Jawfish MIA

B

biolateralus

New member
Hello,

I've been in the saltwater hobby for about 6 months now. My wife and I love Yellow headed jawfish. We recently moved and I had to start my tank from scratch (56 Gallon). I've had 3 Jawfish disappear soon after they were added. I have one left and I'm worried about him. All of them have vanished over night and I have a feeling that something is eating them and leaving no trace of their bodies. My thought is that it's something living in the rock that is getting to them. Is that possible? My stock is 4 Chromis, 2 Royal Gramma, 1 Occelaris Clown, 1 Cleaner shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 Rubyhead fairy wrasse and assorted hermits and snails. The rock i bought at LFS is a fairly large piece about 30+lbs and it was live at the store. Is it possible that there is something in there that's killing them? I also have a lid on the tank, so they aren't jumping out.

Thanks
 
How well fitted is that lid? I lost a Blue Spot Jawfish through a hole barely big enough to put a pencil through.

Do you ever hear any clicking coming from the tank? It could be possible that you have a pistol shrimp or mantis in the tank. They would be under the rocks and could get the jawfish while he slept.
 
They usually don't show up for a week or two. Mine was gone for a week then I saw him then disappeared for another week. I see mine more now but It just got stung by an elegance and I am not sure if it will make it.
 
They do hide a lot and sometimes they go into the overflow. I have seen them jump before too. I have one that is doing well in my tank, he's the 4th one though.
 
oldbones said:
How well fitted is that lid? I lost a Blue Spot Jawfish through a hole barely big enough to put a pencil through.

Do you ever hear any clicking coming from the tank? It could be possible that you have a pistol shrimp or mantis in the tank. They would be under the rocks and could get the jawfish while he slept.
Click to expand...

Well, the lid has a gap in the back to allow space for my hangon skimmer, over flow and return. Gap is about 3" but I'm not sure what to do to fix that. I don't hear any clicking noises coming from the tank either. I looked behind the tank on the floor for bodies, but nothing. I've kept one in my Biocube just fine before, but that did have a sealed lid on it.
 
my buddy was going threw this but not just with jawfish and turned out he had a bobbit worm, hope that is not the case for you.
 
Jawfish need a deep sand bed to create a barrow. The sand can't be too fine. Give here peices of broken rocks and shells to use in supporting the barrow walls. Without that, they will hide and jump. My yellowhead stays around her barrow. Hover about 10" in each direction. She comes higher when I feed her, and that is it. They also attempt to jump when threatened by other fish.
 
Since I wasn't having any luck with the Jawfish, I picked up a Blue star leopard wrasse. Very cool fish. He lasted a 1 1/2 days before he vanished without a trace. I'm really thinking that there is something in the rock that is killing them and I'm worried that my 1 remaining jawfish will meet the same fate. I think the only reason he is alive is because he has made his home away from the big rock. I'm thinking of taking the rock back to the FS and try again. It's freaking huge too, so whatever it is that's in there is going to be near impossible to find.
 
Go in there after the lights have been off late at night and shine a dim flashlight in there. You might can see what's in there causing the trouble.
 
set up a trap and see what you catch.

imo you're putting really sensitive fish in there they could be dying in your rocks and your cuc could be making short work out of them
 
Do you own a cat? I've known some cats that would hook fish with great skill.

Try pulling that rock and putting it in a QT with one fish. If the fish disappears you'll know it's something in the rock. If something in the tank disappears, it'll be something that lives in the sand.
 
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