Have you owned a blue spotted jawfish 1+ years?

[Neptune 555]

I am debating purchasing a blue spotted jawfish for my 75 gallon with 4 - 6 inches of sand. The tank is located in my basement and keeps cooler temperatures even in summer...

Has anyone kept a blue spotted jawfish for 1+ years?

Thanks
Neptune

 

[Marshall O]

I just lost mine about 2 months ago after having it for 18 months. Tank was kept around 76°F, plenty of sand and rubble for it to build homes with, all non-aggressive tank mates., completely covered tank. There were no issues for the first year. Soon after, it seemed to lose its eyesight. I had to spot feed it for the last 6 months. It did fine with this until the last couple days before it passed.

Bottom line is, it is not a fish I intend to attempt again. Love their colors and personalities, but just does not seem to be a fish that does well in captivity.

 

[Rea17]

From what I've read jawfish have pretty short lifespans, ~2 years is about the longest I've seen people keep them.

 

[desertrat505]

I didn't have my Jawfish for a long time, 3+ months, but from experience a cooler tank is best 76 or below. My blue spot ended up killing himself by jumping into the overflow. I wasn't able to keep the temp low enough during the summer and I don't think he was very happy. I would love to have another but I would need to purchase a chiller to do so. I am currently in the market for a pearly since they are a quite a bit cheaper. Awesome fish though with great personality.

 

[Neptune 555]

Yes I think I am now looking for a pearly jawfish. My LFS actually cautioned me against this fish.. Said that it is hard to hear stories of BSJ who live for over a year in an aquarium...

Still searching for any success stories..?

Neptune

 

[alton]

Contact KP Aquatics and try a couple of juveniles

 

[nicdu]

I have been waiting to post on this thread since I got my BSJ over a year ago(close to 2 now), and I am happy to report my Spock is still with me thriving. He is the most awesome fish, and surprisingly super easy to care for, since he has the right set up. He is the only fish in an Innovative Marine 38 tank. He has about a 5ish inch sand bed with ton of rubble, and a handful of larger pieces of rock to build tunnels around. The average tank temp is about 75 degrees, but I don't have a chiller or anything. It's in our master bedroom, and we keep that a good deal cooler than the rest of the house. He eats all types of frozen food and flakes, but doesn't like pellets.

I never thought I'd be ok with having a whole tank for one fish, but bsj are so interesting with cool personalities, that I am 100% ok with it. I have tried to house a pair of firefish (from dd) with him, but I think eventually, the firefish just got too stressed out by the bsj and they didn't make it. That was the first and only time I tried out tankmates for him. If you're willing to put the work into the set up and a completely jump proof lid) these fish are so worth it.