Blue Dot Jawfish.

[RealReef7]

I am looking into getting a blue dot jawfish. Will I need a pile of rubble rock for them to burrow in? Or? Pics of your jawfish/cave, burrow etc.. would be nice!

[steelersfan]

The main thing to remember about Bluespot Jawfish is that they are tremendous jumpers. Unless your tank is fully covered (every possible hole), they will jump. Also, you need to be prepared for them to rearrange your sand. They are a great fish, with a lot of personality. Once established, they are hardy IMO.

[autodave]

I had one,did great w/my deep sand bed but he was pretty shy-didn't have a problem with him jumping,awesome fish though!

[Tylt33]

There's a BSJ thread on here worth reading- long term success is difficult, even without jumping.

[Cozmo4]

Great fish, but they are absolutely crazy jumpers - deadly accuracy. I've got a full canopy on my tank (30" deep eurobraced acrylic) with just a 4 inch slot across the back to run wires, etc. I had one jump up and over the eurobracing and through the back slot on the canopy overnight. Found him the next morning. So, I put eggcrate on the slot in the canopy with just a small square opening for the wires, etc. Got another and 4 weeks later found him behind the tank. He was too big to fit through the eggcrate, so it definitely had found the hole where the wires were running. I'm now on my third and have it completely closed off. So, anything you hear about them being jumpers is absolutely true.

To answer your question about the need for rubble, they use rock rubble, shells and things like that to reinforce their burrows. They need sand to burrow in, but need the larger pieces to build up and reinforce it. What I've done for my jawfish (blue spot and a black cap) after adding them to the tank is to drop some small pieces of rock rubble in the area where they hide when first introduced. If they start to burrow there, I add more rubble or small shells. If they move and start burrowing somewhere else (and IME they all will find a secondary spot at some point), I drop rubble there as well. It always surprises me how much they use to build their holes.

Watch out for any small frags you have in the sandbed. One evening a few weeks ag I added a couple of single head acan frags, a frag of Cyphastrea and a single eye chalice frag into the same general area of my sandbed...apparently too close to my blue spotted's burrow. I came home from work the next day to find them all as part of the outer wall of his home. :-)

[rpayer]

Not a blue-spot but here is a few pics of my yellow head and his burrow... Yellow heads dont seem to jump quite as much and seem to survive much longer than the blue-spots...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/rpayer/AligatorLand040.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/rpayer/AligatorLand055.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/rpayer/AligatorLand062.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/rpayer/AligatorLand064.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/rpayer/AligatorLand060.jpg

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Nice pics! Ive been looking into getting one of these guys, those shots remind me why.

[mhills16]

question for all the experienced!!!! jawfish keepers, what in your opinion is the shallowest sand bed you can have to have one of these fish?
thanks, mike

[reppo13]

New to the forum but i do know a lot about jawfish. Depending on the species the sand bed may be anywhere from 3 inches to 5 or more. Generally the yellowheads need around 3 inches, they like to burrow diagonally. While bluespots will burrow more vertically if not completely vertical. They should have no less than 4 inches of sand. A general rule to thumb is an inch more of sand than the fish itself. If anything the more sand the better.

[phil519]

Not a blue-spot but here is a few pics of my yellow head and his burrow... Yellow heads dont seem to jump quite as much and seem to survive much longer than the blue-spots...



Sweet pics! Awesome first post@!@!@! :bounce3:

[welcome]

Here's a pvc/barnacle idea for bsj homes. I created this for my yellow-head. He spurned it and dug his own (my firefish now lives in this creation).

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=172053&st=0

[RedneckBoats]

I personally wouldn't dream of having a sand bed under 6 inches. They say a min of 3 inches but I disagree. I have 4 tanks and 2 of each major jawfish currently available in today's market, (black cap, pearly /yellow head, dusky, blue spotted) and I also have about a 7 in deep sand bed and at times it's not enough. I'm planning on adding another 1 1/2 to 2 inches here soon. I would also suggest you read:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/hcs3/

It is full of valuable information and may also help answer some of your questions. I also have stacks of smashed up base rock from the size :blown::blown:of a penny or a nickel all the way down to the left over rock crumbs I have left after bashing the rock. If one jawfish runs out of rubble, mine will wait til the coast is clear and go steal rubble from the other jawfish. It's a riot to watch. These guys are actually the reason I got into salt water aquariums. If you read this article and still have questions, please feel free to message me and il do what I can to help. Good luck!

