First BSJF, need a few questions answered

A

aries426

New Member
I got my first blue spot and so far he has been doing well from what I can tell. He has built to burrows, I did ad some rubble in there for him and he did use it on his first hole. I have been feeding him Mysis/Brine shrimp and garlic flakes. Water levels seem to be in range. The questions I have are:

1. Should I get more rubble so that he has it for the second hole and future ones?

2. I notice at night when the lights have been off for a while, he is out and swimming or laying on the bottom, is that normal?

3. In the morning when the lights come on, he is still swimming or laying on the sand as I posted in question 2, but he stays out sometimes for a while, few hours or so and he seems to breath rapidly/heavily, is that normal as well?

4. Last thing is, the mounds he makes with the sand he takes out of the hole, is it ok to move that and flatten it along the sand bed?

Thanks for any help you guys can give.

~Chad
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
welcomefish.gif

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
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Don't have one... but LOVE bsjf !
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Hello :wave: and welcome!

Like Glenn I don't own one *yet* but love to see them.

Re: flattening out the sand - probably no harm but is a futile effort. Pretty much up to ya.
 
jedi82knight

jedi82knight

Member
aries426 said:
I got my first blue spot and so far he has been doing well from what I can tell. He has built to burrows, I did ad some rubble in there for him and he did use it on his first hole. I have been feeding him Mysis/Brine shrimp and garlic flakes. Water levels seem to be in range. The questions I have are:

1. Should I get more rubble so that he has it for the second hole and future ones?

2. I notice at night when the lights have been off for a while, he is out and swimming or laying on the bottom, is that normal?

3. In the morning when the lights come on, he is still swimming or laying on the sand as I posted in question 2, but he stays out sometimes for a while, few hours or so and he seems to breath rapidly/heavily, is that normal as well?

4. Last thing is, the mounds he makes with the sand he takes out of the hole, is it ok to move that and flatten it along the sand bed?

Thanks for any help you guys can give.

~Chad
Click to expand...

1) yes, you always want to have rubble available for them. Their excavation is a never ending process.

2) Jawfish don't usually lay on the sand, I'd be concerned, but it is eating so that is a positive. Most will stay in their den with the entrance blocked, for the duration of the night but, some nocturnal activity should be expected from all fish.

3) Rapid respiration is usually one of the first signs of problems. BSJF do not have a long life expectancy in captivity, seemingly healthy specimen can turn up dead with no explanation. Brooklynella is one speculated plague for BSJF.

4) As Al said, probly no harm but they will keep reappearing :)

HTH and hopefully someone with more experience with them will step in and offer more detailed info for ya and correct any bad info I may have given:) I'd recommend checking out some other BSJF threads (you probly already have).

Welcome to RS!
 
steved13

steved13

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Welcome to Reef Sanctuary!!

Also no experience here..yet.

Just a little food for thought...I wouldn't smooth out the mounds...It probably wouldn't be a problem if you did, but I'm 100% sure it wouldn't be a problem if you didn't. labored breathing, doesn't sound good. Are you turning your pumps way down at night, or anything like that? I've had a breaker trip in the night and found a few fish behaving as you are describing, although they are tiny fish, and I didn't see labored breathing but the were out of their hiding holes, and staying on the bottom instead.
 
A

aries426

New Member
Thanks for the responses. I do not do anything to the pumps at all, they stay the same 24 hrs. Only thing different is the lighting is off, moonlights do stay on, but not that bright. I did just feed him and he is eating. Acting more normal now than he was earlier today. I know people have said that these fish can be all over the place, just want to make sure I can get a head of any problems if they start to arise.

Thanks,

~Chad
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Adding to the others, you have a fish that digs all the time. You have the wrong fish if you want to keep a perfect looking tank. The more you change his work the harder he will go putting it back the way he wants. Also be ready for him to jump. After over 18 months with mine and mever a jump attempt, i came home from work to find the cats trying to get him to move. They can find a way to jump out of the most sealed up tank. Good luck with him!
 
A

aries426

New Member
I dont care about the tank being perfect, I was just figuring to move the mound instead of having it there blocking everything. I have had him in the tank for about a week now. Today he seems to be doing well, he is eating. When I did smooth out the mounds, he has not done anything else, I dont bother the burrow, just the pile he makes. The other den that he made, will be go back and forth or one they find one that they like do they stay at it?
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
I spicificly target fed mine to be sure he ate daily. In my reading the BSJF is very resistant to problems because they are diggers and are prone to getting scratched up they create a protective slime coat on their body. Mine was tank King. Between him and my pistol shrimp they would shift my sand bed (from 2 inches to 7 inches) from one side of the tank to the other in a week or two them put it back the next month. It's fun watching when snails pass by the Den and he picks them up and relocates them out of his area. You'll find he can replace the TV. Mine always had 2 dens and built a new one at least every 4 or 5 months of if someone else upset him. Remember to keep the top "sealed" if your not standing at it! As you can see this is a fish everyone gets VERY attached to in a short time!!! Have fun with him!


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tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Hey Matthew, no they never did. I orginally got a YWG with my Tiger Pistol but they stayed on oppisite ends of the tank. The Tiger has always been a loner and he's the oldest Invert in my tank. My BSJW was always a loner he NEVER wanted anything in his home. Have fun!
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
Definitely keep adding rubble. Mine will go on a hunger strike if they run out. Also make sure you have a lot of different sizes and shapes. Mine have been known to use suprisingly large rocks as part of their homes. Instead of evicting snails though, mine try to use them in their building. One of the funniest things I have seen is Sunshine (My male BSJF but we didn't know it was a male when we named him. ) Putting a "shell" in his den and watching it climb out and then he puts it in again.
Love to watch these guys.
I can't stress enough the need to keep the tank completely covered at all times. I had one jump out through the holes in eggcrate.
Have fun with yours. The are great characters.
 
emmanuel

emmanuel

Member
I dumped out a bunch of coarse arm (calcium reactor media) in the tank and my blue spot uses some of it along with pieces of live rock to line her den
 
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