Blue spotted jawfish not burrowing

[greddy1]

Hey guys I got a blue spot jaw fish yesterday and he isn't hanging around under any rocks. He just hovers right around the front of the glass to the tank. Now to explain I went sandless to counter a bad case of cyano bacteria and even though I know these guys burrow I was told by the LFS and online that they can survive without sand. At the suggestion of my friend I did put some small mounds of sand near some small pieces of PVC pipe to see if that would help. He doesn't seem interested. He just hovers about 1 to 3 inches off the floor. Maybe hunger? He didn't eat yesterday but did today. Suggestions?

Sorry for the long story trying to be thorough

 

[prickles]

so basically you are saying there is no sand for him to burrow in? He therefore won't burrow.

I have QT'ed these guys with no sand, but I can tell you they love their burrows. "some small mounds" of sand isn't going to be enough for them to burrow. I have about 5-6" of sand and they will make 4" piles above that regularly.

Another thing to consider is this statement, "I was told by the LFS and online that they can survive without sand." Does that sound like ideal conditions?

They are probably my favorite fish, and the best part is watching them make their homes. I would strongly suggest you add sand.

 

[greddy1]

I didn't want to get rid of the sand. The issue of removing came from a local coral farm that suggested removing the sand and gutting the tank i.e. scrubbing the rocks off remove the sand etc... To get rid of the cyano. It was bad I would come from work and whole patches of it were back in the same place. Chemicals weren't helping an I still have it now but more manageable

 

[SDguy]

They are a tough fish to keep. Many people aren't successful. Starting with no sand is a HUGE handicap, IMO. I would return the fish to the store, or give it to someone that can properly care for it.

 

[vresor]

There are better ways of getting rid of cyano too. Study, study, study. If you think the cyano battle is tough, wait till your battle with green hair algae!

 

[greddy1]

Quick update I put fresh sand in the one corner of the tank and around the base of rock where he has been hanging out, large piles of it and kept the PVC pipes there as well for additional tunnels. It seemed to interest him at first he didn't do any tunneling but was hanging out at the base of rocks where the sand was and then went back to hovering midway up the tank just staring upwards. I put food in the tank multiple times today and he did eat but still no interest in the sand areas I made for him. Right now he is hovering down at the bottom of the tank where the sand bed is still looking upwards. Frustrating

 

[LKGRenegade22]

It took mine about a week to settle in and that is with plenty of sand. I can't imagine being able to keep one of these long term without a sandbed. They burrow by nature and are programmed to live as such. Some are so skittish they don't survive even in ideal conditions so starting with something like no sandbed where they can make a burrow too hide sounds crazy to me. He will probably end up stressing himself out and dying.

 

[greddy1]

Well I guess that is somewhat of a relief. I was hoping the sandbed I made on the one side of the tank would be sufficient to get him going but I will give it some more time and add more sand if necessary

 

[SaltyBrine]

take the fish out and return it..You introduced it to an environment that has none of its habitat..Sand. Return it and tell the fish store they should get people who know a little more and maybe read a little more on purchasing pricey fish.

 

[prickles]

sounds like you need help with your cyano problem. I have never heard of sand removal as a cyano fix. I have heard of 3 days blackout, frequent water changes, phosban, antibiotics, not having both a fuge and phosban, but never sand removal. I don't even understand how that would help since cyano is usually because of high phospates.

Perhaps if you used "play sand" and not aragonite you could get cyano? Are you sure it's not diatoms (brown) as opposed to cyano (red?)

Do more water changes to get rid of the cyano, and siphon it off with a turkey baster when it forms, it will go away.

Add a sandbed for your poor bluespot. Don't do it all at once, or you might cause an ammonia spike. Do it slowly over several weeks. Also make sure you have a COMPLETELY secure top on your tank as they aim for holes and love to jump.

 

[greddy1]

A local coral farm explained to me that cyano results from a lack of buffer in a sand bed. Appparently a sand bed not thick enough does not have a "buffer" in it that keeps detrius matter in check so to speak. Once the cyano is there in the sand very difficult to get rid of. The sand that was in there was live argonite sand but like I said I am going to try and reintroduce sand back in slowly starting with the are where he is hanging out and build from there. Trying to catch this fish would be an effort in futility requiring me to tear the tank down again which I'm not prepared to do so I will reintroduce sand in controlled amounts and try to find a solution to fighting the cyano if it gets out of control

 

[prickles]

A local coral farm explained to me that cyano results from a lack of buffer in a sand bed. Appparently a sand bed not thick enough does not have a "buffer" in it that keeps detrius matter in check so to speak.

