basser1 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Mine was very active as well, even at night after the lights went out. But he never suffered any real damage. He would also show some signs of splotches and frayed fins, but I'm sure it was from his burrowing activities. Do you have any live rock rubble in his tank? I have found they feel more secure burrowing and having plenty of rubble to keep them occupied. I would occassionaly put handfuls in at a time and in a matter of minutes, it would all be used up. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 good luck man, I really hope he pulls though. Thanks. I had a BSJF for about two weeks before returning him. I didn't read much about BSJF specifically until I bought one and to my dismay found out that there are two collection points for these fish - one in California and one in Mexico.... The ones from california rarely survive in reef tanks because they are used to cooler temps while the ones from Mexico usually do very well. Right before returning mine, he started to get restless at night. He would swim quickly to the surface and then back down to his burrow, and repeat. I came to the conclusion that something in his enviornment was bothering him, and with temperature being the most likely cause I took him back and picked up a Midas blenny and some other stuff. He was alwo showing those grayish patches on his body but mostly on his fins. HTH. I was aware of the temperature issue and collection in Mexico, but I was unaware of them being collected out of CA. IIRC, they are most commonly collected out of the Sea of Cortez. The water temperature swings between 60F and 80F during the year. Luckily, a great worker at one of my favorite LFS informed me about the temperature thing. I try and run a balanced tank system where I can keep my Jawfish happy along with my SPS, so I have the tank running between 74F (night) and 75F (day). The BS LFS I got my BSJ from said that they would not give me my money back under any circumstances even if my fish got sick or died. They had the tank he was in at 78F (or higher), and he was in there for five days. There was no place for him to dig, but just a small PVC tube. They dose small amount of copper in their water which is why I decided to buy from there, since copper kills parasites. My BSJ swims around the tank at nighttime. He doesn't swim rapidly to the surface and back down to his hole(s), but he does hovers over the sand away from his main burrow and takes little swims ever so often. Mine was very active as well, even at night after the lights went out. But he never suffered any real damage. He would also show some signs of splotches and frayed fins, but I'm sure it was from his burrowing activities. Do you have any live rock rubble in his tank? I have found they feel more secure burrowing and having plenty of rubble to keep them occupied. I would occassionaly put handfuls in at a time and in a matter of minutes, it would all be used up. I cut up three frag plugs, which made probably about 50 small pieces of rubble. It's fun to watch him pick the rubble up in his mouth and line his hole with it. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 How long should I wait for the carbon to remove the remains of my reef-safe ich meds? I want to add the Melafix as quickly as possible so that the fish's infection doesn't progress. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Update: I took back the Melafix after learning it has reports of being harmful to fish. I think if he gets worse I'll put him in a QT and medicate him with a broad spectrum antibiotic, like Maracyn-Two. However, as of now he isn't getting worse. He developed two tiny splotches further up his body four or five days ago (not sure if I already mentioned that) and since then there has been no more splotches, but I don't see any signs of them going away. I'm feeding him good amounts three times per day enriched with Selcon and Garlic Xtreme. He is actively digging and making improvements to his burrows. For the last two days he has stayed in his burrow and seems quite a bit calmer, only coming out to wander around at night as usual. Hopefully I'm just overreacting and the silver splotches are just patches of scales that have lost their color, but I want to be cautious just in case. The patches don't show up much with the lights off and seem to be slightly reflective, so let's hope they're just scales. Link to comment
lqdKaos Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I've had my BSJ for almost a year now and he occasionally has splotches on his sides and his fins are sometimes torn up a bit. At first I stressed alot about the little guy. After a while I realized it might be from his burrowing and brushing up against corals and rock. I did note something though. If I leave my moon lights on all night, he exhibits signs of stress a lot more. After I put them on a timer so they are only on for an hour after my main lights go out, he is a lot more comfortable. Although he had built a burrow, with the moon lights on, he would swim back and forth constantly day and night. Now if I turn on a dim light in the room after dark, he is often no where to be found. Sometimes he will eventually pop his head out of his burrow to see what is going on. He's alot less stressed and seems pretty healthy....But sometimes he just looks like he got his butt kicked. Link to comment
