Pearly headed jawfish in a 25g IM

[hbubley]

Hey yall,

I’m planning to place an order from Dr reefs quarantined fish in April and would love some thoughts.

This tank would be upgraded in a couple years when it got much bigger.

Right now I’ve got 2 clowns. I’d really love to add a yellow headed jawfish. My sand bed is about 3in right now I’d say. Maybe a little less. Could I add one to my tank? I’d also be adding a helfrichi firefish at that time- also a quarantine order.

Any thoughts?

 

[Tahoe61]

I don't think the tank is big enough, and the sand bed is not established. The fish will appear to be eating and sandsifting, but they slowly starve to death.
Not to worry though someone is going to report the exact opposite.

 

[JTP424]

I'm in agreeance with above. You could MAYBE get away with it... but I'm seeing a minimum for that type of fish at around 30 gallons, and minimum for 2 clowns (they say) is about 20 gallons.... so you're hitting upper limits on potential fish add-ons.

 

[hbubley]

I don't think the tank is big enough, and the sand bed is not established. The fish will appear to be eating and sandsifting, but they slowly starve to death.
Not to worry though someone is going to report the exact opposite.

No I appreciate this. I’ll hold off and just do the fire fish. Would a pistol shrimp goby pair work for sand sifting? I’m worried about sand bed becoming toxic

 

[Tahoe61]

No I appreciate this. I’ll hold off and just do the fire fish. Would a pistol shrimp goby pair work for sand sifting? I’m worried about sand bed becoming toxic

Definitely.
A Fighting Conch, and Nassarius Snails do a great job without compromising water clarity.
Sandsifting Starfish are a poor choice for the same reason the Jaw Fish is, unestablished sandbed in a smaller tank.

 

[hbubley]

Definitely.
A Fighting Conch, and Nassarius Snails do a great job without compromising water clarity.
Sandsifting Starfish are a poor choice for the same reason the Jaw Fish is, unestablished sandbed in a smaller tank.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I have two Nassarius snails so a fighting conch might be fun if that’s not too many.
Crossing pearlyheaded off my list until I upgrade the tank in a few years

 

[JTP424]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I have two Nassarius snails so a fighting conch might be fun if that’s not too many.
Crossing pearlyheaded off my list until I upgrade the tank in a few years

Hmmm just a good reason to upgrade the tank sooner ;)

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

put a bit more sand in your upgraded tank, IMO 2" is a bit thin if you want a jawfish.

 

[Dr_Orpheus]

Hey, I'm chiming in here because everyone here is saying there's nothing in your sand for said pearly jawfish to sift through. Well, good news, jawfish don't sift sand. They make a burrow... But I think people thought you were talking about a yellow headed sleeper goby, which is definitely a bad call in that tank. They get too big, and they will toss your sand all over the place most likely in that small tank on top of the sand being newer still.

Two clowns and a helfrichi is a solid 25g. If you have a lot of rockwork and your nutrients stay low you might be able to get away with a pearly jawfish in the future, but you might want to just wait until you get your bigger set up you have planned in a couple years or so. And if you want a fourth fish in there and your tank is okay with it, consider one that isn't so nervous at first and so potentially territorial once established.