Help, jawfish won't eat

Pea-brain · 08/20/2007, 09:06 PM

My two Yellow headed jawfish aren't eating. I have them both in a plumbed 10 gallon with a total of about 30 gallons of water. I only ordered one but got 2 and they currently inhabiting the same burrow. I've had them since the 14th and I've only seen on eating one flake. I've tried flake food, dissolved shrimp pellets, slow sinking carnivore food, Live BBS (Are these too small to even eat?), chopped shrimp, freeze dried krill, several day old brine shrimp soaked in selcon, and some blended gunk including: raw shell on frozen table shrimp, frozen silversides, frozen mussel, freeze dried krill and selcon. There are 2 problems I see here:

They are brand new and afraid to come out in the open, especially with me near the tank, and I can't feed them from another room.

Or they might just not like my food.

The worst part is I don't know if they are eating the food that drifts in the burrow or just leaving it alone or spitting it out. any ideas to help? Only other fish is a female molly.

Dan

Pea-brain · 08/21/2007, 03:03 PM

Bump

I was thinking of buying some freeze dried or frozen cyclopeeze. Also heard good things about new life spectrum pellets or something like that? Thanks

Dan

the cougar · 08/21/2007, 03:44 PM

trysome live food like a couple chromis or feeder fish, cheap and will definately disappear, after all they are predators and eat live fish in the wild. once you get them eating on thse live fish them ween them to frozen whole fish like whitebait / pilchards etc

Sk8r · 08/21/2007, 03:53 PM

Try some small-grade Formula One sinking pellet. Mine goes for this. It bounces around in the current and gravitates toward his burrow, which gets him excited.

bpd964 · 08/21/2007, 03:55 PM

STOP feeding so much. Add a few small hermits and plain mysid. Give them a chance to get used to seeing you on a regular basis and you can even try feeding them at night. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to see what they have been eating before you got them..

Pea-brain · 08/21/2007, 04:20 PM

I only try to feed them once a day, and siphon out what I can a few hourse later. keeping an eye on water quality most definately. Since they got comfortable in their burrow I've only seen one of them out to do more than peek. I would try feeding at night but they seem to close the burrow then. I used a turkey baster to blow a bit of brine shrimp down their hole gently and saw some movement but I don't know if they were eating or not. I can't go to the pet store until thursday, so they are going to have to wait until then for food. Until then I'll keep offering brine shrimp and when I get to th store I'll ask if they have adult brine or meal worms (I read on a FAQ that its a good way to entice them to eat....)

I'll try that forumla one. The guy I ordered from is on vacation I think....

Dan

Pea-brain · 08/22/2007, 09:54 PM

Thanks for the help everyone. I picked up some cyclopeeze and sweetwater zooplankton. The smaller of the 2 (I believe it is a female, comparing jawsizes) Is hovering and ate alot of brine shrimp (Saoked in selcon for 1/2 an hour) and seemed interested in the sweetwater zooplankton, and kind of in the cyclopeeze, but I'll keep feeding small amounts and hope they eat it. The larger one (suspect male) is still very afraid to come and I've seen it in a burrow under a rock, but it is just afraid. The smaller one moved to a different burrow an inch away from the male but separated. I have some pics I will post soon of the (suspected) female.She is very inquisitive, always staring and not hiding (Backs away, but doesn't hide) when I come near. she4 just hovers and works

Dan

Myka · 08/22/2007, 10:01 PM

Get them on Formula One pellets as soon as you can. It's the healthiest diet you can give them. Frozen mysis shrimp are a lot more nutricious than frozen brine shrimp, so see if you can get them to eat Mysis instead. Glad they are starting to eat!

Pea-brain · 08/22/2007, 10:21 PM

They were out of formula 1, but had formula 2 for herbivores. Jawfish are mainly carnivores (Or zooplanktonivores if thats a word

) So I picked up the sweetwater zooplankton instead. I've heard it recommended. The brine weren't frozen, but live grown and hatched by me, almost a week old. I enriched with selcon and unleashed in the tank. The colony is till pretty large so now worries yet. In these pictures the smaller on is over the opening of the largers burrow after being freaked out after I dropped some rubble in the tank for building. She got over it pretty fast but I felt bad. The last 2 show her in her burrow.

Dan

Pea-brain · 08/22/2007, 10:23 PM

And her over her own burrow:

Shes a beauty, huh?

Dan

Myka · 08/23/2007, 01:27 AM

Ya, they are pretty. Ya, the sweetwater zooplankton is pretty good. Personally, I don't think even live brine shrimp are that great. I would feed frozen mysis over live brine any day. Fresh hatched baby brine are the most nutricious because of their egg sacks, but they lose their egg sacks at only about 48 hours old.

the cougar · 08/23/2007, 11:41 PM

oops not the same jawfish as we commonly have here sorry bout that. i feel like a tool

Pea-brain · 08/24/2007, 09:50 AM

I think you were talking about the dusky jawfish (Yeah, I know several species are described as this). They are ugly little guys. Like a tadpole crossed with a fish crossed with a turtle. Awesome

