tank for a little bit?
Eggcrate (Fluorescent Diffusers) will help prevent jumping.
Hope this helped, I wasn't trying to turn you off to the fish..... they are really fun fish to hve.....

whatevva · 09-18-2006, 05:18 PM

A jawfish is going to dig up EVERYTHING looking for a happy home. If your LR isn't secure, you're going to have an avalanche. If you get to pick from a few of them at the LFS, look for one that tends to hide, and not dart around the tank. These are more likely to jump. I learned this after having 2 jumpers. Now I have one that likes the tank, but he's a MAJOR digger. Do NOT get a Blue Spot.

ChrisPrusha · 09-18-2006, 05:24 PM

What a cutie, Butch!

three90s&125sump · 09-18-2006, 05:25 PM

Why is everyone down on the blue spots? I love mine. It is great, eats well, stays in the same hole, hasen't jumped and is not aggressive unless someone messes with its hole.