Need advice about Pearly Jawfish

[deligirlmss]

I'm pretty sure the Pearly Jawfish is going to be my first saltwater fish. My cycle should be over in a week or two. In that time period I am trying to gather as much info on them as possible. If any Pearly Jawfish owners could contribute some helpful tips about keeping this beautiful fish, it would be much appreciated!

[JaneG]

Pearly jawfish are very timid when they haven't been established. The first night is when it will jump in particular, so make sure your lights are very dim when added and your lid is tight. For lids, I generally suggest 1/4" clear mesh, as they can usually fit through eggcrate or damage themselves by hitting glass. Be careful when acclimating them, as mine tried to jump out twice during the acclimation alone- as I'm sure you already know, they're very prone to jumping. Whenever mine was stressed, his eyes would change color and he would turn a fleshy pink color- this happened twice (when I was acclimating him and once when his burrow collapsed). Make sure you have plenty of live rock rubble- a lot of people don't talk about it, but live rock rubble is the main component of jawfish burrows in the wild.

that showcases this- it should give you a good idea about what sizes for the rubble. How deep is your sandbed and what is it made out of? Try to make sure it is 3"+ at one area, and made with a mixture of crushed coral and fine sand (otherwise the burrow can easily collapse). Don't be concerned if it starts burrowing in the back, as they almost always will move to the front where they can observe their surroundings. If there is a particular side of the tank you would prefer them to burrow in, feed in that particular area. Fish tankmates should be peaceful and non-aggressive, as they're prone to getting bullied. Be aware that they will flare at fish that swim by their burrows, but they won't attack. Also, make sure you have open rockwork, as they can better view their surroundings that way- in the wild, they're found with very little rock. In captivity they make 2 kinds of burrows- ones in the open sandbed or ones under rocks. When a jawfish burrows in the open sandbed, that's a good sign- when they burrow under rocks, they're building a "safety burrow," usually from fast moving or aggressive tankmates. Once they become established, they use their burrows much less- in the wild, they are usually about 4' away from their burrows. Most specimens will accept any form of frozen food (mysis is a good choice, since it is very nutritious), however, after training, they will usually accept pellets. I generally suggest (if you're planning on keeping any other fish) feeding with an eyedropper, as they (until they're quite established) generally won't move very far from their burrows for food- they will usually learn to associate the eyedropper with food and will swim up and grab hold of the tip for food. Some claim they're oppurtunistic feeders so they can be fed once every other day- however, in the wild, they face the water currents and snack on food items that float by throughout the day. With this in mind, I would suggest feeding at least once a day, however, Scott Michael suggests feeding 3x per day (but this seems to be a little too extravagant, especially in a nano). That's about all that I can think of... great fish choice- they're by far my favorite of all fish and I'm hoping to breed them in my next tank.

[Euphyllia]

Make sure the tank is 100% covered. They WILL jump. Best kind of fish ever in my opinion.

[clayphx]

Well this thread explains a lot! Loved my little guy. Gave him rubble and all. One day he is gone. He moved his burrow frequently so I thought he was on the other side. BUT...I have egg crate with my hood sitting on top...a Nano Cube 24G.

 

Mystery solved, I believe. Next time, MESH!

[megability]

That was an awesome video, thanks...

[deligirlmss]

I have a biocube 14 with 20 lbs FIji Pink live sand. I'm thinking about getting the fish saver for the back chambers, but I'm not sure if they can jump into the back chambers anymore? The fish in that video is doing some crazy construction lol. The vid does give me an idea on how large the rubble needs to be. I'm thinking about making the DIY Jawfish house, and then hoping that he or she will use it. I was thinking of putting it towards the base of the rock on the right maybe.

 

 

I just looked in my cube and managed to find two new hitch hikers, a eunacid worm and a gorilla crab about the size of a nickle. Any idea if they are a threat to a jawfish?

[Lawnman]

I would worry about the gorilla crab nasty little things

[JaneG]

I have a biocube 14 with 20 lbs FIji Pink live sand. I'm thinking about getting the fish saver for the back chambers, but I'm not sure if they can jump into the back chambers anymore? The fish in that video is doing some crazy construction lol. The vid does give me an idea on how large the rubble needs to be. I'm thinking about making the DIY Jawfish house, and then hoping that he or she will use it. I was thinking of putting it towards the base of the rock on the right maybe.

 

 

I just looked in my cube and managed to find two new hitch hikers, a eunacid worm and a gorilla crab about the size of a nickle. Any idea if they are a threat to a jawfish?

If you have a bristle worm, I wouldn't worry about it. However, mine got stung by one when I had a lot of them and it wasn't pretty. They thrive on detritus so the key is to not let them overpopulate by not overfeeding. The gorilla crab, on the other hand, I wouldn't trust. There are very few crabs which are reef safe, and gorillas have been known to kill fish and inverts. Get it out while you can otherwise it might hide and become a big nuisance...you could consider setting up a species tank for it though?

