Questions about QT for Blue Spot Jawfish

[oldbones]

Ok, it's six weeks until my new 55 gal custom built tank is scheduled to arrive. My 10 gal QT is up and cycled with an HOB filled w/ bioballs and some floss from my DT. Perfect timing to start QT for the first fish I'd like to introduce to the new tank.

I am very interested in a Blue Spot Jawfish, and have been reading all I can find on their husbandry. I do, however, have a couple questions in my mind about QT...

Mainly, I'm trying to figure out how to cover the QT so he doesn't jump out. How do you do this when using an HOB filter? I guess with some eggcrate and some creative carving, you could fashion something.

Thoughts?


I'm sure I'll think of more questions. I'll add them to the thread as they come up.

 

[ThRoewer]

Just Monday I talked with the guy who catches them in Mexico and imports them into the US. I got some interesting insight out of this. For example that they live on sand beds at depths around 70ft with rather slow flow.
I further learned that they are always found in groups of four in the wild, one male in the center and 3 females around him. Each still needs quite a bit of space, though it is really hard to replicate this in a home tank.


As for your question - eggcrate is absolutely insufficient as these guys are small enough to jump right through. I would suggest a screen top like the one you may use for your windows to keep flies out. I would just get a slightly wider mesh to block as little as possible light and reduce encrustment. Bulk Reef Supply has kits and also an instruction video how to build it.

 

[nirvanaandtool]

Why not get a glass top and trim the plastic piece in the back for the HOB? That's what I do with the 20H QT tanks I use. You typically can trim that plastic piece really tight to the HOB so there are no openings.

 

[ThRoewer]

Glass blocks evaporation and blocks light. That's OK for a QT but not so good for the main tank.

 

[snorvich]

As for your question - eggcrate is absolutely insufficient as these guys are small enough to jump right through. I would suggest a screen top like the one you may use for your windows to keep flies out. I would just get a slightly wider mesh to block as little as possible light and reduce encrustment. Bulk Reef Supply has kits and also an instruction video how to build it.

Exactly. Note that temperature where they are collected is cooler than most home aquaria.

 

[zooman72]

Glass blocks evaporation and blocks light. That's OK for a QT but not so good for the main tank.

Well, since he is asking about the QT at the moment, that would be my choice - a glass top with a carefully cut-out section.

Some aquarists (including me) actually want to cut down on evaporation using glass, and the amount of reduced light transmission is rather negligible, plus it keeps the fish in the aquarium.

Evaporation is necessary for cooling however, so if keeping a QT in a warm climate or room, than a carefully constructed mesh top would possibly be the best choice.

One could also find a newer BioCube (14g would be enough, with the "fish saver" back wall already built in) since the entire top is covered by the lighting hood...

 

[MoneyGone]

For my QT I use plastic canvas. Cut around my HOB filter and it is easy to take off and on without building a frame.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OPZFDE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[nirvanaandtool]

Glass blocks evaporation and blocks light. That's OK for a QT but not so good for the main tank.

Right but the OP is specifically asking for QT use. It's a perfect application for glass tops. I agree they are questionable on a DT.

Personally I try to run my QTs on the cooler side anyway and they are in my basement so I never really have any heat concerns. Blocking evap just means less top off which is easier in my book.

 

[oldbones]

Well, here's the little bugger right here...

He's still at the store, I'll pick him up in the morning (9:00 am) right before we jump in the airplane and head home. He'll be in my tank back in Washington by 2:00 pm.

I picked up the glass & plastic lid for my 10g QT today, I'll use that until he goes into my new 55 (whenever that shows up).

I picked up 5# of coarse crushed coral & argonite for him to push around in the QT. If he needs any meds while he's in there, I'll just throw it out after. Probably give him a plastic cave or rock too, just cause he's so cool and I'm a sucker.

I guess I'll have to think about a mesh top for the 55, since now I'm learning that glass tops don't seem so desirable. I thought lower evaporation would be a good thing??? I had no idea, however, how much light loss you get, and that might be the dealbreaker for the glass top.

Thanks for the tips, and now that I've committed, you can go ahead and tell me "the rest of the story"!

 

[zooman72]

Nice fish!

As for glass tops for a display, as long as they are kept clean, the reduction in light transmission should be rather negligible. I run a duster wand over them every few days to remove any dust.

I run glass tops on all of my aquariums, and have zero issues growing corals. I light them all with LED fixtures, and they are well below maximum power. I do have central air, and don't need evaporative cooling. I also have sumps and skimmers, so even with relatively high bioloads, oxygen saturation is not an issue either...

 

[oldbones]

Thank you for that input. Low evap was a goal of mine when stepping up to a bigger tank. My cabinet is small, and space for an ATO reservoir is quite limited. ATO doesn't make much sense if you're having to top of your reservoir every day (maybe a slight exaggeration).

My house stays 68* most of the year, and I'm using moderate power LED lights, so overheating isn't a big concern. Maybe in the summer a glass top would be a problem, but I don't know that yet.

Anyway, I'm excited to bring home the new fish, I think he'll be a great addition to the menagerie.

 

[oldbones]

Blue Spot Jawfish is all moved in to his new digs for the next 4-6 weeks. Transferred him in by hand (he didn't even freak out!) and released him right into a cave rock (fake) I put in the QT for him. Within minutes he was sticking his head out and grabbing up the rubble I had piled up near his cave to bring home and decorate. He's picked out a favored snail shell to grace the entrance.

About two hours later, after feeding my biocube, I offered him some Mysis, and he gobbled em up!

I think I'm gonna dig this fish.

 

[oldbones]

Well, four days in. The little guy had me nervous the last couple days. I'm guessing the stress of being caught, stored, shipped to CA, plopped in tank, caught again, travel to WA, into another tank, etc. was a bit much. That being said, he is looking good this morning.

