Jumpin' Jawfish Batman!

Well it seems I might have spoken too soon about my "happy" Jawfish. A few hours after posting last, I heard a loud "plop" come from the tank. I went over to find Kululu sitting on the sand looking agitated after presumably jumping out and bumping his head on the plastic edging at the top of the tank. Well at least my jawfish defenses seem good enough to prevent carpet surfing!

The next day he was nowhere to be found in the tank. Growing increasingly panicked, I searched the floor... nope, not there either (whew!) Then I took a flashlight and checked the sump... nope. Finally, I shone the flashlight into the top of one of the overflows and there was a tell-tale splash. My procrastination at covering the overflows had finally caught up with me and the little sod had decided to take advantage of it and jump on in.

There's an idiot in there somewhere...
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-overflow.jpg[/IMG]

He had made his grievances clear. He wasn't happy with the burrows (or lack thereof) he could make in my tank. Be it the fine sand or the swirling flow of the Vortechs... something wasn't working for him and he needed help to build a home.

I found some excellent jawfish condo designs from this [URL="http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=172053"]doughnut one[/URL] to this [URL="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=36757&title=diy-jawfish-condo"]long one[/URL]. Inspired, I started to plan a crazy complicated burrow network with pipes and holes everywhere! ...But then I realized if the burrow was "complete" then Kululu would probably just sit in it all day and be bored (and boring!) No... he didn't need the whole thing made for him. He was a great digger, he just needed some help stopping the doorway from collapsing in.

I ended up using a 45° 3/4" elbow for the door and inserted it into a slightly larger pipe (I can't recall the width, but it fit inside snugly without glue.)

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-pipe.jpg[/IMG]

The back of the burrow will be left open so that sand can pour in and will have to be maintained by it's jawfish tenant... thus promoting his natural behavior.

I used some of my left over [URL="http://www.marcorocks.com/bondingmortar.aspx"]E-Marco 400 mortar[/URL] to disguise the tube. I was originally just going to coat the entrance, but I decided to cover the whole thing (minus the inside and base) just in case it happens to get dug up.

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-pipe2.jpg[/IMG]

Ta da!

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-pipe3.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-pipe4-1.jpg[/IMG]

After burying the new faux burrow in the sand, the next step was to liberate Kululu from the overflow.

Husband's weapons of choice for this battle: Tiny nets taped to long pipes...

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/long-nets.jpg[/IMG]

After a lot of swearing, splashing and tripping the GFCI (oops!) ...Kululu was back in the DT!

Now you're probably wondering why I didn't include a picture of the completed jawfish condo buried in the sand earlier. Well the reason is, I didn't get a chance to take one before Kululu claimed it!!

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-condo-close.jpg[/IMG]

Since moving in, he's opted to completely uncover the other end of the tube, so now he can pop out of either end...

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-condo1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/bsj-condo2.jpg[/IMG]

I found this behavior curious because I'd expected him to be worried about something sneaking in the unguarded exit. I've provided him plenty of rock rubble so he can cover up either end if he likes, but he usually decides to keep them both open, suggesting he prefers having 2 bolt holes.

Another odd thing is that despite having enough room in the burrow to completely hide, he [I]always[/I] peaks out. Even at night or when I stick my hand in the tank. Such a fascinating fish!!