Dan

08/20/2007, 09:06 PM	#1
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	Help, jawfish won't eat My two Yellow headed jawfish aren't eating. I have them both in a plumbed 10 gallon with a total of about 30 gallons of water. I only ordered one but got 2 and they currently inhabiting the same burrow. I've had them since the 14th and I've only seen on eating one flake. I've tried flake food, dissolved shrimp pellets, slow sinking carnivore food, Live BBS (Are these too small to even eat?), chopped shrimp, freeze dried krill, several day old brine shrimp soaked in selcon, and some blended gunk including: raw shell on frozen table shrimp, frozen silversides, frozen mussel, freeze dried krill and selcon. There are 2 problems I see here: They are brand new and afraid to come out in the open, especially with me near the tank, and I can't feed them from another room. Or they might just not like my food. The worst part is I don't know if they are eating the food that drifts in the burrow or just leaving it alone or spitting it out. any ideas to help? Only other fish is a female molly. Dan

08/21/2007, 03:44 PM	#3
the cougar Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: melbourne, Australia Posts: 15	trysome live food like a couple chromis or feeder fish, cheap and will definately disappear, after all they are predators and eat live fish in the wild. once you get them eating on thse live fish them ween them to frozen whole fish like whitebait / pilchards etc __________________ don't believe everything you think Current Tank Info: 15 x 4 x 4 reef

08/21/2007, 03:53 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Try some small-grade Formula One sinking pellet. Mine goes for this. It bounces around in the current and gravitates toward his burrow, which gets him excited. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

08/22/2007, 10:01 PM	#8
Myka Reefing since '93 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: SK, Canada Posts: 2,436	Get them on Formula One pellets as soon as you can. It's the healthiest diet you can give them. Frozen mysis shrimp are a lot more nutricious than frozen brine shrimp, so see if you can get them to eat Mysis instead. Glad they are starting to eat! __________________ ~ Mindy, SPS addict. Current Tank Info: 69 SPS (73 gal net) established July 1/15. (HBD Canada!) ATB 840, ATI 6-bulb dimmable. Fauna Marin balling lite method.

08/23/2007, 01:27 AM	#11
Myka Reefing since '93 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: SK, Canada Posts: 2,436	Ya, they are pretty. Ya, the sweetwater zooplankton is pretty good. Personally, I don't think even live brine shrimp are that great. I would feed frozen mysis over live brine any day. Fresh hatched baby brine are the most nutricious because of their egg sacks, but they lose their egg sacks at only about 48 hours old. __________________ ~ Mindy, SPS addict. Current Tank Info: 69 SPS (73 gal net) established July 1/15. (HBD Canada!) ATB 840, ATI 6-bulb dimmable. Fauna Marin balling lite method.

08/21/2007, 03:03 PM	#2
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	Bump I was thinking of buying some freeze dried or frozen cyclopeeze. Also heard good things about new life spectrum pellets or something like that? Thanks Dan

08/21/2007, 03:55 PM	#5
bpd964 Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bridgeport, CT Posts: 2,237	STOP feeding so much. Add a few small hermits and plain mysid. Give them a chance to get used to seeing you on a regular basis and you can even try feeding them at night. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to see what they have been eating before you got them..

08/21/2007, 04:20 PM	#6
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	I only try to feed them once a day, and siphon out what I can a few hourse later. keeping an eye on water quality most definately. Since they got comfortable in their burrow I've only seen one of them out to do more than peek. I would try feeding at night but they seem to close the burrow then. I used a turkey baster to blow a bit of brine shrimp down their hole gently and saw some movement but I don't know if they were eating or not. I can't go to the pet store until thursday, so they are going to have to wait until then for food. Until then I'll keep offering brine shrimp and when I get to th store I'll ask if they have adult brine or meal worms (I read on a FAQ that its a good way to entice them to eat....) I'll try that forumla one. The guy I ordered from is on vacation I think.... Dan

08/22/2007, 09:54 PM	#7
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	Thanks for the help everyone. I picked up some cyclopeeze and sweetwater zooplankton. The smaller of the 2 (I believe it is a female, comparing jawsizes) Is hovering and ate alot of brine shrimp (Saoked in selcon for 1/2 an hour) and seemed interested in the sweetwater zooplankton, and kind of in the cyclopeeze, but I'll keep feeding small amounts and hope they eat it. The larger one (suspect male) is still very afraid to come and I've seen it in a burrow under a rock, but it is just afraid. The smaller one moved to a different burrow an inch away from the male but separated. I have some pics I will post soon of the (suspected) female.She is very inquisitive, always staring and not hiding (Backs away, but doesn't hide) when I come near. she4 just hovers and works Dan

08/22/2007, 10:21 PM	#9
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	They were out of formula 1, but had formula 2 for herbivores. Jawfish are mainly carnivores (Or zooplanktonivores if thats a word ) So I picked up the sweetwater zooplankton instead. I've heard it recommended. The brine weren't frozen, but live grown and hatched by me, almost a week old. I enriched with selcon and unleashed in the tank. The colony is till pretty large so now worries yet. In these pictures the smaller on is over the opening of the largers burrow after being freaked out after I dropped some rubble in the tank for building. She got over it pretty fast but I felt bad. The last 2 show her in her burrow. Dan

08/22/2007, 10:23 PM	#10
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	And her over her own burrow: Shes a beauty, huh? Dan

08/23/2007, 11:41 PM	#12
the cougar Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: melbourne, Australia Posts: 15	oops not the same jawfish as we commonly have here sorry bout that. i feel like a tool __________________ don't believe everything you think Current Tank Info: 15 x 4 x 4 reef

08/24/2007, 09:50 AM	#13
Pea-brain Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Vassalboro, ME Posts: 1,661	I think you were talking about the dusky jawfish (Yeah, I know several species are described as this). They are ugly little guys. Like a tadpole crossed with a fish crossed with a turtle. Awesome Dan