Jawfish

[shinosuke]

I am getting a yellow headed jawfish from my LFS. I have a typical glass hood on my tank, and I'm thinking it wont be enough. He will be the first fish to go into my tank so he wont be too panicky, but I still dont want to find him crispy in the morning... so I think I'm gonna go get eggcrate and cover up the uncovered areas.
I like the goby/blenny shape. Can anyone reccomend some other good tank mates for one of these guys? I really like the hi fin red banded goby http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=181
but I dont know how well they'd get along. Also, I want to get a lawnmower blenny, but I've heard they're aggressive...

[NFed16]

Both of your other choices should work out fine. The blenny will most likely ignore the jawfish, and the goby will probably set up shop on the other side of the tank, though I would suggest finding a pistol shrimp to pair it with.

[LargeAngels]

Cover ANY small crack/space that the fish could possibly jump through. Jawfish have a tendancy to swim against the glass up towards the top sometimes and if there is smallest crack (like where the overflow, heater, etc.) doesn't match with the top it may find it. They also scare easily sometimes. I've found mine everywhere. If there are large enough gaps in the overflow or between the overflow and glass top they may wind up in the overflow.

[guyguerra]

I've had my jawfish for 2 months and he never goes higher than 8" from his hole. My tank is 26" deep. I assumed that the "jumper" thing was only a concern until they got a burrow going. Do your's go to the top of the tank?

[nickiwit]

They can jump at any time. I had mine almost two years and it would occassionally try to jump out. I had a lid on the tank so I would see it hit the top of the glass.

[mc-cro]

I have had my jawfish for almost 2yrs now as well, and he has never jumped that Im aware of. Like guyguerra, mine never goes more than about foot from his hole.

[b3any]

mine jumped out 5 mins after being put in... I had to flick him back in...... Not sure whether hes still alive as the cleaner wrasse i have really attacked him allot...... and i not seen him for days.

[guyguerra]

b3any, I will apologize to everyone for going off topic, but I couldn't't help but light up when you said you have a cleaner wrasse. I had one, but it died in four days. It has been the fish that I have most wanted since I lost that one. I named him Joe Dirt. Everyone tells me they should stay on the reefs as they always die in tanks. Could you PM me about yours? As to your jawfish jumping out within minutes, that's normal. The standard recommendation is to add them to the tank early in the day so that they can make a burrow before dark. If they don't get that hole dug by then, they will get spooked and jump. This is a very shy and scared fish. Mine has been here for two months and just now will come out of his hole a few inches and stay long enough to look around, But he keeps his hole facing the back of the tank, not the front. When he was in the QT his hole faced the front, but in the big tank there are a lot more fish, so his hole faces the back corner, and if ANYTHING moves near him, he hits the ditch fast! Mine will never jump because the surface is too far from his den. I just reviewed Scott Michaels book "Basslets, Dottybacks & Hawkfish". He states that jumping is a major cause of loss of these fish, particularly the first night. In the wild they will go as far as 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) from their burrows, then back up towards their hole if mildly scared, or bolt head first if really scared. I'd like to know more details from LargeAngels and nickiwic because my sump overflows are a potential problem if he ever got that high, but I can't see this guy going that high, and if he was scared he'd go to his burrow than upward. I hope I'm not mistaken. I like this little guy. I originally started with two, which both made it thru QT, but one was more timid than the other, and the big tank overwhelmed him and he wouldn't come out of his hole. He stuck close to the other one in the QT, but when I put them in the 230, they both went to opposite ends, so he didn't have the security of his braver buddy.
Thanks, Guy

[nickiwit]

I had mine in a 150 gallon tank. He would still jump in the overflows. Mine was a good sized bluespot jawfish. Maybe they are more brave then the others. I also had a small dusky jawfish. It never tried to jump that I know of.

[cinnamongirl]

I just got two yellow-headed jawfish, and they disappeared as soon as they went in the tank. I see where they've been digging, and one was actually out the other day, but disappeared back in his hole and covered up the opening as soon as he saw me. How am I supposed to feed these guys? I just got them on Friday and here it is Monday and I don't know if they've eaten. I also put a Bangii Card in there the same day, and she kind of stays to the back by herself. She's afraid of my feeder tube :-( Will they eventually eat? Are they eating the food after I've left? There's nothing else in the tank and I added them all three on the same day.