 

I hear a lot of good things about the jawfish home, but I would be a little wary about it. I think it would be fine, but these fish have a thick coat of slime they build up to protect themselves from the rough substrate. It's scraped off when they go in and out of their burrow so there wouldn't be much of a chance to remove it with a smooth inside. Plus, you don't get to see them burrow, which is part of the fun! You'd probably be fine with it, though. However, some do abandon their burrows and I've heard of them leaving behind their condos, so keep that in mind. It's not likely it would find the burrow immediately, but I think you're supposed to use tupperware when putting the fish in so it "has to" hide in the burrow.

 

Your substrate level would probably be alright. I personally think they do better with more but they can be kept in a variety of sizes of substrate, especially if they are provided with live rock rubble to build up a burrow. Your sand looks a little bit small-grained though. I've seen tanks where they are in this, but their burrows lack a lot of support and it's not as "easy" for them to build up. Just be sure to add in the small pieces of rubble.

 

I don't think the fish guard is needed as I believe newer models have it already built in. However, if yours doesn't have it, I would suggest putting it in because mine went jumping soo many times when he was just starting to establish.

 

Nice scape! It looks like a perfect little open area for a jawfish I make them sound a lot pickier than they probably are. I think they're pretty adaptable, as I even heard of someone keeping one in BB and it hid out in a hole in their live rock. That being said, they need some things to become fully comfortable long-term.

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That channel is mainly jawfish videos so it could be fun to browse around..

[Bluside]

Great videos JaneG! I've been trying to find some of them in the wild, but mostly running across them in peoples tanks...and then getting sidetracked by other cool videos lol.

 

I agree with everything you're saying though. Jawfish can survive in less substrate, but more is always better with them. You'll know you have a really happy Jawfish when they can build a vertical burrow, which is actually probably better for your tank so they don't end up collapsing all your rock work (as ours did once e.e)

 

The Jawfish may start burrowing right away or it may hide for a few days, depending on how stressed it is and the individual personality. However, if they aren't digging at all after a while it might be an issue with your substrate. As mentioned, sand with crushed coral is best, too fine of sand and it collapses, but too rough and it can irritate their slime coating, so they need a good middle ground with extra rubble like shells, or broken up rock and coral to build with.

 

So far mine has never been a picky eater and even started eating Spectrum pellets within the first day, but you might have to train yours a little bit, although they don't seem too difficult. Within a couple of days mine already rushes ate the turkey baster we use, before it's even halfway down the tank to feed him!

 

They can be made a meal by some invertebrates and can be bullied pretty easily by other fish, so just make sure you have a mellow tank. Hopefully all of your valuable corals are up top because these fish will redecorate your tank ruthlessly, mine even bit at some mushrooms he was digging near because they kept getting in his way.

 

Have fun they're a great fish

[Enyo]

HI.

 

I've had a bluespot jawfish for a year and a half. Here are my experiences for anyone looking to keep a jawfish:

 

Use mixed sand size. I mixed a bag of each size including oolite and crushed coral. If the substrate is too large it will be hard for him to burrow and he will get stressed. If it's too small grain it wont keep form and the tunnel will collapse and stress it as well.

 

Dont use the pvc burrows. People started making those to circumvent the large amount of sand needed to keep these fish. It's not healthy at all. If you've ever had a jawfish you'll know that they have evolved over the years to build tunnels. They intricately place rocks in a ring, then add sand, then add another ring of rubble on top of the finished one. they also line the bottoms and sides of their tunnels with flooring rocks. It's what they do, dont take that away from them by not giving them deep enough sandbed and adding pvc death tubes.

 

Give them small rubble near their hole every week or so and dont disturb their area. if you are constantly messing with them they will stress out and die. Yes they can be hardy (especially the pearlies) once established, but until then they are a ticking timebomb. Simple stress can kill them faster than youd think.

 

They jump. Guaranteed 100%. My tank is full of jumpers including a helfrichi firefish and a mystery wrasse - jawfish is the only one ive seen try to jump. Once the lights go out my jawfish will seriously cruise around the tank 100 miles an hour and you hear the *PLOP* of him jumping. Thank god for screen tops.

 

They sometimes in the early morning will "drift" out of their hole and sit in a strange place as if something were wrong. It's a strange occurance that has been observed by many aquarists (search for jawfish drifting) so dont be alarmed. He's more than likely just prospecting new holes before the lights come on.

 

They also dont like busy tanks full of water column swimmers like tangs. If you have a bunch of open water species they will freak out, be looking over their shoulders in paranoia, and stress out.

 

MY 2 cents gl!

[WelcomeD]

Great video, nice thread, helped a lot.