basser1 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I've had my BSJ for almost a year now and he occasionally has splotches on his sides and his fins are sometimes torn up a bit. At first I stressed alot about the little guy. After a while I realized it might be from his burrowing and brushing up against corals and rock. I did note something though. If I leave my moon lights on all night, he exhibits signs of stress a lot more. After I put them on a timer so they are only on for an hour after my main lights go out, he is a lot more comfortable. Although he had built a burrow, with the moon lights on, he would swim back and forth constantly day and night. Now if I turn on a dim light in the room after dark, he is often no where to be found. Sometimes he will eventually pop his head out of his burrow to see what is going on. He's alot less stressed and seems pretty healthy....But sometimes he just looks like he got his butt kicked. Mine showed the same behavior. It seemed like he was more active after the moonlights came on. I would say if your BSJF continues to eat good Euphyillia, I would just make sure he doesn't get stressed. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 I found bigger white patches on the other side of him near his chest. He also has gray/black patches (not black ich) on his anal fin. Also, his belly seems to be white. I think he has some sort of disease. I'm going to treat him with Maracyn-Two tomorrow in a Q bucket. Link to comment
basser1 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Now this doesn't sound good. Some collectors will use cyanide to collect bsjf. And unfortunately once it's in the fish's system, it is impossible to eliminate and ultimately results in death. Even if the fish seems to be eating well, they eventually waste away. Wish I had something better to tell you. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Now this doesn't sound good. Some collectors will use cyanide to collect bsjf. And unfortunately once it's in the fish's system, it is impossible to eliminate and ultimately results in death. Even if the fish seems to be eating well, they eventually waste away. Wish I had something better to tell you. What symptoms point to cyanide? Link to comment
basser1 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 The fish will eventually waste away and be listless. And, unfortunately, some have said that they witnessed splotches or discoloration on the body. Some may show symptoms right away and some may take weeks, that's the bad thing about cyanide poisoning. As a "rule of thumb", if you can get them past the 3 month mark, you're usually good to go. But as always your results may vary. I sure wish you could post some pics! BTW, I googled blue spot jawfish disease and came up with this link, it also has some pics. Maybe it can help. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/jawfishdisfaqs.htm Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 The fish will eventually waste away and be listless. And, unfortunately, some have said that they witnessed splotches or discoloration on the body. Some may show symptoms right away and some may take weeks, that's the bad thing about cyanide poisoning. As a "rule of thumb", if you can get them past the 3 month mark, you're usually good to go. But as always your results may vary. I sure wish you could post some pics! BTW, I googled blue spot jawfish disease and came up with this link, it also has some pics. Maybe it can help. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/jawfishdisfaqs.htm Well he doesn't look like he'll last too long that this rate. I'm screwed if cyanide is the case. I'll to to get some pics tomorrow if I am able to. Should I at least try treating him with Maracyn-Two in a quarantine bucket? Link to comment
basser1 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 That's a tough call. If you try to remove him, you put more stress on him, which isn't good. Likewise with just dumping in medications, unfortunately there is no known cure for bsjf disease. I would keep him in there, since bsjf disease is not contagious and make his surroundings as stress free as possible. Also, maintain your water quality by doing regular water changes. I believe this is so important. Good Luck and I'll be pulling for him! Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 That's a tough call. If you try to remove him, you put more stress on him, which isn't good. Likewise with just dumping in medications, unfortunately there is no known cure for bsjf disease. I would keep him in there, since bsjf disease is not contagious and make his surroundings as stress free as possible. Also, maintain your water quality by doing regular water changes. I believe this is so important. Good Luck and I'll be pulling for him! Thank you for all of your help. I'll start doing 5% WCs every day. I'll also try and post pics ASAP, but I'll have to wait until the lights come on tomorrow. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 I'm mad at myself for spending nearly $75 trying to heal an $80 fish. I'm mad because Maracyn-Two didn't work. I'm mad because I stressed my Jawfish by putting him in quarantine, which made him even worse. But I am pissed off beyond belief at my LFS for acting like **** to me after the thousands of dollars I've spent there. My Jawfish has twice as many splotches as he did before I put him in quarantine. It's probably not BSJ Disease because it hasn't killed him after a month. I hope he gets better. He isn't acting weird at all. He's not breathing heavily, he's not becoming less active and he's continuing to build holes. My stupid LFS which I have been a weekly customer at for three years won't even consider giving me a penny back in exchange for the fish. The rumproast that works there says "When you buy from us you're buying at your own risk." They aways tell me that he will get better in a few days, but it's been a month. Hopefully this fish won't die, but as I said, he isn't getting any better. I'm never buying from that LFS again. Link to comment
basser1 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Just noticed the update to your thread. Yeah, I've got mixed feelings about QT tanks. My concern, as you found out, is you end up stressing the fish even more than they already are. If you have the Seachem Vitality, try soaking the food in it. I have done this before with success. Also, unfortunately, with BSJF disease, it is a gradual deterioration of the fish and may take several weeks. Signs may be listlessness, no appetite and heavy breathing. But I'm still pulling for him! Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 Just noticed the update to your thread. Yeah, I've got mixed feelings about QT tanks. My concern, as you found out, is you end up stressing the fish even more than they already are. If you have the Seachem Vitality, try soaking the food in it. I have done this before with success. Also, unfortunately, with BSJF disease, it is a gradual deterioration of the fish and may take several weeks. Signs may be listlessness, no appetite and heavy breathing. But I'm still pulling for him! He has none of the symptoms you listed and he's eating just fine. He's been with the splotches for a month now, so maybe it's not BSJ disease. Link to comment
basser1 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 He has none of the symptoms you listed and he's eating just fine. He's been with the splotches for a month now, so maybe it's not BSJ disease. That's good news!! Mine would also get splotches from time to time and I just chalked it up to him rubbing himself against the rocks and substrate. His tail was all but gone and I wanted to call him "Stubby"! Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Update: Thankfully, most of the major splotches went away. I'm not sure how the worst splotches disappeared in two days, but I'm thinking those could've been related to stress. He still has a tiny bit of gray discoloration near where his tail fin starts, but it's unnoticeable unless you know he has discoloration. They aren't "splotches" anymore, except for a tiny dot of silver on his chest. I guess the discoloration near his tail fin would be considered a barely-noticeable patch. He is still eating fine and I've put around 100 pieces of small rubble for him to play around with. He immediately took them to line all three entrances to his "fortress." He's spitting out sand which is now blowing all over the tank and covering my rocks. Maybe it's the Garlic Xtreme and the Selcon after all! Link to comment
basser1 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 That's great news!! Yes I believe the selcon and garlic xtreme may have boosted his immune system. It definately sounds like he's doing what jawfish do! Enjoy one of the neatest fish there is!! Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 I'll post another update in a week or so. Link to comment
0823angeles Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 $75 for Jawfish $80 for meds to treat unknown Taking care of and absolutely going crazy worrying about one of the best fish.... PRICELESS... I know what you mean about the stress and worries that comes with owning and caring for a BSJF. The second day of my BSJF he looked tore up like my two onyx clowns took em in the nem and had their way. But I think your fish will make it if its been a month already since purchasing him. This fish can take a lot of beatings and thats because they do hard work with building their tunnels. I freaked out that mine had pop eye due to an eye abrasion and that was due to moving sand and rocks. So relax and Good Luck... Link to comment
javisaman Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Good to hear. I love my BSJF. Mine has a bad habit of scratching or getting stung by my pom pom crab in the eye. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 There are two big white patches around his chest... well they aren't unbearably huge, but I noticed them from about five feet away from the tank. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 He's been perfectly fine for about a week or two now. No patches at all. He has a new hole now which keeps him busy since the rubble structure he's made falls down every few days. I'm no longer worried about him now. He might need some friends soon... Potential Friend... lol just kidding Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 He's actually gonna get some expensive ORA friends in a few weeks. Link to comment
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