He ate good the first two feedings, but hasn't eaten much since. I did see him grab a bit of food last night at bedtime, so I'm hoping his appetite will be back in full swing when I feed in a bit.

He was looking pretty listless yesterday, and I thought I might have seen something on his skin, so I decided to give him a quick FW dip. He tolerated 5 minutes in PH matched fresh water with zero drama, and actually has perked up a bit since then. Nothing of note left in the bottom of the bowl after the dip, so that's good.

 

[oldbones]

Feeling much better now, both Mr. Jawfish AND myself.

He is being a Jawfish today. After I added some appropriate substrate yesterday, he spent the night building a burrow. His behaviors today appear to be completely normal, no lethargy, no weird spots or bad coloring, breathing normally, etc. His appetite is back too, had a nice breakfast, and he just ate again.

Since he will be in this 10g until my new tank is up and running (4-6 weeks minimum), I'm treating it as a small DT instead of a sterile QT. If he develops a condition that requires medicating, I may have to rethink that, but in the meantime I feel the advantages of having a proper habitat including a working bio-filter is the best thing I can do for him. I gave him a Nassarius Snail and 5 mini hermits to keep him company and help with any food scraps he might miss.

Oh, and isn't he handsome?

 

[CHSUB]

i think you're on "the right track". a friend of mine had one for a very long time, he kept it in a 30 gallon with 2 clown fish. everyone else i know of has failed, imo, keeping him in a peaceful tank with few fish is very important!!!

 

[oldbones]

The only other fish I have are in my current 29g biocube. Mated pair of Ocellaris and a Chrysiptera springeri (Sapphire Damsel). Once the new tank is up and running, I plan to move the Jawfish in first until he (fingers crossed) moves into the burrow I will have started for him (fat chance, I know). Next up will be the Springer, she's actually pretty mellow and likes to hang out dead center in the tank. Last will be the Clowns. They have been in this 29 for a good while, and can get just a smidge bossy. I think the best chance for success will be to have the other two settled and moved in, then the clowns will have to carve out their own spot (should be easy, I plan to move their current "spot" over just before I move them).

What could possibly go wrong!

 

[oldbones]

Well folks, bad news. I brought this fish home May 1, and he died overnight May 11-12.

I wish I had some idea, but the best I can come up with is the mysterious "blue spot disease", which, the best I can tell, is a made up name for an unknown but not uncommon condition.

Day 1 Brought fish home, acclimated and placed in qt, ate very little
Day 2 Ate better, looked ok
Day 3 No appetite, a bit listless, not looking great
Day 4 Wouldn't eat, had white spot on side of belly, breathing hard, lethargic. Had a dirty mucus layer. Did fresh water dip, no parasites noted.
Day 5 Looking better, appetite returning, starting to act normal.
Day 6 Fish is acting and looking perfect. Burrowing, eating, etc. Spot not noticeable.
Day 7 All is well, fish is looking great, eating like a horse.
Day 8 Nothing to report, all is well
Day 9 Fish acting a little "off", appetite starts to decline
Day 10 Barely interested in food, not moving around much, starting to breath heavy
Day 11 Fish wont eat, breathing heavy and 'coughing'. White spot has returned on side of belly, looking very poorly.
Day 12, fish is gone.


I really with I could understand what happened with him, was it treatable or avoidable. I scoured the net for information, and saw quite a few similar stories with the same symptoms, but no ID on the ailment. I couldn't find any stories with happy endings, some tried various treatments, but either lost the fish, or failed to update the story with progress past a certain point (assuming these fish were lost also).

Ideas? Not sure what to do at this point.

 

[oldbones]

So, in the interest of science... No really, if it'll help the next guy, I'm all for it, so I'll post any experience I think is significant as to success or failure with this species. Certainly a species that can provide mixed results, at least according to the interwebs.

After losing the last BSJ, I was pretty bummed. I drained the QT he was in, soaked/rinsed everything in fresh water for a couple hours then let all the rocks and sand dry for a couple days while I further sanitized all the equipment from that tank. Then I added everything back to the tank, seeded with one large LR from the LFS plus an ounce or two of bottled bacteria (was using for another project). Fed the tank with a half raw shrimp, got 2ppm Ammonia overnight. First time took 5 days to return to zero, but tank was well cycled after that.

On Monday, 5/25, we happened through a LFS and my wife and I walked straight up to a tank holding ONE BSJ, all by himself. Store employee told me the fish had been there three weeks, then fed him so I could watch. Great feeding response, even with decent flow trying to take the food away. It was a mixed food, and I saw him eating multiple different food types quite readily. He definitely had his burrow as home base, but he wasn't afraid to venture out and scope out his surroundings. Kept a pretty close eye on my as I walked past his tank. This fish was a good bit smaller than the first, so I assume younger, but really looked more normal right from the start. We brought him home.

5/25, New BSJ into QT
5/31, so far, everything is good. Fish eating VERY well, two feedings/day. Mostly Mysis, but I'm slipping in a couple pellets and even one full meal of fresh squid (which he ate voraciously). His behavior appears perfectly normal, not overly shy, coloring/markings look good. No signs of significant stress.

 

[ThRoewer]

I just saw a lot of these guys at Baja Reef here in Union City. They are one of the collectors (currently the only one with a legal license) and exclusively use nets or hooks to catch them. Other (often illegal) collectors catch them with narcotics (cyanide) which may lead to irreversible liver damage.
The timeline could fit liver damage.
A bacterial or uronema infection could be another cause for your loss.

I also plan to get 2 or 3 of these but will wait for the yellow juveniles which hopefully still can change sex. Steve at Baja Reef told me that right now is their mating season and that the juveniles should be settled on the ground in 2 to 3 months.