[chad p]

Glad someone bumped this thread. I was about to do a search when I stumbled across it. I was really set on adding a blue dot jawfish but my sand bed is way too shallow. Bummed.

Thanks for the info and the link redneck.

[Texasgold]

question for all the experienced!!!! jawfish keepers, what in your opinion is the shallowest sand bed you can have to have one of these fish?
thanks, mike

Yrs back in my 55 tank I had two. The sand was four inches but I won't lie the holes weren't as nice as I've seen with deeper holes.

[modder man]

Do any of you keep them with seahorses? I thought I saw a tank thread earlier that had jawfish and seahorses together. Seemed like a cool combination, these guys sound like a great time to watch.

[thefranchizehof]

Sweet pics! Awesome first post@!@!@! :bounce3:

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Here's a pvc/barnacle idea for bsj homes. I created this for my yellow-head. He spurned it and dug his own (my firefish now lives in this creation).

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=172053&st=0

This is without a doubt one of the best/most creative things I have seen. 5 stars! Great job man!

[FranktheTankTx]

Yea, that was a cool idea.

[SomeDude12]

Here's a cool little video, I made of mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6zGUmf-5k

[thefranchizehof]

Here's a cool little video, I made of mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD6zGUmf-5k

Very nice video. How hard is he to keep? I know a very good top on the tank is vital and that you have to target feed him most likely. Anything else?

[thefranchizehof]

Just picked up my Blue Dot Jawfish! Wish me luck! I have an egg crate top on my tank every centimeter is covered! On top of that, I bought some "window" screen and wrapped the egg crate in it with zip ties.

[thefranchizehof]

This fish is a pain in the buttocks. I've had him for less than 48 hours and he makes me want to fork my eyes out. I have a very securely closed top for my tank but when I woke up last night at 1am to use the restroom I heard a splashing noise...I go into the living room and look and he is at the surface, for the first time ever, and he is flopping up and out of the water like a maniac.

I will probably be getting rid of him fast. While he is a cool fish, appearance wise, he is a pain. He spit out a bunch of sand right on my torch coral which disturbed it and I ain't having it!

[SomeDude12]

The biggest suggestion, cover the overflow box. I found mine, twice, in the sump.

[alton]

Everything will be fine once he settles down. I had two yellowheads that remained nocturnal for 4 weeks before getting settled in

[Marshall O]

Jawfish are not the best reef fish honestly. I have one myself and had to move most of the corals in that tank to another. They constantly move sand around, spitting it out as you noticed.

That being said, they have great personalities and are fun to watch!

[thefranchizehof]

Jawfish are not the best reef fish honestly. I have one myself and had to move most of the corals in that tank to another. They constantly move sand around, spitting it out as you noticed.

That being said, they have great personalities and are fun to watch!

I got my Blue Dot Jawfish out of my tank after 2 hours last night of trying to get him out of his burrow. My tank was not a happy place last night.

I got home today he moved to a new spot and with the help of my good ole Mom, we managed to get him out of his burrow into the open and I netted him as he jumped and splashed around wildly.

Capturing this darn fish literally felt like I hit the lotto.

On a side note, one of my Snow Onyx Clowns bit my mom between her fingers and drew blood. So much for Nemo the little sweet innocent clown fish.....

[Nembo]

What's the temperature in your tank?
Blue spots like lower temperatures in the 60sF.They have a shortned lifespan at higher temperatures much like catalina gobies.

[snorvich]

What's the temperature in your tank?
Blue spots like lower temperatures in the 60sF.They have a shortned lifespan at higher temperatures much like catalina gobies.

Not as bad as catalina gobies, but since BSJ are acquired in the Sea of Cortez, they are really oriented towards cooler temperatures.