My Pearly Jawfish Thread

J

jbrownacu

Premium Member
Bill at Neptunes Cove ordered me a beautiful mated pair of pearly jawfish. I've never been so excited about a fish purchase before. They are in a 29g alone with 8" of substrate to play in. They have just started digging and are a bit shy so it is hard to get a good picture. I would take more for some better images, but they are in a cave and I hate using flash on them. Enjoy...I know I will!
Josh

edit: a short video :)
http://tinyurl.com/2nj8py

http://tinyurl.com/2sppxu

Subject edited by GraviT
 
I'm loving them. Thanks for the comments. It was nice meeting all of yall last week as well Cheryl! :)

Here's a short video of one of them starting to dig their home if anybody cares. Sorry for the quality.
http://tinyurl.com/2nj8py

Josh
 
Very cool: Reminds me of my Midas. Such a big mouth for such a little fish. Did you see the Electric Flashing Scallop Bill had in the store? I almost bought it, but need to do some research first.
 
yeah i saw it. we actually talked about it for a few minutes. it's a pretty sweet thing! i wanted to buy alot of stuff, but i knew i would be sleeping outside if i spent much more than i did :lol:

i got the pleasure of being in the store as the boxes were being opened. it was like Christmas, but non of the presents were for me :sad:

josh
 
Very nice! I love pearly jawfish, they are very personable.

I would definitely research the flame scallop (actually a file clam, the name is technically incorrect) first. After keeping one and losing it, I read that they tend to stave in low nutrient environments. Very cool to look at, but in my opinion is one animal that should be left in the sea.
 
a couple more videos were added. look at my youtube profile and see the other vids i have. i will post more as things progress. the male is the lazy one is what bill told me. it turns out in one of the videos i caught them confronting each other. the male just didnt want to work and wanted in her burrow. he slips by her even with her trying to protest!

http://tinyurl.com/2sppxu
 
they had vanished when i got back this late afternoon. i guess they blocked off the entrance for some "quality" time :eek: either that or the sand caved in on them. i hope they show themselves tomorrow or i might get worried about them. the problem is i dont know a whole lot about them, just the general info. so if there are any good reads on jawfish and their behavior feel free to point me in the direction of a good read! :)
josh

edit: oh, and just so you dont worry about my aquascaping...i put in all of the rockwork and even shook the tank to make sure it wouldnt fall. then i filled it with the sand/CC.
 
can a Mod please move this to the "marine fish keeping" forum. id like to keep this post going, and dont want to annoy people in the open chat. thanks!
josh
 
the male still isnt eating, but seems to be acting fine. he just hides alot still.

ive noticed that these guys are coming out after the lights go out. is this normal behavior? the lights go out and they come out of their holes and start swimming and digging around more than they do during the day.
josh
 
the male has been acting pretty weird at night. he is the one that comes out pretty quick and he's swimming as hard as he can against the glass in the corner. the female didnt come out tonight, but she's the one with the established burrow and i saw her all during the day and eating well. the male is still not eating and im getting a bit worried about him. i didnt see him at all during the day today. after lights went out i heard him swimming against the side throwing sand and rocks every where...not with his mouth, but with the force of his fins.

any thoughts?
josh

edit: all parameters read fine. 1.0023, ph 8.2, Ammo 0, trites 0, dkh 9
 
Hi Josh,

It has been my experience that jawfish are more likely to "jump" out at night, they get a bit startled (make sure you have a lid of some sort on top) - I keep a nightlight on for them - I have lost 2 due to jumping out :(

As for their "Hidey" hole - mine covers it up every night for bed time - and then opens it back up when the lights are on - Your male should settle down once he gets a bit more familiar with his surroundings, also you may try the night light or some moonlights and see if that helps him out a bit! :)

Good luck with your new additions!!

Kathy
 
thanks for the reply kathy!

i'm a bit bothered by the fact that i havent seen both of them at the same time in a few days. i can only guess that the one hanging out in the corner of the tank at night is the male or the one without the established burrow. he did the same thing last night. i have a lid on top so jumping shouldnt be an issue. now i just really want to see them both during feeding time and both eat something. yesterday i think i saw the male out eating, but honestly they look so alike i could be mistaking them. tank parameters still read good.
josh
 
a quick update since ive had some people asking about these guys...

they are both doing really well! the male finally started eating great after about 3 weeks and is now starting to come out of the burrow at short intervals and eat. he's pretty shy though. once i added a small sunburst anthias they seem to not be as scared to come out at feeding times. the female is pretty fat, but the male is still thin since he wasnt eating well for so long. im sure he'll fatten up now that he's eating.

if you have any questions feel free to ask!
josh
 
I"m glad you started this thread. Actually because of this I'm planning on getting either one or two as well. I have a 24g AP and I basically took your info for setting up. I took a large rock and put it on the glass first (it's like 20 pounds with a huge cave area) then I filled in the sand.... but about 5". I could add more if needed. I have a clown I added last night and a cleaner shrimp and Hawiian feather duster. Do you think I could add a mated pair? Or because of the clownfish I should only get one? The updates and posts are really helpful to have an idea of what to expect.

Thanks. BTW how are they doing now?
 
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