Blue spot jaw fish substrate depth

[BeltedCoyote]

Hey all, my better half is getting excited about the hobby the closer and closer I get to finally setting up my 120g DT. She has decided we shall have a Blue spot jawfish and it shall be named Lenard lol

So, do they need a deeper sand bed than 2”?

Thanks all!

 

[Dragon52]

Yes, Jawfish need closer to 4-6". What I did for mine was have one end of the tank deeper that the other & added a piece of rock that would all me to create a sunken cave type area under it & used a 3"pvc tube long enough that I could put one end right at the door & pour the fish in the other end. worked perfectly.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Yes, Jawfish need closer to 4-6". What I did for mine was have one end of the tank deeper that the other & added a piece of rock that would all me to create a sunken cave type area under it & used a 3"pvc tube long enough that I could put one end right at the door & pour the fish in the other end. worked perfectly.

That’s brilliant! Thanks for the idea!

 

[Dragon52]

That’s brilliant! Thanks for the idea!

your Welcome, glad I could help

 

[mort]

My two tips for jawfish are 1) make sure you have a lid and 2) don't overly worry about substrate depth but do worry about having suitable burrow material. I'll explain that last one as it's connected to the first point in that jawfish only tend to jump in the beginning when they don't yet have a suitable burrow, so no hideout can spook them but once it's dug they are less likely to leap out.
The second point about building material is key because they need different sized sand, rubble or shells in which to construct a burrow that doesn't collapse (they tend to need about 4-6" depth in total as they like to be abe to sit vertically plus have a little extra room). They are like little bulldozers so will bring the material to their chosen spot, so all you need to do is add good building blocks to the rough area and it will soon be used. A pipe as base for the burrow can work well but they can often build quite a network in time.

Just in case you aren't aware bluespots aren't the easiest jawfish to keep long term so I'd make sure you know how tricky they can be before getting one or look at a much hardier species like the pearly jaw above.

 

[siggy]

Thanks, A Blue spot is on my short list. I may have to add more sand.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

My two tips for jawfish are 1) make sure you have a lid and 2) don't overly worry about substrate depth but do worry about having suitable burrow material. I'll explain that last one as it's connected to the first point in that jawfish only tend to jump in the beginning when they don't yet have a suitable burrow, so no hideout can spook them but once it's dug they are less likely to leap out.
The second point about building material is key because they need different sized sand, rubble or shells in which to construct a burrow that doesn't collapse (they tend to need about 4-6" depth in total as they like to be abe to sit vertically plus have a little extra room). They are like little bulldozers so will bring the material to their chosen spot, so all you need to do is add good building blocks to the rough area and it will soon be used. A pipe as base for the burrow can work well but they can often build quite a network in time.

Just in case you aren't aware bluespots aren't the easiest jawfish to keep long term so I'd make sure you know how tricky they can be before getting one or look at a much hardier species like the pearly jaw above.

thanks for all of the above! I have enough sand coming in for about 2 1/2 inches, but as i'm still waiting on several things to come together i'll have enough time to get more sand. I think what i'll end up doing is having one half of my tank with a deeper sand bed and that tapers down two or three inches.

I'm the kind of person who likes to learn as much as i can about what i'm getting into, and i've already started researching this species. The good news is their typical price in my area is going to mean i simply can't get impatient and rush into them lol

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

I lost a blue spot in QT. Had a glass top but it jumped out in the small gap that the HOB filter left. Very expensive lesson. Don’t leave any gaps or open spaces that they can jump through. Good luck

 

[Oldreefer44]

Also, keep in mind that they do best when kept at lower temperatures than most other fish in our hobby.

 

[mort]

thanks for all of the above! I have enough sand coming in for about 2 1/2 inches, but as i'm still waiting on several things to come together i'll have enough time to get more sand. I think what i'll end up doing is having one half of my tank with a deeper sand bed and that tapers down two or three inches.

I'm the kind of person who likes to learn as much as i can about what i'm getting into, and i've already started researching this species. The good news is their typical price in my area is going to mean i simply can't get impatient and rush into them lol

Mixing grain sizes can help. I used a nice sized sand for the areas I thought the jawfish wouldn't go, about 1mm, and added more variety 3, 5 and 10mm, around the potential burrow area. The diversity of grains helps to bind everything together and stop the burrow collapsing. To this you can add small pieces of rubble or shell up to a couple of inches as these further shore up the burrow and plus use a nice piece to block their burrow at night.

Saying that don't be surprised if the lovely area you pick ends up being ignored. I've seen many people go to emense trouble only for the jawfish to prefer living under one of their sand bed corals.