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Jawfish

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Thinking about trying one again. I rehomed the pink spot goby that drove the last to suicide. All of my current fish get along. Don't think the yellow watchman will be a problem- maybe the damsels? It's a 75g tank- any help/ suggestions appreciated
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
I'm getting a pearly jawfish. Although the fish I have aren't overly aggressive, I'm wondering what I ca do to make the transition easier / less stressful TIA
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Got the pearly jawfish and caged it for the first day- with eggcrarte and some small mesh to keep it in for the first part of the day, later took the mesh out to keep the curious larger fish out and give it a safe place- the striped banded goby and wrasse fit through lol- took the crate away today and it's taken control of it's territory- a bit of jawing at everyone that comes close- even the tang- hasn't started to burrow yet- it's a beautiful fish- reminds me of the aliens in The Abyss
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Many things I've read about jawfish seem to be untrue- at least in my tank. Not shy at all, swims with the fishes and is aggressive when eating both flakes and frozen. I see where it get's it's name- get close and it will jaw at you. Not a sand sifter, but it moves mountains of sand- 3 times so far- I hope it has finally found it's home- will have to uncover/ possibly move some corals. My yellow watchman wants to hook up- it hangs out close to the jawfish like a guard and has tried to back in to the hole- the jawfish isn't having any of that yet. A treat to watch
 

radiata

NJRC Member
There's a video somewhere of multiple Pearly Jawfish in one tank. Each had a hole in the sand, and each bobbed up and down in their own hole. It was really neat looking!
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
There's a video somewhere of multiple Pearly Jawfish in one tank. Each had a hole in the sand, and each bobbed up and down in their own hole. It was really neat looking!
Mine has seemed to finally decided on it's home, been working on it all day- so have I, providing rubble- ran out of small coral and have been breaking up ceramic discs- they say they need a deep bed, this one is making it's own- took a break for a while and covered the hole up with some rubble
 

ole farny

NJRC Member
i've kept a few species including pearly or yellowheaded jawfish. my personal all time favorite fish was dusky jawfish. cryptically patterned and not as brave as pearly in my experience. he spent the day with just his head poking out of his lair waiting for food to go by and would duck down below if he got spooked or irked by any fish. at feeding time he would make these lightning quick darts out of the lair to grab some food and just as quickly dive back into his hole. it was awesome to watch.
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
My pearly is a real workhorse, but I found that you can't have any corals close to it's hole, it has buried my cloves and yuma. I moved them today out of it's reach, I ran out of rubble, so now I'm busting up ceramic discs for it to use
 

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Are they ever done with the burrow? Mine is continually working on it- it's moved about 3" since the beginning- I'm actually thinking about using a flat piece of rock/shell vertically to stop the movement- just might re direct it though. The yellow watchman has become it's guard- spends time jawing at the other fish that get near- fun to watch though- Luckily i have plenty of ceramic discs to bust up
 
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