Blue Spot Jaw Fish - Help

[venomcc]

So I've had him for about 2 months.... no other fish has been introduced... He ate fine for this whole time, a mix of Hikari Mysis, live black worms, NLS normal & small pellets, all vitamin enriched.

I noticed this last week he doesn't want to eat his favorite food anymore, live black worms, and he has been losing weight. He basically eats them holds them for a few seconds and then spits them back out. He used to be the most voracious eater in the whole tank.

The reason I noticed something wrong, was because he started to leave the hole he dug and pace the tank sometimes swimming up and down the glass. This became more frequent so I took notice.

His tank mates are 8 long spine cardinals, pair of perculas, mystery wrasse & midas blenny all in a 150 gal tank. None of the fish have shown any aggression towards eachother.

Any ideas?

 

[Ooulophilia]

This sounds about right for a BSJ - they have atrocious survivability in captivity, for the 10s of thousands I have seen brought in there are only a handful of people that I have talked to that have kept them longer than 6 months. Watch his tail for signs of erosion/fungus - that is usually the sign they are breaking down. Not a species suited for captivity IMO.

You may be fighting a losing battle, but maybe try some live brine.

 

[reppo13]

First off what is the temp of the tank. These guys like coller water (73-76) second how deep is the sand bed? I believe both the depth and grain are very important to their survival. This gives them protection and without a deep burrow the fish will become stressed and do what yours is doing.

 

[snorvich]

First off what is the temp of the tank. These guys like coller water (73-76) second how deep is the sand bed? I believe both the depth and grain are very important to their survival. This gives them protection and without a deep burrow the fish will become stressed and do what yours is doing.

+1 with the above.

 

[MikeandNicole]

If you don't have a QT tank setup, I would set one up now. The pacing behavior is a bit out of character but when they are doing it when not eating that is not a good sign. Take a real good look at his color and skin tone. Look for lesions or "road rash" and if you see any of those pull him out and prepare for dips. We used erythromeycin with good success, we caught him early and thankfully it was curable. You want some things in there for him to hide in and feel comfortable. It is also much easier to feed a fish in QT.

 

[venomcc]

what does the "road rash" mean? a parasite of sort? what does the erythromeycin treat?

As to answer the other questions:
Sand bed is between 6-4" filled with Fiji Pink sand.
Temperature is between 78-81.

Earlier today when the lights came on (6pm est), he was pacing non stop and I was very worried so I decided to set up a hospital tank. Around feeding time however, he calmed down and ate like he had not eaten in days (which he had not).

Since until now he had spent most of his time in his burrow doing normal BSJ things, I had not gotten a chance to look at him carefully since I originally QT'ed him. I can't tell for sure if I notice a change in his body color tone or any road rash. He is not pacing anymore and is just cleaning his burrow now, so I have not put him in the Hospital tank.

If he is pacing again tomorrow I will try and catch him and put him in the Hospital tank.

 

[snorvich]

So, s(he) stopped pacing and started eating normally? What changed?

 

[venomcc]

I'm not sure. I only did routine maintenance yesterday. Emptied the skimmer cup, cleaned the glass, etc. No water change.

As for his current behavior. He's in his burrow right now. Will see how he behaves when the lights come on later today. Hopefully he will eat like yesterday and stop pacing the tank.

 

[NorthReefer]

I really wanted this fish but people keep saying that they are hard to keep because most just die. Hopes your turn out different. I wonder any tank bred(raised). Going to google!!