Is this a shy jawfish?

[Aurumix]

Hi everyone, I've had my two yellowheaded jawfish in the 30-gallon tank for just over a week now and they're being super elusive. I knew they'd be shy, but this is taking it to a whole new level. My main worry is they're not getting enough food - has anyone else had a similar experience with these guys? I did my research beforehand, so the substrate should be spot on and the only other fish in the tank is a firtideflow at the moment. Any advice would be appreciated.

[axonify]

I'm pretty sure they'll surface more often once they've settled in. Jawfish are notorious for digging burrows, so it's likely they're just busy constructing their new home.

[microvolt]

Similar thing happened when I added my Flame Angel, took a while but it's out now.

[Aurumix]

Thanks for the reassurances guys, but I've got some bad news - found one of my jawfish on the carpet this morning, dried out. I'd made a perspex cover specifically for them, but I guess it wasn't enough - there's a small gap of about a centimetre or so along two sides that it must have jumped through. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the input.

[axonify]

Still got the other jawfish, right?

[Flynta]

Fingers crossed the last one decides to make an appearance soon. I recall when I first got mine, he was a bit of a ghost for a couple of weeks, busy digging his burrow at the back of the tank. What I found interesting was that at night, he'd venture out and explore the tank.

I took a chance and created a new hole in a spot I thought would be perfect for viewing him, adding a few small rocks nearby. And to my surprise, a couple of days later, he made the new hole his home. I've got a photo of him in his little hideout.

I also managed to capture him sneaking out for food. And I've included a shot of the tank to show where he chose to set up shop.

[dreamon7]

Flynta's tank setup looks really great, love the work you've put into it.

[Aurumix]

Looks nice Flynta, I've been keeping an eye on the substrate and in the morning I could see where they'd been digging the previous night, but nothing's changed in about 5 days now. Hopefully all is not lost, I really struggled to find them in stock anywhere, it took me about 3 months to finally track them down. How is your tank covered?

[axonify]

Only managed to get one decent video of my jawfish, here it is: http/s179.photobucket.com/albums/w312/n3...nt=100_2493.flv

[Flynta]

Hi everyone, I've had my two yellowheaded jawfish in the 30-gallon tank for just over a week now and they're being super elusive. I knew they'd be shy, but this is taking it to a whole new level. My main worry is they're not getting enough food - has anyone else had a similar experience with these guys? I did my research beforehand, so the substrate should be spot on and the only other fish in the tank is a firtideflow at the moment. Any advice would be appreciated.

Fingers crossed he turns up, doesn't sound good though.

My tank's an Aquaone UFO 700, 175 litres. I kept the front part of the hood but modified the lights - now I've got 7 T5s in there. I removed the back compartment that housed the pump and filter media and replaced it with a Deltec MCE600 skimmer at the back, a homemade refugium on one side and a pair of computer fans on the other. I used the original lid to hide all that. If you're interested, I'll take some pics.

One thing I do struggle with is keeping the pH around the 8 mark.