Blue spotted jaw fish behavior

[geddavis]

I got a blue spotted jaw fish in the mail 3 days ago. I made sure the tank was set up for it.
4”-5” sand bed
Good params
Well established (over a year old)
Temp of 73F
Tight fitting lid
Fed mysis once a day

after acclimation the fish went strait into a small crevice and has not left since. I was wondering if I should be concerned about this behavior as I don’t believe he/she ate yet. he also has not made a sand burrow.

Thank you

 

[jamie C]

this is absolutely normal. make sure you have some rubble for him to build with. he will usually make a couple different holes his home and will build accordingly

 

[jamie C]

this is absolutely normal. make sure you have some rubble for him to build with. he will usually make a couple different holes his home and will build accordingly

 

[geddavis]

Ok,
Thank you for the reply

 

[jamie C]

keep in mind that this jawfish moved those bigger pieces on his own. they are real builders! one of the coolest fish on the planet. the other thing is they will jump! absolutely jump out of a tank. so a good lid is essential. no gaps!

 

[Jaebster]

Also, jawfish are really shy for the first few days and possibly few weeks. You might want to get a turkey baster if theres other competitors for food in the tank and try to spot feed him or leave some food in his crevice. Once he's comfortable, he'll dart out of his home and grab food on his own.

 

[ScottB]

Sounds like you've done your homework on this beautiful and interesting fish. 73F is good. Lid, essential.

Trust me though, if he sees a gap in that lid he will launch like a Falcon heavy rocket outta there.

 

[geddavis]

Also, jawfish are really shy for the first few days and possibly few weeks. You might want to get a turkey baster if theres other competitors for food in the tank and try to spot feed him or leave some food in his crevice. Once he's comfortable, he'll dart out of his home and grab food on his own.

He is in a species only tank just him and some coral. I made sure that the food flowed past the burrow entrance.

 

[geddavis]

Sounds like you've done your homework on this beautiful and interesting fish. 73F is good. Lid, essential.

Trust me though, if he sees a gap in that lid he will launch like a Falcon heavy rocket outta there.

Yes I have heard they are really good at escaping. I am working on a acrylic lid but for now I am using an egg crate with window screen tied to the bottom. I also shoved aquarium foam into any little crack I could find. The egg crate fits tightly into the rim so I don’t think it could be pushed off. Right now I’m designing a single acrylic lid to cut out with my cnc.

 

[Jaebster]

Yes I have heard they are really good at escaping. I am working on a acrylic lid but for now I am using an egg crate with window screen tied to the bottom. I also shoved aquarium foam into any little crack I could find. The egg crate fits tightly into the rim so I don’t think it could be pushed off. Right now I’m designing a single acrylic lid to cut out with my cnc.

Nice! I'll be getting a few jawfish for my build. Hard to decide on which species. Thinking going with yellowhead.