Blue Spotted fish tank mates!

[lostgaurd]

Alright y'all, I had a friend who had one a long time ago, and it was honestly my favorite fish in his tank. He told me his was very timid, and he actually had to get rid of a pair of clownfish that were harassing it, even though it was a decent-sized 55g tank and the blue spot was introduced first.

So, I'm not sure the "semi-aggressive" label for these guys is all that accurate?

But anyways, I'd love to hear from anyone who keeps a blue spotted jawfish. What other tank mates do you have with yours? Are there any fish I should avoid? I'm thinking of staying away from other bottom dwellers, like sand-sifting gobies or anything that might compete for the same bottom area.

My tank is either going to be 100 or 150 gallons.

My stocking plan is going to be fairly light. Maybe a possum wrasse or leopard wrasse in the future, but I'll start with some "simple" fish like cardinals, dartfish, and maybe a tailspot blenny. I'm also considering one clownfish, but I'd probably add it last so it doesn't end up bullying the blue spot guy.

Would love to hear about your experiences and what has worked for you!

 

[Firefish89]

I've had the blue spotted and yellow head. Jawfish are timid. The blue spotted is no exception. Once they settle in, they are cool and comfortable. In the wild, they cope with danger by hiding and waiting for the danger to move on, not by fighting the danger off. Cardinals and dartfish should be fine. The blenny too. The dartfish might be a nice ditherfish, so the dartfish could go in first. Then once the jawfish is settled, if you add new fish, watch the jawfish and the jawfish changes it behavior and hides suddently, have a ready plan to rehome any new fish.

 

[DmitryB]

FYI, Possum Wrasses are extremely shy, you'll never see it. I got one recently and it stays largely behind and in the rocks. Cool looking fish - when it decides to come out for 5 seconds.

 

[lostgaurd]

FYI, Possum Wrasses are extremely shy, you'll never see it. I got one recently and it stays largely behind and in the rocks. Cool looking fish - when it decides to come out for 5 seconds.

yeah, my other friend had one in a 30 gallon, he didn't have many caves tho, so we often saw it. he had a lawnmower blenny, a couple of cardinals, and clown goby! fairly peaceful tank but that lawnmower blenny was a bit a of a rude fish randomly.

this is why i am thinking about a leopard wrasse, but i am not sure if they will go well with the blue spotted jaw fish, i know they sleep in the sand at night, so would that be an issue with the jaw fish in a 100-150 gallon tank? i sure hope not lol?

leopards are often very fast swimmers too.. i c them loop around entire tanks so often, i am not sure if that will also bother the blue guy

 

[Cael Gallery]

What temperature are you going to keep the tank at? I heard that blue spotted jawfish need cool water, so that will likely affect what other fish you can stock.

 

[lostgaurd]

What temperature are you going to keep the tank at? I heard that blue spotted jawfish need cool water, so that will likely affect what other fish you can stock.

i think once my tank is established and have the dart and cardinals in, i will buy a chiller and keep the tank around 75f or so?