Pearly Jawfish "Sand Grain Size"?

[Northwest_Scapes_]

So im doing a 20 Gal Reef with the "oddball" choice of fish being a Pearly Jawfish and considering they make their burrows using their mouths, what would be the ideal grain size for them? I remember when the Northern Seas Aquarium at the Point Defiance Zoo was open, they had a Pearly Jaw Colony that had considerably thick / big sized grains as their substrate and they seemed to do well, would something like 1-2mm be okay for them?

 

[Grapefruit509]

mine is arag alive sand, small grain is ok if you have small pieces of rock they can build the main sturctures with

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So im doing a 20 Gal Reef with the "oddball" choice of fish being a Pearly Jawfish and considering they make their burrows using their mouths, what would be the ideal grain size for them? I remember when the Northern Seas Aquarium at the Point Defiance Zoo was open, they had a Pearly Jaw Colony that had considerably thick / big sized grains as their substrate and they seemed to do well, would something like 1-2mm be okay for them?

I can't tell you for certain, but my policy has always been to offer jawfish a mixed substrate - fine to large grains, with some coral pieces mixed in. It seems to me that the mixed sizes allows them to build a burrow that "locks" better. All fine material tends to collapse and all large material is too tough for them to move around.

Jay