[Triggerman1964]

Originally posted by cinnamongirl
I just got two yellow-headed jawfish, and they disappeared as soon as they went in the tank. I see where they've been digging, and one was actually out the other day, but disappeared back in his hole and covered up the opening as soon as he saw me. How am I supposed to feed these guys? I just got them on Friday and here it is Monday and I don't know if they've eaten. I also put a Bangii Card in there the same day, and she kind of stays to the back by herself. She's afraid of my feeder tube :-( Will they eventually eat? Are they eating the food after I've left? There's nothing else in the tank and I added them all three on the same day.
Target feed them with a bamboo skewer and raw shrimp.
They will learn when dinnertime is.Great fish.

[cinnamongirl]

Originally posted by Triggerman1964
Target feed them with a bamboo skewer and raw shrimp.
They will learn when dinnertime is.Great fish.

Raw shrimp? You mean like from the grocery store? Or should I try to skewer a frozen cube of mysis?

[guyguerra]

At first I used a turkey baster to target feed mine and shut down the pumps too, but now he's settling in and has even moved his hole to the front of the tank, though I still have to place the food lower in the water column for him to get some.

[cinnamongirl]

I attached a long rigid airline tube to the end of a plastic syringe so i can get the food to the bottom. I haven't seen them in three days, but i know he's there because the substrate keeps getting rearranged. I hope he comes out to eat soon :(

[soonerfan12]

I have two Pearly jawfish the yellow headed ones, and they haven't ever tried to jump. I purchased them together and they live in the same burrow and have for a while now- keep waiting to see a mouth full of eggs( no luck yet). any way mine love there live brine shrimp once a week and they will also eat brine pellets. They look like they are chokeing on the pellets as they gulp the whole pellet at first, but the keep spitting it out and re eating it till it is small enough. Hope this helps

[guyguerra]

I felt bad when one of the two I bought died, so after reading your post about how they hang together, I'll get a second one in my next batch of fish.

[cinnamongirl]

It would appear that my two jawfish are sharing the same burrow! I thought for sure one didn't make the transport, because I only ever saw one at a time. but last night, two heads poked out! They're so fun! Of course, they're still scared to death of anything that moves!

[catdoc]

I think you're doing right by letting them get settled in the tank before other fish get added, I did that too. It took them a couple of weeks to settle in. I had made them an artificial burrow (you can do a search on that here), but they only used it for a few days/couple weeks, then built a new one. I ended up with a male and female pair and they spawned pretty regularly. Very fun fish to watch, just be patient b/c they'll probably hide quite a bit at first.

[tatedelo]

Oh my God, I found my missing Jawfish finally. He had jumped and made it through the plumbing into the prefilter area in the sump. He found a couple of snail shell and some sand to make a burrow down there. I guess he had been living on scraps for the last 3 weeks. I moved him back to the main tank and he is back at making burrows again.

[catdoc]

:eek1: Poor little guy!!

[pco1988]

I had a bluespotted jawfish but anytime that I got close to the tank he would jump out and back in...The highest he got was about 2 feet above the water...He has now passed away do to the fact he got attacked by my purple tang in the tank...

Philip

[Angel*Fish]

I've had jawfish & while any can jump as their startle response is to swim upward. IMO some are much more likely to than others. I recently had two (lost one during a tank teardown - stupid mistake - long story) One was very stable emotionally/mentally but the other freaks out everytime the lights go on or off if there isn't an actinic buffer period. He swims straight up, coasts along the top of the tank & settles somewhere, sometimes burrowless for the night. This fish is very flighty & the other one wasn't. Hope this helps.

[McGinnis]

Can I ask what sort of substrate you guys have in your tank for your jawfish? I have been doing some research, and can only learn that they like rubble. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[cinnamongirl]

I have a 40lb bag of the Caribsea seafloor
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CS0457
mixed about 2:1 with Southdown in my 46g. It's about 3" deep in most places.

[Angel*Fish]

Mine ranges from 3.5-5 in deep - hard to remember, but I think mainly a combo of oolitic & Southdown type sand I mixed in some very course sand & rubble in several spots in the tank for the burrowers

Your jawfish can use tiny & larger rubble while engineering his hole - if you place piles of it nearby he may take these into his burrow