Blue spotted Jaw fish

[FishieBusiness]

Hi All,
The Blue Spotted Jaw Fish has been on my wish list ever since I saw it at a LFS when I live on the Cape many many years ago. If you want to know it was Cape Made Farms I think. Anyway the market price on them now is about $150-170. It is an investment for a fish. I have do the usual internet research but was looking for some first hand knowledge.

Has anyone ever kept this fish? If so any advice is welcome..

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The jawfish are all superb jumpers. Egg crate will not work. I had a great, bold pearly jawfish. He disappeared out of my fully covered tank one day - found him behind the tank a few weeks later. I assume it was this little area near my power cords that he shimmied out through. It was covered with that 1/4" clear screen from BRS, but not secured to the frame in that area due to the power cords. The moral: very very good cover over 100%of the tank.

How is your tank set up? They need deep sand plus rubble. In my experience they do not pick the area of the tank you have prepared for them - I set up a nice deep bed in part of my tank, and of course the jawfish insisted on burrowing under a rock in a shallow sand area instead. Same story w/ 2 jawfish... So really be sure that all your rockwork is very stable on the bottom glass. They'll dig where you least expect.

I have read that the blue spotted are more difficult long term, and prefer relatively cooler water.

 

[sduggs929]

+1 to the fact that they are jumpers. I have a pearly jawfish and when I got him from LFS he nearly jumped out of their tank when they were trying to catch him.

When you first add it to the tank he will probably disappear among the rock work for a little while. Took 4 days before I was able to find mine. Now he is currently living under a trachy I have. Sorry if the pic is hard to see

 

[saltwaterB]

Awesome Fish!!!
Easy to keep as long as they dont escape(which they are very good at)
I have 2 in stock right now. I absolutely love their unique personality.

 

[CoralJunkie]

Awesome Fish!!!
Easy to keep as long as they dont escape(which they are very good at)
I have 2 in stock right now. I absolutely love their unique personality.

How much? Will it be ok having a six line wrasse in the tank? It's a 32 biocube

 

[FishieBusiness]

OK so my tank is 24inches deep. I like to keep it open to get better light distribution

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I like to keep it open to get better light distribution

If you mean open top, don't bother with a jawfish. There are other neat options - maybe a cool blenny?

 

[Robert M]

Be aware the blue-spotted jawfish is a cold water fish, not a tropical fish. Its typical water temperature is in the 50s in the deeper waters off the coast of California. If you’re keeping your tank in the typical high 70s, this particular fish may not thrive and other warm-water jawfish might be a better choice.

 

[saltwaterB]

Be aware the blue-spotted jawfish is a cold water fish, not a tropical fish. Its typical water temperature is in the 50s in the deeper waters off the coast of California. If you’re keeping your tank in the typical high 70s, this particular fish may not thrive and other warm-water jawfish might be a better choice.

They are actually collected in Mexico in around 70*. I have been getting them from the same source for the last 20 years, and have never had a problem with keeping them, other than them jumping out of openings

 

[Marshall O]

I had a BSJ a few years ago. Awesome fish with awesome personalities. Besides the price, the negatives are that they will move sand and smaller rocks around constantly (and may throw sand on corals), they are extreme jumpers as mentioned, and there may be concerns of keeping them at normal reef temps as mentioned. I kept my tank at 76*. After about 1 year, it started to become very pale, lost its energy (even though it was eating) and perished. Seems to be common with them in the hobby. In nature, they are found in groups where we tend to keep them solo, which could have something to do with it.