Sorry but, I don't believe that at all. So no sand bed will make no cyano, a think sand bed will not make cyano, but something in the middle will? Perhaps they were speaking of a DSB, which can redute nitrates and phosphates, which contribute to cyano.

I think it's all about phosphates. Another thing you can do to control phosphates is to rinse your frozen food in a brine shrimp net before adding it to the tank.

Waterchanges
Waterchanges
Waterchanges

Also check out the video someone posted in the fish forum of a bsj burrowing. It will reinforce your knowledge of the need of sand.

 

[vresor]

My 34 gallon tank is barebottom and it had plenty of cyano during its cycle. It was a pretty soft cycle thanks to a slow and patient start and good live rock. I also siphoned the cyano out now and then. Now a couple months past the end of the cycle I have none. Removing the sand was misguided advice. You can't believe everything you read on the internet, but you can study forums (fora?) like this one and find a consensus on the right approach.

 

[greddy1]

I'm doing a waterchange today and and I'm going to activate my phosban reactor also. I hadn't used it in awhile because the phosphates were nil but I'm also going to expand the sand bed around the base of the rocks to see if that makes him more comfortable. I'm not sure I understand the rinsing of frozen food though. I always make a small container of food using frozen cubes and tank water and feed out of that and put the rest in the frig. I assumed that the residual is feeding corals and other inverts in the tank

 

[SaltyBrine]

I'm doing a waterchange today and and I'm going to activate my phosban reactor also. I hadn't used it in awhile because the phosphates were nil but I'm also going to expand the sand bed around the base of the rocks to see if that makes him more comfortable. I'm not sure I understand the rinsing of frozen food though. I always make a small container of food using frozen cubes and tank water and feed out of that and put the rest in the frig. I assumed that the residual is feeding corals and other inverts in the tank

he is saying you thaw the food in a brine net and wash it clean with RO water because the gel and liquid the stuff is frozen in has alot of phosphates and you add it to the tank. PLus its easier when you have them thawed sitting in RO water in the fridge you can just take your syringe..suck out as much as you want and squirt..No cutting and thawing. Oh dont do it for the whole package..I usually only thaw out enough to feed for about 3days at a time.

 

[justnmatt79]

Many of the frozen foods contain phosphates in the liquids. When thawed the water contains the phosphates and then you have fed your fish and cyano. Remove the source of phosphates and you will remove cyano. Sand will not affect it either way.

Just take the frozen food and place it in a net, and dip it into some RO water to thaw. Then dump it into a container of tank water and add vitamins (if you do that), and then feed.

Getting rid of hair algae, cyano, bryopsis, et al is never fun, but prevention is always easier. In my opininion additives and cure-alls never work, and often mal-affect other organisms in our tanks.

Start slowly adding sand, and remove any sources of phosphates and you will be fine. The jawfish is eating which is good, now it just needs to be able to behave naturally. You are on the right track.

 

[prickles]

happy... and randy... bluespot!

Get your sand in, they're awesome fish!!

Again use a brine shrimp net, not just any net as the food will go through larger mesh nets.

 

[sanchoy]

at least 6+ inches deep of sand bed will make things right for you.

 

[greddy1]

well I thought I would give everybody a heads up. Looks like after I put the sand in around the area he was hanging out, he started to create a burrow. I also dropped some snail shells by him and sure enough he added them to the entrance of his burrow which I missed him do it, (****ed me off). He still has moments where he hovers midway but always keeps going back to his burrow. He also is a lot more aggressive about going after food now. I haven't completely put sand back in but I did do his side and the front and back around it to give him some room so we'll see how it goes

 

[prickles]

keep it slow, you don't want to create a spike. If you think watching him landscape with snail shells is great, wait until he tries to put live snails and hermits around his door. They will keep running off and he will keep putting them back!

Once he has a home, he won't really come out unless it's dark or it's feeding time. He'll just poke about 2/3 of himself out for most of the day.