Blue Spot Jawfish - 3rd time the charm?

[ThRoewer]

I didn't notice that - let me have a closer look tonight.
They are definitely different, not just in appearance but also in behavior. I hope this could be a way to tell males from females.
Hopefully I can get them to spawn to see who is who (and of course to see if I can raise the babies ). For that reason it will probably be best to give them their own tank, maybe with some inverts.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

One of the fish stores in Orange County has these on a special for $39.99 all the time. Too bad my tank has no sand. They are pretty.

 

[ThRoewer]

Came home and they had swapped burrows, but while I prepared their food they swapped back. I'm not sure who of the two was behind this. Before I've seen the larger one pulling the little one out of the cave it had previously the large one evicted from. Though beyond that there is no violence or fighting.
I think it's about getting the best feeding spot.
It's kind of funny.

Today the water was still pretty warm with 27 °C and no signs of discomfort or heavy breathing.

Also, so far none of them has made the slightest attempt to jump - I think if they feel at home they rather retreat into their burrows than shoot for the surface.

Friday they hit the 2 week mark and so far it looks like they are doing fine. I guess it's time to set up their long term tank so that it is cycled.

Is it just an illusion ? Watching the video it looks like the big one has more throat folds or flaps than the smaller one. ...

I couldn't notice any difference when I checked them out tonight.

One of the fish stores in Orange County has these on a special for $39.99 all the time. Too bad my tank has no sand. They are pretty.

That's really a super low price. I would just set up another tank.

 

[EthanHawaii]

Still doing good. Seems they have settled in by now.
They also get along fairly well. There are some little squabbles, nothing physical, but rather contests who can make itself look largest.
It's either a pair or two females. Since they have slightly different head shapes I still hope for a pair. But from the pictures of males I found I would now say the smaller one's head shape fits that of the known males better than that of the larger one.

The larger one is for sure the more busy builder and much better in the "procurement" of pebbles.

They eat a lot - I guess I need to check if there is any ammonia buildup or if the old DT water and the live sand get the job done.

Here another video of them:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CLq_g2Nt95Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

BTW: in the background, in the next QT, is my new pair of bluestripe pipefish. (right side)

I love the 18 minute mark is really funny!

 

[ginpang]

Blue Spot Jawfish - 3rd time the charm?

I don't think a few warmer days are an issue , rather a prolonged exposure to excessive heat that might be detrimental.

I had Catalina gobies two years at room temperature ( 19 degree Celsius winter and warm in the summer) without any problems. Until we had an almost 3 weeks straight of 35+ degree Celsius. After 6 or 7 days I started noticing them hiding. By then I had started floating bags of ice on the surface, until I was able to get an air conditioning unit as every store had shortages beach use it was the first really big heatwave in a long time.
They unfortunately vanished at about 17 days of the heatwave.

Good luck

 

[ThRoewer]

Catalina gobies are in the same climate zone (sub tropical) but a different temperature zone (10 - 20°C) than the Mexican Blue Spot Jawfish (Opistognathus rosenblatti) who are in the above 20°C zone:

The Panama Blue Spot Jawfish (O. panamaensis) should be fully tropical and are likely better suited for tropical tanks.

Here another video of my two.
When I came home they had swapped burrows again.
This time I caught them swapping back - or rather the larger taking back the burrow the smaller had obviously taken from it (about 4 min into the video).
At about 15:50 the smaller one launches an attempt to retake the burrow but is repelled. Some real funny business is going on there. I wonder how often they do this during the day...

At about 20 min the large one comes out of his burrow to pee

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2HHEVjasLZg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I guess they need a bigger tank rather sooner than later... I got to go and get more sand and gravel.

I'm by now pretty confident that these two are male and female, and that the smaller one is the male.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Good thing that Petco is having the $ per gal sale going on,.

Very cool fish and I'm enjoying this thread.

That price of $39.99 is unusually cheap for this fish.

 

[ThRoewer]

I already have a 20 long (old FW tank) earmarked for them. A 20 tall may be better due to the 4 inch more height, but it has a smaller footprint. I guess a 40B would be near ideal, but I have no way of putting that anywhere right now.

I've seen them scratch quite a few times and think I saw a white spot on the smaller one (could gave been a sand grain too) - I guess I may have to treat them with CP - TTM is likely counter productive with these guys. For now I will wait and see if they actually have anything or just feel a bit itchy (water quality can't be too good from all the pooping and peeing. I try to collect most of the poop which is in nicely compact packs, but the pee stays with them...

