Help with Yellow-headed Pearly Jawfish

lexzbuddy

lexzbuddy

New member
I have a Yellow-headed Pearly Jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons) that I added to my tank about a month ago. I made sure there was some mixed gravel 5 to 10 mm in size as well as some live rock rubble for him. He has made a den but rarely comes out. He comes out at feeding time and will take some food but hides in his burrow the rest of the time.

He's very nervous and I am very worried about him. I have a Coral Beauty in the tank but that's the only other fish. I have a couple of hermits and shrimp but nothing that bothers him. He's scared of everything, poor little thing. I also have various corals too and live rock of course. System is stable and low nitrate, Phosphate etc. Running at 1025 salinity. I don't have kids and the tank is in a low traffic area so nothing external to the tank to scare him.

If anyone has any experience and advice on how to help him settle down I would really appreciate it.
 
man, that sucks. jawfish are really cool. how deep is your sandbed? some fish are just more shy than others, i guess. i just got a clownfish that will run away from me if i get too close...
 
Is your tank still cycling?
What size tank?
Is your coral beauty an ***[emoji33]le?
Since he was there first he might've thought the whole tank was his... If that's the case putting the angel in a sump to allow the jawfish to explore a bit and gain confidence could help. Adding peaceful fish to the tank while your angel is in exile and returning him once the jawfish is less stressed could also work... Have you tried changing around the rock to " dismantle territories?

I find 1.025 maybe is a bit high 1.022-1.023 is perhaps closer to their natural environment.

The male pearly jawfish I had was pretty bold and " in your face " kinda guy his female was a bit more reserved. When I put them in took them at least 3 weeks to a month to settle in a good spot , then they hung around the pair of cinnamon clownfish who were pretty mean !

Hope this helps
 
No, the tank isn't cycling. It's been up and running for about a year.

It's a nano, 128 liters.

The coral beauty is inquisitive but harmless. She's dumb as a box of hammers but non aggressive. She is very energetic and spends looks of time in and around the rocks or swimming in the moving water. She can be a bit greedy at food time. Not aggressive, more of a hoover as she will eat forever if you kept putting food in.

The sand is about 4 or 5 inches deep. He has a wee flat rock that he uses as a flap on the entrance of his den.

I have a 50 liter tub with live rock in it. It has a heater and circulation pump so I could pop the coral beauty in there for a few days. That actually sounds like a good idea. I could reshape the tank and then, hopefully the jawfish settles and I can add her back in.
 
You have a shy one. My wife has a pair, one comes out and is not shy at all, the other barely sticks its head out. Hopefully it may calm down after time
 
I'll hang fire until the weekend before I start moving stuff. Thanks for the input too. She was out during feeding time today but hidden away after that. Could be worse, at least she's eating OK.
 
wait a little longer perhaps. they are shy and mine took a few weeks to get more settled in the burrow. now it's more out and about. i also have about a 28 gallon tank.
 
Those are some interesting diagrams... Lol I thought the Caribbean Sea was 1.023- 1.0235... Damn Internet!
 
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