Originally Posted by
Kevin34
http:///forum/post/2562614
Awsome fish. Why are these so much harder to keep than other jaws?
Average Size: 3-4 inches
Nano Reef Size: 10 Gallon minimum for one fish. A 20 long would be ideal and if attempting a pair at least a 40 breeder would be a good choice to limit aggression.
Aggressiveness/Territorial: Moderately aggressive towards smaller fishes and invertebrates that get too close to its burrow. Highly aggressive towards members of its own species ? keep singly or in groups only in a very large tank with lots of room on the substrate for multiple specimens. 2 square feet per fish is a minimum if keeping multiple bluespots. Sight barriers may help curb aggression as well as providing all jawfish with lots of building materials to keep them occupied.
Current: Low to medium.
Hardiness: Hardy once established but suffer from collection, shipping and mysterious ailments (the dreaded BSJ - Blue Spot Jawfish disease). Quarantine is a must of term no less than 3 weeks to ensure fish is healthy and eating. Copper is not recommended for jawfish. They sometimes suffer from intestinal parasites - if the fish is eating well and not putting on weight consider a commercial de-worming product (HexAMit works well). Blue Spot Jawfish sometimes come down with a malady that resembles brooklynella in clowns - no definitive cure or cause is known at this time and a thorough quarantine is the best preventative with new specimens.
Behavior: Will spend much of its time either rearranging its den or looking for food and danger. Will venture from its home to look for building materials and will even steal them from neighboring jawfish residences prompting a gill flaring display and sometimes a tussle. When not building they hover above their burrows peering in every direction for a snack or a potential jawfish snacker.
Feeding: Meaty foods, commercial preparations. Feed often and a varied diet. Like their more docile cousins the Pearlys, these jawfish need to be fed several times a day for optimal health and can decline quickly if they stop eating.
Description: Head an upper body are a brownish yellow shading to a orange yellow towards the front. Rear of body is a brownish blue and entire body is covered in electric blue spots. Males will change to a flat white color on the back half of their body during breeding season. Eyes are orange with large black pupils.
Notes: All jawfish are deceptively fast swimmers and can jump out of the smallest opening in a tank. Once settled in they are less likely to jump but a sealed tank or at least eggcrate is recommended to keep them off the carpet.
Bluespots are collected from the Sea of Cortez. They live at the base of steep rocky cliffs in deep water.