Mated Jawfish Pair with My Seahorse

[mangelo]

I just acquired a Jawfish mated pair. I will take delivery of them on Tuesday. Is it possible to keep them with my seahorse? I have nothing on the bottom of this tank yet, but was going to add some live sand and then add the fish.

Opinions please.

 

[Elysia]

What species of jawfish? Some jawfish get rather large. As such, they may not only be a threat to your seahorses, they would need a substantial sand bed, the addition of which is likely to upset your tank at least temporarily with sedement alone. Due to the small gill pores of seahorses, I assume you would be moving the seahorses out of the tank if you planned on adding a sandbed to their tank? Otherwise, I think the cloudy water could upset their respiration and stress them.

 

[mangelo]

They are Pearly Jawfish. They shouldn't get too big. And Yes, I was going to temporarily move the horse while the water settled. So it should be ok then?

 

[JennyL]

Hi Mangelo,
If this is the same seahorse that is having some health problems you mentioned in another thread, I don't think it would be a good idea to stress this horse even more but rather see to all his needs first and keep him in his own tank, seperate from other fish.

Added stress for a seahorse that is already having problems can lead to more serious health problems.

 

[Elysia]

I am obviously not as up to date as JennyL is on your particular horses, so I defer to her as to the specifics of your situation.

As far as a pearly/yellowhead jawfish in general -- I think they are fine as tankmates, as they don't seem to disturb the substrate too often once they get their burrows set up. Probably best to let the jawfish set up shop and settle in before putting the seahorses back into the tank, just to be safe. They are also fairly peaceful.

 

[pledosophy]

Just on principal jawfish are cool tankmates IMO.

If the seahorses is having problems, might want to chill out for a bit like Jenny suggests.

 

[mangelo]

Sea horse has been doing well. He's been eating regularly. Maybe I was just paranoid thinking the worst.