Caribbean Yellow-headed or Pearly Jawfish: heat problem!

[Sk8r]

Have several of these in a 100g.
Had temperature (normally 78-80) spike to 81.7. These fish, and only these fish, went berserk, trying to jump, gulping at the surface, provoking attack from tankmates.

Ice floated in ziplocs lowered the temp fairly rapidly and the fish survived. But it was strange and scary. While Wiki lists Caribbean waters as 80 degrees, clearly 81.7 is a critical too much for these fish.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Yikes! Good to know

 

[leveldrummer]

Maybe it was some other reaction your not considering? maybe a breeding response? or something different like that? Either way, good thing they all made it. When you say several, how many? I love jawfish and never considered keeping more then one. Do they commonly get along well?

 

[gobolts23]

i dive in the Caribbean in the summer months and my dive computer reads under water temps greater than 81 degrees. (i see pearly jawfish in very shallow water 10-30ft) i wonder if the raised temperature in an enclosed space removed much of the dissolved oxygen from the water.

 

[Sk8r]

It certainly acted like oxygen depletion---the gasping, etc. WE do have to take that closed space into account: I think you're quite right in that. I have four of these---I hope they all survived: haven't seen #4, but there are plenty of recesses where he could be.
I looked up the Wiki for the sea there and got 80 as a constant, but it sure didn't like nearly 82.
My water is massively oxygenated: a 2o gal fuge, 100 gallon main tank, an oversized (200 g) needle skimmer; and a 15 foot fall to reach the sump (basement), so oxygen may be still more critical for this species.