Bluspot pair (Jasper & Jorja) feasting on Spectrum pellets

[ekovalsky]

Thought I'd share this video with everyone.

YouTube - Bluespot Jawfishes & Friends at feeding time

Alas Jorja passed a couple weeks after this video was taken of 'Blue Spot Jawfish Disease' i.e. progressive white discoloration, decreasing appetite, and ultimately irritability and labored breathing. I have her (and a formerly deceased BSJF with same syndrome) frozen to send out for possible necropsy in the future.

Jasper has been doing very well for over six months now. He finally started covering his burrow at night a couple months back. He eats Spectrum pellets and krill. And big pieces of krill too, I discovered his taste for it when trying to feed a large chunk to the lionfish. Jasper darted out of his burrow to the top of the tank, snagged it before the lionfish had even started to move, and then was back in his burrow in a flash. He worked on it for a while but eventually got it down. I now give him somewhat smaller pieces when I feed the lionfish.

Funny thing is that he won't each silversides, he'll blow away any piece of it that gets near him. With Jorja it was just the opposite, she loved silversides but would spit out krill.

I decided to pass on getting another bluespot for the time being, but I missed the antics. So we got a pair of pearly jawfish recently. They must be pretty tough, because one got attacked by a tiger pistol shrimp shortly after being introduced when it tried to burrow under the same rock. This morning, I found both of the pearly jawfish together in a burrow right next to Jasper. That interaction should be interesting, but so far they bluespot and pearly don't seem to mind each other.

[lcstorc]

Did you have any agression between the two?
I am debating getting a second blue but am terrified of anything happening to my beloved Sunshine.

[ekovalsky]

Originally Posted by lcstorc

Did you have any agression between the two?
I am debating getting a second blue but am terrified of anything happening to my beloved Sunshine.

Actually no, other than occasional mouthing off at each other which was more comical than frightening. I was surprised at how close together their burrows were, considering the rock they shared is only a very small part of the reef. Usually they would act in unison, periodically hovering in the water above the burrow and simultaneously retreating back into the sand.

I have read that two males will fight to a greater degree than some other jawfish, like the pearly, and most recommend one per tank for the blue spots. I'm not so sure this is really true, maybe in a very small tank there would be more aggression. Or maybe I had two females that were both pretty laid back. I still haven't been able to figure out a way to sex jawfish reliably, unless of course the male has turned color. I recently saw one at a LFS that had blue spots on each ray of his dorsal fin, which is something I never noticed on mine. Maybe this means something ?

If you want two, you could always try adding another than it is smaller than Sunshine. Even if there is aggression, the new jawfish will taken the punishment. And unlike most other reef fish, they seem pretty easy to get out of the tank. I've just picked them up before, as timid as they are around other fish they are quite tolerating of humans. Same with mandarins.

[Dentoid]

Great video! Sorry to hear about Jorja! In the video is that Jorja on the right? That BS doesn't seem as animated as the one on the left. Just wondering. I love to see them bobbing up and down. Can you imagine what a colony of these look like in nature! I can only imagine "Whack-a-Mole"!

[bluespotjawfish]

They look very cool together! Sorry for your loss.

[ekovalsky]

Originally Posted by Dentoid

Great video! Sorry to hear about Jorja! In the video is that Jorja on the right? That BS doesn't seem as animated as the one on the left. Just wondering. I love to see them bobbing up and down. Can you imagine what a colony of these look like in nature! I can only imagine "Whack-a-Mole"!

One thing I definitely want to do is go diving in Mexico to see these awesome animals in their natural environment. I have heard that the locals know these fish well and will take you out into the see of Cortez to see them.

I think that was Jorja on the right. Jasper is still in the the same burrow on the left, he has really built it up now that I have been adding larger pieces of live rock rubble (as opposed to just coarse gravel and shells). It is about six inches high now!

Fortunately he seems really happy these days and gets a good 12 hours of sleep each day with his burrow completely covered up. After the halides go off, he does something that looks like hyperventilation for about 30-60 minutes then retreats into the burrow, with a very well crafted pile of rubble sealing off the entrance.

And he has gotten pretty fat, between the spectrum pellets that he loves and the surprisingly large pieces of krill he gulps down. He really likes big pieces of food. I've seem him down stuff that the 5" sohal tang has spit back out...

I have a few days off this weekend and will try to get a new video of him inhaling krill. The dendronephtheas on the bonnie he lives under have grown too and are now usually open during the day, they are really stunning; I've had pretty good success recently with aposymbiotic soft corals and gorgonians even in a tank dominated by stony corals, which I attribute to a probiotic environment (Zeovit) and various Fauna Marin invert foods.

[SeahorseBT]

wow 6 inches! thats a big blue spot! Pics?

[Craig Manoukian]

Way bummer on your loss eko!

[lcstorc]

Originally Posted by SeahorseBT

wow 6 inches! thats a big blue spot! Pics?

I believe the burrow was 6 inches. I know my blue easily moves pieces of rock and rubble larger than she is. I have no idea how but she does.