Jawfish Cave Advice

[Mattg023]

Hi all,
I’m getting a blue spotted jawfish this week and am currently building it a cave. Thought about doing a pvc cave but then just broke up some leftover rock and made one. Should I close up the entrance a bit more or leave it open? What do you think?

 

[Bobby14]

Hey...I have a pearly jawfish. Take my advice, don't bother. I did the same thing just to have my guy build his own little nest on the other side of the tank! LOL! He is my favorite fish in the tank!!

 

[Uncle99]

Looks nice the way it is IMM.
Good flow underneath.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi all,
I’m getting a blue spotted jawfish this week and am currently building it a cave. Thought about doing a pvc cave but then just broke up some leftover rock and made one. Should I close up the entrance a bit more or leave it open? What do you think?

Am I overlooking tunnel in that rock? Expecting opening of perhaps 1-1.25" going into tube.

Jawfish will not want cave. They burrow. Typically this is a hole in deep "sand" (more below) - though typically not fine substrate as they need to be able to pack it. Variable sand, bits of shell they can pull over opening at night. People have built PVC tubes, perhaps trying to skimp on the sand that jawfish care requires. Give it enough substrate, and jawfish will build its own. They spend their days playing with crushed coral sand, moving it from one place to another. These fish have such great personality, but they are shy.

I took a picture of crushed coral in size I know jawfish love. Put it on plate. added penny to help you with size reference for "sand" but this crushed coral (with undergravel filtration) 3" to 4" deep is what I have successfully used for jawfish:

 

[Mattg023]

Hey...I have a pearly jawfish. Take my advice, don't bother. I did the same thing just to have my guy build his own little nest on the other side of the tank! LOL! He is my favorite fish in the tank!!

Haha that’s what I’m trying to avoid!

 

[Mattg023]

Am I overlooking tunnel in that rock? Expecting opening of perhaps 1-1.25" going into tube.

Jawfish will not want cave. They burrow. Typically this is a hole in deep "sand" (more below) - though typically not fine substrate as they need to be able to pack it. Variable sand, bits of shell they can pull over opening at night. People have built PVC tubes, perhaps trying to skimp on the sand that jawfish care requires. Give it enough substrate, and jawfish will build its own. They spend their days playing with crushed coral sand, moving it from one place to another. These fish have such great personality, but they are shy.

I took a picture of crushed coral in size I know jawfish love. Put it on plate. added penny to help you with size reference for "sand" but this crushed coral (with undergravel filtration) 3" to 4" deep is what I have successfully used for jawfish:

Thanks for the insight. Very helpful

 

[Mattg023]

Made this to stick in the sand near the entrance of the cave. Jawfish arrives Wednesday. Hope it’s more enticing.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Made this to stick in the sand near the entrance of the cave. Jawfish arrives Wednesday. Hope it’s more enticing.

THAT LOOKS AWESOME!! Let us know how he takes to that. I'm sure you must be excited and in countdown mode!

 

[Sigmund]

For that pvc to work, you should put a T end piece on the bottom. Jawfish burrows are rounded on the bottom. They go in head first, turn around, and come back up. Are unlikely to use that permanently, unless it has a way to widen the burrow at the bottom. Also prefer hole to be vertical to the substrate with a 360 degree view from entrance. Jawfish are my favorite, have 4 different species right now. BSJ are most difficult to keep, but the most entertaining. Water needs to be low 70’s for long term success. Better even colder, but for most that is not possible in a reef. Here are a few of mine.

 

[Mattg023]

Just wanted to give an update. I decided not to put the cave in at all. I added a “t” fitting to the bottom of my pvc and covered the openings of that t fitting with nylon mesh as Sigmund advised. I added more rock to the pvc too. Looks awesome. Jawfish went in last night and I just saw him poke his head out of it right now! He’s not showing himself too much, but I’m sure he’ll start to get more comfortable soon. Thanks for all the advice

 

[Mattg023]

Here he is

 

[Sigmund]

Nice job. Glad it worked out Mattg023.

 

[CMMorgan]

Love that picture!!! My tanks tend to run cooler. Maybe I will reconsider one of these little guys once the tank stabilizes. This was very creative!!! You should name him Siggy, for all the help @Sigmund offered. (My grandfather was named Sigmund btw... Amazing human.)

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Here he is

WAHOO! Cutie face peeking from his PVC pipe home you made for him!! Nice

 

[Tchung23]

Awesome!! I took your idea and put in a pvc tube with a slight angle maybe 45%. I left the bottom open so he could continue to burrow out the back of the tube. It has worked out well so far. I'm just hoping that he stays healthy. The person I bought from Qt and acclimatized him to my tank temp and salinity. Ill post a better pic when I get a chance. He doesn't come out much further than his head but he eats like a pig and is constantly spitting out substrate He now had multiple openings to his burrow.

 

[MPrz59]

Hi all,
I’m getting a blue spotted jawfish this week and am currently building it a cave. Thought about doing a pvc cave but then just broke up some leftover rock and made one. Should I close up the entrance a bit more or leave it open? What do you think?

I had a bonded pair and you can try that but most of the time they build a few dens the first week and stay in their favorite

 

[Tchung23]

You can see he has already moved a lot of rubble around.

 

[Tchung23]

Does anyone know what the life span for a bsjf is in captivity??

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Does anyone know what the life span for a bsjf is in captivity??

https://www.fishlore.com/profile-yellowheadjawfish.htm

Five years or longer. They are jumpers. Carpet surfing hobby leads to shorter lives, so try to keep all openings blocked

 

[College_Reefer]

I have a blue spotted jawfish and I absolutely love him. He will probably stick around that PVC pipe for about a month before getting bored and moving to a different spot. The longest mine ever stayed in one spot was 2 months. Then he got bored, decided to bury that tunnel and move on to a different location. then inevitably, he will come back and redig the old one again.