Blue spotted jawfish?

rebecky45 · Sep 27, 2013

I'm contemplating getting one. I have a 75 mixed reef with pretty docile fish (watchman goby, clowns, wrasses, mandarin). What are peoples thoughts on these guys? Any challenges with them? Feeding frequency? Thanks in advance!

kschweer · Sep 27, 2013

Blue spotted jawfish do best at a lower temperature than what most reef tanks are kept at. Of I remember correctly they like it in the low 70's. Another thing is that they like a deep sand bed to dig their burrows in. If sand is not deep enough they are known to kick sand up in an attempt to pile it up for their burrow. I have heard that 6" sand bed is just about the minimum to stop them from doing this. They should also be supplied with some small rubble rock that they will use to make their den as well.

Mr. E Wrasse · Sep 27, 2013

I have had a few in the past. Yes to them liking lower temperatures, they can do with normal rock or coral rubble, dont need special rocks and my bed was 3 inches and they did just fine. I noticed a lot of the time they liked to find a rock tunnel and burrow under that. They eat like pigs. I could hand feed mine and also hand them rocks to build a burrow. I loved them dearly but the one thing you have to make sure is that you have a completely covered top. I have had one jump through and inch by inch hole.

rebecky45 · Sep 27, 2013

Thanks for the tips, both of you! I'd need to add more sand (currently at about 2 inches) but I've been wanting to do that anyway. I have TONS of caves, so I'm good on that front.

mnat · Sep 27, 2013

I have had a few of them. They are escape artists, so make sure you have a tight lid or screen over your tank. They are collected from waters off Mexico which are in the low 70s so yes lower temp is key. They do dig pretty big burrows so the more sand the better. They are prone to a bacterial disease, basically called blue spot disease where their skin essentially peels off, it is not fun. They can go after small inverts and if you have frags on the sand bed, they will steal them to reinforce their burrow. They can also take down rock structures by burrowing underneath them.

If you are getting it from an LFS, look for an alert one that is already exhibiting the borrowing behavior. If they are just lying on the sand bed, avoid them. They are excellent fish with a great personality and tons of fun to watch. Of course that means they are a bit hard to keep.