Blue Spot Jawfish

[Fishamatank]

I am considering adding a blue spot jawfish to my 120.
I know they are jumpers and I know they need a burrow.
I will have a cover and I will build at least one PVC burrow to put in my sand bed which is not deep enough nor does it have large enough grains to a burrow in.

Aside from the cover and constructing some burrows for the fish to hide in are there any other special needs this fish has? I've seen a lot of older info saying that they are difficult to keep alive, but I know that there are a bunch of people here that have them. Any tricks or concerns to be aware of?

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

it's probably not going to be happy without a DSB

 

[Fishamatank]

I am under the impression that they do not necessarily need to dig or construct their own burrow, so long as they have a place they feel safe hiding. Is that inaccurate?

 

[somdinwong]

i have seen them in breeder setups without any substarate at all just a shallow cut pot

 

[prickles]

I would make certain your new fish as well as your existing ones are ich free. They spend all their time moving sand around and will contract ich and die pretty quickly if there is any ich in your system. If you are not using hypo or copper to QT, then I would recommend against a BSJ. On the hood, don't forget they aim for the holes, so covering 95% of the top is insufficient. You will also have to cover your overflow or constantly be fishing him out of it.

 

[Fishamatank]

Any special nutritional needs? I feed one "meaty" meal a day, and I try to vary what I feed, but PE mysis is the staple.

 

[Fishamatank]

Can anyone comment on nutritional needs?
Success or disaster stories with man made burrows?

 

[socalmonty]

Don't try mixing a jawfish with sandsifting gobies, like diamond gobies. I have tried three different ones with my blue spot in my 135G and they have all fought like crazy.

 

[lucidheights]

they got them at blue zoo aquatics for pretty cheap, i bought one that got here today but unfortunately its doa

 

[skimace7]

I have a blue spot and a diamond goby.. I added my blue spot first and made a PV "condo" for him. after he was settle I added a diamond goby and I have never seen them fight... In fact they hang out together. I have had my Blue spot for about a year now and my diamond goby 6 months.
Here is a pic of his condo... it was made out of a 3/4" drain I picked up at local plumming store.

 

[Fishamatank]

Cool pic. I do not have any sand sifters in the tank, so even if there is a potential for problems there it will not be an issue for me.

 

[Feather Duster]

Blue Spotted Jawfish are a cool water species, in the wild they are usually found at temperatures in the upper 50s to upper 60s F.

They are zooplankton feeders, and need to be fed several times a day.

 

[Fishamatank]

Anyone have problems keeping them at the temp most of us keep our reef tanks at (77-82?)

 

[skimace7]

I have never had problems with temp... mine stays around 78-80... they are jumpers I added a screen on my tank because I actually losted my blue spot for about a month. He had jumped over the over flow and made it to my sump.

 

[fishingfishout]

I just bought mine about two months ago. He contracted Ich in the first two weeks in my DT so I removed him and treated him in a QT with Copper, Garlic and Hyposalinity(1.090). 5 weeks later he has no sign of Ich and is eating very well. I also have a JBJ UV Sterilizer now. He is my absolute favorite fish!

 

[prickles]

mine eat pretty much everything they can get. I feed frozen mysis, omega brine, rods, and rotifers. they eat it all. I keep em at 80 degrees and feed once daily. seem happy.

This may sound like a bad idea, but since I got multiples they seem happier I think. I currently have 3 of em. I think it's one male and 2 females. The males fight (I had 4 total before.) I have had them over a year, maybe a year and a half, and no major issues.

 

[Fishamatank]

I made my order with LiveAquaria last night. I'm excited for the little guy to get here. I'll make a cover and a pvc burrow tonight.

 

[jaredlee]

Many LFS's keep their BSJ's in tanks without substrate and with only PVC tubing, but I question the happiness of those fish. It really isn't a huge commitment to add more substrate. If a jawfish has the option, he would build a burrow from scratch, rather than taking cover in a plastic tube, even if it is submerged. For this crushed live rock pieces (1/2-1 inch) work terrifically, even amidst a sea of tiny grained crushed corals. I try to pile them deep into one spot next to a large base rock and let the jawfish work away. In the end, he will create a path that goes underneath the base rock, which is reinforced with the smaller pieces you provided.

 

[Fishamatank]

looks like i got a healthy fish. He has so far ignored my pvc burrow and has dug out under a couple rocks. He will not really be able to build any tunnels with the sand in my tank but he seems happy so far. He started eating within an hour of being introduced to the tank and shows no signs of fear towards the tank bullies, a flame angel and a yellow tang.

 

[dg3147]

I have one comming from DD on Tuesday and plan on building a burrow for him, check it out to see if it works if ya like.

I plan on using a half a gatorade bottle with large rubble glued to the side to create an open topped hiding place. When I first put him in the tank I am going to try to place a larger bottle with small perforations on it to keep him confined to the artifical den for a day or so. Will have to see if it works.

Here's an interesting article too:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/hcs3/index.php