jawfish help

[So Cal shaggy]

Hey everyone,

I have had nothing but bad luck with jawfish I must have had at least 8 of them in the past 4 years and the longest one to survive was 5 months. I have had all species as well pearly, dusky, black cap, blue spot (it was on sale for $48.00) and a red headed. When they jump out of the tank and I find them on the floor I know why they died and I blame myself but when the tank is escape proof and I see them for a few days and they are acting fine but then dissapear it is frustrating because I cannot figure out what happened to them. My tank only has a couple of fish in it and none of them are very aggressive I have:

1. maroon clown (but it never strays more than a foot from the anemone on the left side of the tank)
2. black sailfin blenny (but it stays on the left side of the tank)
3. citron goby
4. cleaner shrimp (3 of them)
5. fire shrimp
6. bullseye pistol shrimp
7. red pistol shrimp
8. 1 scopas tang

Can any of these fish be causing the jawfish I put into the tank to dissapear? I do have a good population of bristleworms could these guys be causing the problem? I really like jawfish and think that one of them would be a perfect addition to my tank I know my tank is big enough it is 6 feet long and the most recent jawfish I added (4 weeks ago) built its burrow on the right side of the tank and was eating fine and adding rubble to it's burrow everytime I dropped some broken coral rubble into the tank. Thanks for any help with problem of mine.

Thanks,

 

[dodgerblew]

A couple observations I had when I had one:

Their burrows can be quite extensive, not always a simple hole. The one I had undermined a large area of my live rock as it's burrow had multiple entrances that covered about a square foot. Maybe it has a burrow you can't see. Also, the one I had was also in a covered tank but would repeatedly jump into overflow and waterslide into the sump where I eventually left it.

 

[fc.pride]

so cal...not a pro at jawfish but ive had a couple and still do...
dodgerblew has a good point, sometimes they may be hiding and wont come out. you can try a hi fin goby or yasha hasa. they are nice looking and can be not as shy.
if you really want a jawfish try to get a bigger one so he will be easier to spot and also less likely to be shy. in time hopefully he will come out.

 

[So Cal Guppy]

Jawfish

Jawfish

These guys do not have a secret hiding hole my pistol shrimp have cleared most if not all the sand out from behind my reef so the entire bottom of the reef is visible from the underside of the tank I wish they were in a secret hole somewhere in the back of the tank but they just dissapear and I have tried all sizes available from really small to a dusky a few years ago that was almost 6" long. Maybe I was just never meant to never keep a jawfish which is a bummer since I think they very unique fish.

 

[dopeyx27]

for some reason my pearly jawfish always die... =/

 

[therealw00]

How deep is your sandbed? The depth of the sand is more important to jawfish than the size of the tank. 8-12" is ideal :eek2:

I do not know if there is truth to this or not, but I read the blue-spotted jawfish is not legally exported from Mexico at this time, but it still manages to find its way to LA wholesalers under other names.

 

[So Cal shaggy]

jawfish

jawfish

on the right side of the tank where they all build a burrow I have a 9"-10" sandbed.

 

[So Cal Guppy]

Dodgerblew, fc.pride, etc (aside from my Shaggy),

When you had those jawfishes, could you see the burrow paths from underneath the tank or could you not see underneath?
The reason I'm asking is because on So Cal Shaggy's 135 gal tank, I can see underneath---there's no obstruction except a couple of boards supporting the tank.

I remembered all those jawfishes and it does sadden me too because they just go *poof!* And it's a mystery, unless you find them in the return or something.

 

[spline9]

I had a pearly jawfish. Little guy vanished. I think he jumped and the cat had a fresh snack.
They are way cool fish but I dont think I will try them again since I prefer my tanks to be open top.

 

[dodgerblew]

I couldn't see underneath as my stand top was solid.