 

[ThRoewer]

Yesterday I had to redecorate their tank to get their burrows further away from the skimmer - the smaller one wasn't happy anymore and out of his hole most of the time.

By now they have settled back in and been busy all day building new homes and moving lots of gravel.
The larger one is for sure the more focused and also better builder. He (she?) got busy right away, while the smaller one took a good while to get going.

It got cold here and their water temperature is now at 22°C (feels colder).
Not sure if it's the temperature or them being busy (though that didn't stop them earlier), but they currently eat less aggressively during feedings. They are still well fed and have full bellies - it just seems their metabolism has slowed down.

Next is to set up the 20L for them and get some inverts (snails and hermits) as tank mates and CUC. I will also add some higher algae to make the tang less bare looking.

 

[ThRoewer]

"Bag Storage"???

"Bag Storage"???

Ever heard of "Bag Storage"?

Steve Robinson told me about it and that this practice is one of the causes for BSJD (the other is catching them with narcotics instead of using barbless fish hooks).

It seems some wholesaler store certain fish bagged up for as long as a week. This may work for some fish but may wreak havoc on others.

It doesn't work well for Blue Spotted Jawfish to sit in a puddle of water and in their own filth - no wonder they get abrasions, ammonia burns and nasty bacterial infections.

I guess I got lucky with my last two - they are still healthy (only a bit overactive now).

 

[ThRoewer]

Today I set up the 20 gallon tank and moved them over (incl. rocks, sand and equipment).

I tried to build two "bays" so each of them could have an own territory and be a bit out of sight of the other...
Well, the big one had a different idea and sat up shop under the central parting rock, which leaves the smaller only one of the corners while still under threat. :headwally:

So I will have to redo the rockwork with a pile on each end of the tank and an open zone in the middle. That way they can make their home far enough from each other without feeling bothered by the other.

Live and learn...

 

[CoralsAddiction]

If your LFS gets stuff from Pacific Aqua Farms they had quite a few of these jawfish in stock yesterday.

 

[ThRoewer]

Pacific Aqua Farms treats them right by putting them in these jars. Some other wholesalers keep them in bags which is one cause of the "BSJD" - the white patches, ammonia burns and bacterial infections.

 

[scuzy]

What's the difference between the jars?

 

[ThRoewer]

The jars keep them from fighting. Ideally they should have some sand in them, but this is better than storing them in shipping bags.

My two are driving me crazy. I redecorated the tank so that they can have their burrows at opposite ends and they still try to either be in the same corner or are stealing each others burrows. :spin2: :headwally:

There is no serious fighting and no injuries beside some minor lip damage on the smaller one. It's just that they seem to think the grass is always greener where the other one is - they kind of remind me of little kids.

I feel the smaller one is rather lazy. While the bigger one immediately starts building a hole after a redecoration, the smaller just goes into a hole in the rocks and only starts some half hearted construction after a good while.

I guess they need some other fish as company to stop these shenanigans.

BTW, right now their tank is at 25 °C and they show not the slightest sign of discomfort.

 

[ThRoewer]

30 days now and they are still doing fine.

 

[snorvich]

30 days now and they are still doing fine.

From my experience, survival for a month is an important boundary condition. I would lower your temperature a bit . . .

 

[ThRoewer]

I keep them at room temperature - no heater. Though I don't think 25 °C will harm them as it matches the water temperatures at La Paz around this time of the year.

 

[d-man]

If your LFS gets stuff from Pacific Aqua Farms they had quite a few of these jawfish in stock yesterday.

They always have lots.
That's where I got mine from about 4weeks ago. They made it through QT and are in the DT now. They move every stinking day, but they are aggressive eaters and don't back down from anyone. Hopefully they will settle in completely into a burrow/s

 

[ThRoewer]

They always have lots.
That's where I got mine from about 4weeks ago. They made it through QT and are in the DT now. They move every stinking day, but they are aggressive eaters and don't back down from anyone. Hopefully they will settle in completely into a burrow/s

Did you get them directly from Pacific Aqua Farms or through a LFS or online store (Blue Zoo)?

As for the moving - my two constantly swap burrows. One always wants the burrow the other is in right now. They must have swapped over a 100 times by now - it's getting silly.