prawn goby and jawfish? little advice

[O3reefer]

I was wondering if you can keep a blue dot jawfish and a prawn goby in the same tank? I have a 70g cube that has a six line wrasse(has been in there for 4 days) and 2 clowns right now. Its a 2 1/2 month old tank so its still new but I am going slow and trying to plan. I also want to put a mandarin in eventually.

[Angel*Fish]

I would recommend some serious caution on the blue spot jawfish. There seems to be very little success with them and if I remember correctly they come from waters where the temps range from 60-70*. Be careful looking up info -- you'll find those fish info websites that are designed just to profit from advertising and they simply recopy the wrong info from someplace that copied it from somewhere else. And I'm guessing they copied the info about Caribbean jawfish which doesn't even apply.

It seems the shippers have learned to do a better job than in the past for what that's worth.

[tymon]

ya the blue spots like cooler water.

[philter4]

Blue spots may like cooler temps but they can take temps up into the 80's with no trouble, I have dove the Sea of Cortez and collected them with commercial collectors in the late 80's early 90's several different times. The reason they don't do so well has to do with how they are collected and handled before they get to the local stores. I have posted on this in the past but here is the methods used by the collectors for the aquarium trade back then, I can't say if they still use the same methods but I don't see why they would change, this is almost 100% effective if the fish is in the hole they choose.

They take 2 inch PVC couplers and tie a plastic bag or net to one end. Then they dive until they find a colony. At this point the good collectors take old, spoiled milk in a squirt bottle and squirt some down the hole and put the open end of the coupler over the entrance to the burrow, then move to the next hole and so on until they collect as many as they have traps for. This is what the good collectors do, more often then not the guys down there use bleach instead of milk and the jawfish not only come out so much faster then with the milk but they stress out and they lose a portion of the catch before they get off the boat. These fish are doomed to die no matter what temps you keep them at. I dug 7 out of holes on one trip and kept them for several years with the only ones that died jumped out of the tank, most of them lived until I moved and took the rest to a local fish store because I didn't set the tank back up at that point. I lived in San Diego and the tank was up in the mid 80's all summer and fall, but cooler in the winter/spring. My experience and opinion is they are going to live or die because of collection and handling that happens long before they even get to the local store rather then tank conditions in your tank.

The sad thing about this is no one is going to tell you this mostly because they don't know, and it is illegal to collect this way so the collectors are not going to admit it. I have actually seen this with my own eyes so I know it is true, but most stores don't get the chance to send someone there to dive with collectors. I have collected for a living in the past and have dove with collectors all over the world to watch different methods. It amazes me that some fish are ever seen alive in the pet trade after watching what they go through before they are even sent out of the native country.

[O3reefer]

The heads ups and info is excellent. I have done a fair amount of research on them and haven't totally made up my mind yet. I had no clue how they even catch these fish. I wish I could experience that as well, but back to my original question. Will these blue spot jaw fish, or I guess any jaw fish, be ok and get along with a prawn goby?

[Angel*Fish]

I'm sorry, I just don't know about that. I wouldn't think the mandarin would be a problem. Fwiw, if I had a jawfish, I would not be inclined to add another sand dwelling fish especially in a cube footprint. Is the rock all in the center where the tank can be seen from 4 sides? Maybe it will help get you some more responses if you post the dimensions.Blue spots may like cooler temps but they can take temps up into the 80's with no trouble, I have dove the Sea of Cortez and collected them with commercial collectors in the late 80's early 90's several different times. The reason they don't do so well has to do with how they are collected and handled before they get to the local stores. I have posted on this in the past but here is the methods used by the collectors for the aquarium trade back then, I can't say if they still use the same methods but I don't see why they would change, this is almost 100% effective if the fish is in the hole they choose.

They take 2 inch PVC couplers and tie a plastic bag or net to one end. Then they dive until they find a colony. At this point the good collectors take old, spoiled milk in a squirt bottle and squirt some down the hole and put the open end of the coupler over the entrance to the burrow, then move to the next hole and so on until they collect as many as they have traps for. This is what the good collectors do, more often then not the guys down there use bleach instead of milk and the jawfish not only come out so much faster then with the milk but they stress out and they lose a portion of the catch before they get off the boat. These fish are doomed to die no matter what temps you keep them at. I dug 7 out of holes on one trip and kept them for several years with the only ones that died jumped out of the tank, most of them lived until I moved and took the rest to a local fish store because I didn't set the tank back up at that point. I lived in San Diego and the tank was up in the mid 80's all summer and fall, but cooler in the winter/spring. My experience and opinion is they are going to live or die because of collection and handling that happens long before they even get to the local store rather then tank conditions in your tank.

The sad thing about this is no one is going to tell you this mostly because they don't know, and it is illegal to collect this way so the collectors are not going to admit it. I have actually seen this with my own eyes so I know it is true, but most stores don't get the chance to send someone there to dive with collectors. I have collected for a living in the past and have dove with collectors all over the world to watch different methods. It amazes me that some fish are ever seen alive in the pet trade after watching what they go through before they are even sent out of the native country.That's just heartbreaking to hear and it's one of the reasons my ire gets up when I hear of people who want to "try" fish that there is so much failure with ---- for me that usually means angels typically collected with chemicals. The fish gets a reputation for being ultra sensitive and there's all this business about how we can "learn" to keep them when they don't have a chance to survive in the first place. And so, so many are dying.

That's some really good information. Thank you so much. I was aware that in some of the depths and areas where they live the water gets hot, but as you said it's not year round. I think I read that Bob Fenner recommends no higher than 72* which is based on occurrence site data and that's about all I've had to go by.

And I am indeed seeing a trend of healthier fish in the stores here in Houston. If the collection and handling has improved in response to people learning not to buy them, that is proof that hobbyists can make a difference.

[O3reefer]

my tank is 24x24x28h and the rock is in the center but against the back wall of the tank. Its viewable from 3 sides. That is my big concern with sand dwelling fish. I dont know how they would react or if they would be fine on opposite sides. Does anyone know about how many fish they would keep in a tank like this. Everyone's idea is different, but I am still curious. I am going for a reef tank with peaceful fish that don't get bigger than 3-4". I also have a 20g sump/fuge underneath and 80lbs of live rock.