Blue Spotted Jawfish

[Jimbo7]

I am looking for a good fish to get for my upcoming project. I have seen their tank size listed from 20 gallons to 30, what do you guys think about him in my 12?
From most jawfish i have ever seen, once they establish a burrow, they rarely stray too far from that. Does anyone have experience with these fish? Perhaps you could tell me more about their behavior and why a larger tank is recommended.

[skae310]

I havent had any experiance with blue spotted jawfish. I have however had experiance with pearly jawfish and I had one in a 10 gal for a while and it worked fine, however it is said that they are capable of staying in 10 gallons. My understanding is that the blue spotted is too big or too territorial for a small tank. I would recommend the pearly though being that I know it works well, is all the fun of a blue spotted, and about a third of the price haha. As for a guranteed yes or no I can not be sure, but id say its too small.

[Jimbo7]

Yea, I know someone who is attempting to breed them, so i was hoping to get one at a "friend" discount down the road. No way would i pay retail for one of those. Liveaquaria has max size at 4" for pearly and 3.5" for Blue spot, so I didnt think it was a size issue, but again, not sure.
If it is a territorial thing, do you think he would be fine if he was the only fish?
This is all hypothetical, I don't think anyone has decent success with raising spawn to maturity.

[HN1]

My fingers are crossed for your friend.

We didn't have much luck with our BSJ. It ate fine, tolerated it's tankmates reasonably well, but seemed to slowly fade (figuratively) until he disappeared one day. From what I garnered from the local reef club, most folks report pretty similar experiences with them even when they are introduced into very well established tanks.

At a friend price and with your knowledge, I say go for it.

To most folks paying retail, I say leave them in the ocean. Once they are being captively bred (I'm hopeful), they should become easier to keep.

[Jimbo7]

Yea, I really do my best to try and support the CB side of things. All my frags are aquacultured, it would be nice to see all the fish that way too. I wish ORA and similar places had more backing, they do a great job with fish, but it obviously takes them forever to get through one and then be able to maintain the population for commercial needs. Their mandarins are going to sell out first day. Doesn't matter how many they have lol.

[skae310]

Since it would be alone I could see no reason why not. Especially if you can get it without paying $120 haha

[Jimbo7]

Haha no way would i blow 150+ on one fish...coral maybe.. ok maybe i have...

now days i would totally get an MP10 first. They are just too cool.

Any other thoughts? I guess all i can do is cross my fingers that she or someone succeeds.

[HN1]

There's always the pearly...