Just wanted to share this, for those interested.
The first fish in my "pre-reef"* tank was a pair of yellow headed jawfish from KP aquatics. The third (and so far last) fish was a firefish, about two months after the jawfish, and about four months before this post.
The jawfish were pretty skittish at first. In fact, I had a lot of "trouble" with them and worried about them not eating, hiding all the time, and the like. They both share the same burrow. (fortunately, they have acclimated. They even ignore the cats staring at them all the time).
Anyway, the instant I introduced the firefish -from a group at the LFS; I only got one because they were supposedly territorial - the firefish quickly went over to the jawfish, trying it seems even to be right next to them, as if they represented safety. The jawfish (female out first, IIRC) didn't seem to mind. After a minute or two the firefish moved away, but it still seemed to want to hang out with them, per the video. This lasted for at least several hours before the firefish probably started swimming about on its own.
I just found this a bit interesting, since these are fish from opposite sides of the globe, even from different parts of a typical coral reef, and they naturally seemed to congregate with each other during stressful times. The YHJ's certainly never saw anything like the firefish before, though different jawfish live all over the world and so the firefish might have seen other species of jawfish before. The YHJs are actually supposed to be very social fish, in a big enough tank, and sometimes live in colonies of dozens in the wild. Same supposedly with the firefish, but they are not sociable in aquaria.
Anyway, even to this day they hang with each other - I don't think it's really "they like each other", more than "they all get their food the same way, and they perfectly tolerate each other". But still it's kind of neat.
They are actually, in terms of shape, rather similar. Except the YHJ decidedly builds burrows in the sand and will dig extensively when needed. The firefish likes caves in the rock, maybe only occasionally hauling out sand.
Anyway, here's some video - from when the firefish was first added, and from earlier today. (apologies about my cyano).
* "pre-reef" = the cheap Petco 29G that I used to get my feet wet prior to going full sumped, protein skimmered, apexed, etc. reef. The plan was to keep the 29G for 3-4 months and then go full reef. As it is, I think I might get the full reef in the summer - after the 29G has been around for a year. And after tank automation, protein skimmers, and even a DIY media box have been installed..............
Well, at least, I have some practical experience with almost everything prior to eating the whole enchilada.
The first fish in my "pre-reef"* tank was a pair of yellow headed jawfish from KP aquatics. The third (and so far last) fish was a firefish, about two months after the jawfish, and about four months before this post.
The jawfish were pretty skittish at first. In fact, I had a lot of "trouble" with them and worried about them not eating, hiding all the time, and the like. They both share the same burrow. (fortunately, they have acclimated. They even ignore the cats staring at them all the time).
Anyway, the instant I introduced the firefish -from a group at the LFS; I only got one because they were supposedly territorial - the firefish quickly went over to the jawfish, trying it seems even to be right next to them, as if they represented safety. The jawfish (female out first, IIRC) didn't seem to mind. After a minute or two the firefish moved away, but it still seemed to want to hang out with them, per the video. This lasted for at least several hours before the firefish probably started swimming about on its own.
I just found this a bit interesting, since these are fish from opposite sides of the globe, even from different parts of a typical coral reef, and they naturally seemed to congregate with each other during stressful times. The YHJ's certainly never saw anything like the firefish before, though different jawfish live all over the world and so the firefish might have seen other species of jawfish before. The YHJs are actually supposed to be very social fish, in a big enough tank, and sometimes live in colonies of dozens in the wild. Same supposedly with the firefish, but they are not sociable in aquaria.
Anyway, even to this day they hang with each other - I don't think it's really "they like each other", more than "they all get their food the same way, and they perfectly tolerate each other". But still it's kind of neat.
They are actually, in terms of shape, rather similar. Except the YHJ decidedly builds burrows in the sand and will dig extensively when needed. The firefish likes caves in the rock, maybe only occasionally hauling out sand.
Anyway, here's some video - from when the firefish was first added, and from earlier today. (apologies about my cyano).
* "pre-reef" = the cheap Petco 29G that I used to get my feet wet prior to going full sumped, protein skimmered, apexed, etc. reef. The plan was to keep the 29G for 3-4 months and then go full reef. As it is, I think I might get the full reef in the summer - after the 29G has been around for a year. And after tank automation, protein skimmers, and even a DIY media box have been installed..............
Well, at least, I have some practical experience with almost everything prior to eating the whole enchilada.
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