Jawfish or Watchman Goby?

[SaltWaterTerp]

Looking for advice on whether to get a jawfish or a watchman goby for my small 16-gallon tank.

Any pros/cons or other thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Which species of jawfish and which goby were you trying to decide from? 16 gallons might be a little tight for most jawfish if they don't have a big rock to burrow under. A tight fitting lid will absolutely be necessary for both.

They are easily my favorite fish in the hobby, both are very charismatic and also quite useful in some instances :)

Here's my diagonal goby being a goon:

 

[SaltWaterTerp]

Which species of jawfish and which goby were you trying to decide from?

Looking at the yellowhead jawfish and the yellow watchman goby. I have a lot of rockwork in my 16 gallon if that helps...

 

[Bxr126]

My Gobies have destroyed my sand bed. Don't get me wrong. It's cleaner than the day I dropped it in there but you might as well throw away all hope of putting corals down low. They dig, powerheads pick up the flying sand and throw it all over the tank.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Looking at the yellowhead jawfish and the yellow watchman goby. I have a lot of rockwork in my 16 gallon if that helps...

As long as you've got the lid on, either would be great, the yellow head is a close cousin to the pearly jawfish, which I've had two of, both times stress killed them when I was moving the tank, so be aware that they do like quiet environments. They are fantastic sand movers in their chosen area and will keep the bottom of the rock they are under well cleared out. They will also take shells and bits of rock and make a door at night.

I guess what I'm saying is you should get a jawfish haha (but only if you have a good lid, I know I've stressed that a few times now but it's super important with these fish, they jump a lot when you first get them)

 

[joec]

Minimum tank size for yellowhead jawfish is 30 gallons

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Minimum tank size for yellowhead jawfish is 30 gallons

They really don't move much once they establish a burrow, mine usually only came out for food or to get a better look at something. I've seen them happily kept in a pair in a ten gallon with two other fish.

 

[SaltWaterTerp]

@nautical_nathaniel - I checked out your IG and gave you a follow -- very cool! What kind of fish is Reginald?

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

@nautical_nathaniel - I checked out your IG and gave you a follow -- very cool! What kind of fish is Reginald?

Reginald was a Randall's Goby, sadly he jumped out of the tank through a gap in the corner of my lid where a cord used to go through :(

Thanks for the follow!

 

[SaltWaterTerp]

Reginald was a Randall's Goby, sadly he jumped out of the tank through a gap in the corner of my lid where a cord used to go through :(

So sorry to hear that.

Your tank is awesome, man, and an inspiration!

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

So sorry to hear that.

Your tank is awesome, man, and an inspiration!

Thank you!