ServingAces15 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Hey all, So I recently purchased a pearly/yellow headed jawfish. This is one of my dream fish so I had performed so much research on him before I got the little guy (or girl). I've had him for about a week now and I've noticed that he has been breathing heavily, mouth gaping, ever since I bought him and exhibited some random behavior that I didn't feel was normal. He spent the first 2 days in the tank digging holes in each corner and on the third day he finally built a burrow under one of the rocks. 2 days later he's back out in one of the corners of the tank and wouldn't move into his burrow, even when startled. I have been feeding him mysis shrimp which he has been readily accepting. Another thing I noticed is that when the lights were off in the tank he was not as skittish and would spend more time in his burrow. Tank parameters are: Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites 0ppm Nitrates <10ppm Phosphate <5 pH 8.00 Salinity 1.025 Current Temp (F) 79 Other fish: Ocellaris clownfish pair (90% sure they have no idea the jawfish exists as they haven't bothered him nor do they ever swim anywhere near his burrow) These parameters were taken right before I left for a few days but the behavior hasn't changed. No noticeable redness of gills, patches on body, dots, frayed fins, etc although I will keep an eye out for any changes. I feel as though he may just be stressed so what I'm really asking is for pointers or theories of potential issues/illness from those who have experience with this fish. I have attached a photo of the fish and I have a video segment of the breathing that I can attach if needed. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 How long have you had it? Some fish seem much more skittish in New homes than others. The digging in various spots sounds about right behaviour. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Mine took a long while to settle in.... He ended up with several burrows he would swap around in. He was very anxious until he finally built something he was happy with. He still got upset easy by hermit crab and snail invasions. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 You could add a pic pipe in the tank to give it a hide out and see if that helps until it makes a burrow it's happy with Quote Link to comment
ServingAces15 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 19 hours ago, Clown79 said: How long have you had it? Some fish seem much more skittish in New homes than others. The digging in various spots sounds about right behaviour. I've had him for exactly 2 weeks today. 10 hours ago, Clown79 said: You could add a pic pipe in the tank to give it a hide out and see if that helps until it makes a burrow it's happy with I will create a burrow with a pvc pipe to give an extra place to hide. Thanks for the tip! Much appreciated Quote Link to comment
ServingAces15 Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 13 hours ago, Tamberav said: Mine took a long while to settle in.... He ended up with several burrows he would swap around in. He was very anxious until he finally built something he was happy with. He still got upset easy by hermit crab and snail invasions. My pom pom crab and of my hermit crabs enjoy short adventures in the one burrow occasionally, thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.