Any Jawfish experts?

[mandarin chick]

Instead of refering to them as the male or female, or old one and new one, I am just using their names. Yes I am strange....

Yusev - don't ask - I just have a sense she is a girl -was alone in the 110 and while alone, she was out and about, always busy arranging and rearranging her cave, and all was well in the kingdom.

We later added what may, or may not be a male (Luther). Yusev greeted, but other than that showed no interest. Luther made no effort to dig.

The next day, when I got home from work, Luther had taken over Yusev's hole.

Remember, here, we are talking about a 110. We Assumed Yusev would simply move to the other side of the tank. Instead, she moved around the corner from the old hole, maybe 4 inches total away from the old spot. The problem is, it is the short side of the tank, with little sand space. She has maybe 2 inches of sand between high rock and glass. To make matters worse, there is an overhang above her cave, and of course she moved a boulder in front of the cave. The way the water moves, very little food gets to her. To add insult to injury, for whatever reason, that particular spot in the aquarium seems to be the favorite hangout for just about every other fish in the tank, which has to be bothering her.

It has been 3 days and she has made no effort to move to an area of more surface area (sand) or more food. I started target feeding, but the configuration of her new digs makes it difficult for her to see the food.

I would have thought she would have moved to greener pastures, but she seems dead set on staying in this spot. Should I be concerned here? Or will she eventually move to a better spot? She has 4 feet of prime real estate where she would never see Luther, if she would just go there. Alternatively, if she wanted to be his neighbor, she has a few feet of prime real estate on the same side he lives on.

Since Yusev has seniority, Steve the Mantis Shrimp has volunteered to host Luther should his removal be determined to be the best way to take care of Yusev.... (just kidding! not about what Steve wants, but we would never do that to Luther. He would be rehomed if that is in Yusev's best interests)

 

[phil519]

pearly jawfish?

blue spots?

it's quite possible the second jawfish added was the same gender resulting in one losing the "prime" real estate.

Do you watch the tank at night? yusev should be searching for homes at night.

 

[nonimmigrant]

I would say that it's an issue if Yusev is absolutely not eating. I have 2 pearlys in my 225 reef and they will, at times, share the same hole, then divorce and one will move into another hole 4" from the old one, then they make up and co-habitate again...etc. They were however introduced at the same time. If Yusev is eating, then I would say give it time and let one or the other figure out where to build the next den. A couple of questions:

1. is one of the two significantly larger than the other?
2. are they the same species of jawfish?

Good luck! Chris

 

[mandarin chick]

Both are blue spots. Yusev's head is darker and duller than Luther's, which is really yellow.

Yusev had built a perimeter wall around the new cave that apparently got Luther's attention. When I got home from work, now Luther is at the short side hole and Yusev is back in her original cave. Don't know who moved who, now it is Luther I will worry about eating if the food doesn't reach him.

Do Blue Spots trade caves on a regular basis?

 

[nonimmigrant]

Like I said, my Pearlies move in and out all the time, but the larger of the two does remain in the same den all the time. It's the smaller one that's packing bags all the time. Just give them time and ensure that you have enough pea-sized rocks laying around for the other one to build a separate den if it so chooses. Just keep track of their feedings and keep us posted. Good luck.

 

[philter4]

I am not an expert, but I have collected and kept at least 10 different species of jawfish, just to let you know head color is not an indication of sex, the head size is the most apperent way to tell, the males hold the eggs, so they have bigger wider heads then females.

As far as your problem, they will work it out, if she is unhappy with her burrow she will move when she is ready. One thing to note, jawfish also move their burrows depending on the season. I have seen the colonies (I have dove with the collectors in the Sea of Cortez and collected with them several times, but the atlantic jaws move just as frequently) move from shallow water to deep water as the season changes from summer to winter. I don't know if they move as a colony or independantly, and always at night. What that means to you is always keep your tank covered, even after they have an established burrow for several months. Once their clock says it is time to move they will and if there is no cover more often then not they will be on the floor.

 

[Cerebral Fish]

With two blue-spot jawfish living close together it sounds like you may get to observe their spawning behavior. Do you have any plan to capture the larvae if they decide to?

 

[mandarin chick]

The circumstance is a wee bit different now.

We had dropped in a whole bunch of smaller rubble to give to Yusev in her 'bad' cave (incidentally, she has girl eyes. Not sure how to explain it, and of course I am probably wrong, but she is kicking off female trodes).

The rubble, by yesterday morning, was all gone. When I got home from work, Yusev and Luther had switched caves. We just thought it was because Yusev is the better cave builder and Luther was lazy, so he took hers again.

But alas, as we watched this morning, both popped back into their caves during feed time- and re-appeared poking their heads out of the opposite cave! It seems the caves are now connected, and they are sharing. I just got home a little while ago, and they are both sitting at the mouth of the original cave, all nice and peaceful. I put in some krill and they were both darting at it, so both are eating, and amazingly, eating peacefully together.

I am hoping this means my hunch on Yusev, that she is a girl, is right, and from the size and squarish head of Luther, that he is a male. For the time being, at least, there appears to be peace in the kingdom, and they are sharing a common tunnel to shared caves.

Now, if I am correct that Yusev is a female, and Luther is a male, what's up with the fact that Yusev has to do all the work and Luther just has to live in the cave?????

 

[mandarin chick]

With two blue-spot jawfish living close together it sounds like you may get to observe their spawning behavior. Do you have any plan to capture the larvae if they decide to?

I would like to, but I can't get my rotifer mix right for mandarins yet. I got an accidental sucessful settle out of a target pair and a scooter pair, but trying deliberately I am having zero luck. I just lost the whole clutch of my first Bangaii banies after 15 days. I have a local guru who breeds clowns that may be able to tell me where I am going wrong. Someday though... perhaps I can have some bluespot grandfish.....

 

[mjoener]

It seems as though the female plays the role of a pistol shrimp, the excavator, while the male plays the role of the look out.

 

[Cerebral Fish]

You may have some time to prepare. When they get ready they reportedly display sexual dichromatism.

 

[rssjsb]

(incidentally, she has girl eyes. Not sure how to explain it, and of course I am probably wrong, but she is kicking off female trodes)

This actually made me laugh out loud.

Now, if I am correct that Yusev is a female, and Luther is a male, what's up with the fact that Yusev has to do all the work and Luther just has to live in the cave?????

Typical.